Haiphong FC

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Hải Phòng

Full name	Haiphong Football Club
Nickname(s)	Hoa Phượng Đỏ.[1] (The Flamboyant) Thuỷ triều đỏ.[2] (The Red Tide) Đội bóng đất Cảng.[3] (The Portland)
Short name	HPFC
Founded	1952; 73 years ago (1952)[4]
Ground	Lach Tray Stadium
Capacity	17,400
Owner	Haiphong Football JSC
Chairman	Văn Trần Hoàn
Head coach	Chu Đình Nghiêm
League	V.League 1
2023	V.League 1, 6th of 14
Website	haiphongfc.org
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Haiphong Football Club (

.

The club is considered to have originated from its predecessor, the Haiphong Port Football Team. It is the only team in the city of Haiphong that survived after government subsidies were removed.

History

In 1906, football was brought to North Vietnam by the French during the colonization. Hai Phong at that time was one of the first localities to have football clubs, including Olympique Haiphong, Arrow (La Flèche)., High School (Radium), Youth of Tonkin (La Jeunesse Tonkinoise) and The Sea Golden Elephant (Voi Vàng Đất Cảng).

It was reported that in 1909 two teams Haiphong included Le Duong Dap Cau (Legion Dap Cau) and Olympique Haiphong faced each other. In the first leg, Olympique Haiphong won 2-1 but the second match lost 1–8. In the 1930s, Haiphong football was known for the Nguyen Lan and Nguyen Thong duo, whose brought much success to the city's team. However, after the Vietnamese August Revolution of 1945, all precedent Haiphong teams were disbanded.[5]

In 1952, a new Haiphong football team was established under the name Hai Phong Police Football Club, being under the management of the Haiphong Municipal Police. Before the Vietnamese reunification in 1975, Haiphong played in the

.

After the 2001–02 season, when the team promoted to the Vietnamese First Division, the team's model was no longer suitable for the new professional football system that was newly formed in Vietnam, Hai Phong Municipal Police had decided to transfer the team to the Sports Department of Haiphong city. In the early years under the new management, the team's name has changed over the seasons due to sponsorship reasons, a result of frequent swifts in the team's main sponsor. This model was not a success as the team was financially unstable and consistently got relegated from the top tier after their promotions.

On 16 October 2007, the Sports Department of Haiphong transferred the team's ownership to the Haiphong Cement company, renaming the club Haiphong Cement. Under the new owner, the club had a larger budget and became a more competitive side in the Vietnamese top flight as they finished in the third place. In the following season, the team gained wide attention after successfully in sign Brazilian World Cup 2002 winning member Denílson to compete for the title. In the 2011 V-League season, Haiphong Cement was renamed Vicem Hai Phong following the club's sponsorship deal with the Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation.

At the end of the

's spot in the top division as the latter disbanded due to financial difficulties, thus maintain the top flight in the 2013 season.

In 2014, the team's owner Vicem company transferred the club to the Haiphong People's Committee, changing the team name to the current Hai Phong Football Club. Despite the lack of financial strength as the previous seasons, the team won the 2014 Vietnamese Cup, their second title since 1975 despite poor results in the league.

In the 2016 season, Haiphong led the league for most of the season but couldn't maintain their good form at the end of the season and lost their title race to rival Hanoi T&T, with both having the same number of points and Haiphong only lost on goal differences.

In

, marking their first participation in a main phase of a continental competition.

• Haiphong Police (1952–2002)
• Haiphong Vietnam – Australia Steel (2002–2004)
• Mitsustar Haiphong (2005)
• Mitsustar Haier Haiphong (2006)
• Van Hoa Hai Phong (2007)
• Haiphong Cement (2008–2010)
• Vicem Haiphong (2011–2012)
• Vicem Cement Haiphong (
  2013
  )
• Haiphong Football Club (2014–present)