The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism steps into the inspection of the deal between VFF and AVG on exclusive TV rights for 20 years

The decision was made given the on-going conflict between AVG and the Vietnam Professional Football (VPF) company on football broadcasting rights.

This is the first action the ministry has taken since it, and other related agencies, received letters from the VPF, requesting an inspection of the legality of the TV rights contract last week.

The inspectorate, which comprises five sport officials including Nguyen Trong Dat, Nguyen Manh Hung, Do Quoc Thang, Le Thanh Liem, and head of the ministry’s Sport Inspection Department Tran Quang Vinh, the group leader, will deploy the task in 15 days starting from Monday.

The inspection aims to verify whether the TV rights contract between VFF and AVG is legal or not. With the inspection results in hand, the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism will make a conclusion about the legal owner of the broadcasting rights for the national football tournament.

In an official document sent to the ministry, VPF argued that the contract violates Vietnam’s law, because VFF had not asked for the permission of clubs, which are also owners of the broadcasting rights, before making the contract.

Moreover, AVG had not been licensed to join the TV market in Vietnam before it signed the contract.

One of the nominated inspectors told Tuoi Tre that they will make clear two issues, the first of which is if VFF asked for clubs’ permission when signing the contract. And the second point is why the contract lasts up to 20 years, while VPF said the agreed-upon price does not match the contract value.

The ministry, in an official dispatch to VFF and local Departments of Culture, Sport and Tourism, asked relevant agencies to seriously obey the regulations on broadcasting rights and respect the VFF and AVG contract, before a final conclusion is made.

Besides the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism, VPF also sent letters to the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Information and Communication to ask for an inspection.