Indonesian media reports on the age fraud incident in the U19 tournament

According to Indonesian press coverage, this incident has not only caused a stir domestically but also directly impacted the reputation of Vietnam's youth football development at the regional level.

The focal point of the case is young player Thái Bá Bảo Hoàng, who was previously honored as the best player in the 2022 U11 National Championship and the most outstanding player in the 2024 U13 National Championship. In 2025, he continued to appear in the qualifiers for the 2025/26 U19 National Championship, sparking serious doubts about his actual age.

Indonesian media noted that irregularities began to surface after the Vietnam Football Federation sanctioned Bảo Hoàng along with three other players from Hoài Đức Club on December 31, 2025, for disciplinary violations. “That punishment became a ‘spark,’ thrusting Bảo Hoàng’s name into the heart of Vietnam football controversy.”- CNN Indonesia reported.

During the review process, the press discovered a major inconsistency in Bảo Hoàng’s birth year data. In the registration documents for Hoài Đức at the 2025/26 U19 National Championship qualifiers, he is listed as born in 2009, making him eligible to compete under the tournament rules. However, in previous youth competitions with SLNA, he was recorded as born in 2011, the year he won two prestigious individual awards at the U11 and U13 levels.

This immediately raised significant questions in the regional community since the 2025/26 U19 National Championship regulations only allow players born between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2010. If the 2011 birth year is accurate, Bảo Hoàng would clearly be ineligible to participate.

Further investigation confirmed that all records refer to the same player, with no cases of name duplication or identity confusion. Notably, Bảo Hoàng is currently playing for Hoài Đức on loan from SLNA, the club that trained and fielded him in previous youth tournaments.

In response to the wave of suspicion, SLNA officially denied any involvement in age fraud. The club management stated that an error occurred during the initial record-keeping process, resulting in incorrect birth year documentation. According to SLNA, after reviewing the original documents, Bảo Hoàng’s correct birth year is 2009, not 2011.

Indonesian media concluded that although no final verdict on age fraud has been reached, the incident has significantly damaged the credibility of Vietnamese youth football, especially as youth tournaments across Southeast Asia are increasingly strictly regulated. This case is also seen as a warning for regional football systems about the importance of transparency in youth player development and management.