Ho Chi Minh City women's club, home of Vietnam star Huỳnh Như, have registered Nguyễn Đức Cảnh, a former goalkeeping coach of the Vietnam national team, as head coach for the 2026/27 AFC Women's Champions League in India. Tuổi Trẻ and Bongda24h both reported that the change was needed because coach Đoàn Thị Kim Chi does not yet hold the professional (Pro) licence the AFC requires. Tuổi Trẻ said Kim Chi will still do the actual coaching, while Bongda24h said she is listed as an assistant for the competition.
According to Tuổi Trẻ, the two coaches who accompanied the team in the previous two editions, Nguyễn Hồng Phẩm and Lư Đình Tuấn, were both busy with other work, so the club turned to Đức Cảnh. Bongda24h said he came through Military Region 7 football and was goalkeeping coach of the national team under Park Hang Seo, part of the staff that won the 2018 AFF Cup, finished runners-up at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship and won SEA Games gold in 2019. He has also worked with U23 Vietnam, Hải Phòng and Becamex Bình Dương, now Becamex TP.HCM.
Three foreign players, not six
Under the competition rules cited by Bongda24h, each club may register up to six foreign players, one of whom must hold an Asian nationality. The Ho Chi Minh City side have registered only three, two centre-backs and a striker:
| Player | Position | Key facts |
|---|---|---|
| Kayla Marie Siddiqi | Centre-back | Born 2003, 1.75m, dual US-Pakistan nationality, has played for the Pakistan women's national team |
| Chesna Rielly Marie | Centre-back | US national, born 2004, played in the 0-3 quarter-final defeat by Naegohyang FC (North Korea) in 2025/26 |
| Joelma (Church Alves Gabriel) | Striker | Brazilian, born 1995, won the 2026 national league and national cup with the club |
Tuổi Trẻ said the two new defenders have been training with the squad for about a month. The club wanted the full quota of six but could only offer short-term deals, and no free agents were willing to come. Kim Chi told the paper the club had looked for better midfielders or forwards without success. Money was not the problem, she said; the contracts were simply too short, so only students or recent graduates without offers from other clubs agreed to join. She also hopes centre-back Chương Thị Kiều will return from injury.
Hosts East Bengal, by contrast, have seven foreign players (one Japanese, two Ugandans and four Ghanaians) and can field six at once.
Opponents and continental record
The group schedule, according to Tuổi Trẻ:
| Date | Opponent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov | East Bengal (India) | Hosts |
| 4 Nov | April 25 (North Korea) | Debutants, won all three preliminary-round games, scoring 29 and conceding one |
| 7 Nov | Hwacheon KSPO (South Korea) | Korean champions, debutants, placed directly into the group stage |
The top two in each group and the two best third-placed teams across the three groups reach the quarter-finals. Tuổi Trẻ expects the Vietnamese champions to compete with East Bengal for one of the best third-place spots.
The club reached the semi-finals in 2024/25 and the quarter-finals in 2025/26. At home, they won the 2026 national women's championship (Thái Sơn Bắc Cup), which ended on 23 October, with two rounds to spare, for an eighth straight title and a 15th overall. The final standings are in 2026 women's national championship: Thái Nguyên T&T finish runners-up, Hà Nội I third.
What's next
Tuổi Trẻ reported that the team will fly to India on the evening of 28 October to get used to the climate and pitches, and Bongda24h said they will travel via Bangkok to Kolkata. They open against East Bengal on 1 November, aiming, according to Bongda24h, to get out of the group and into the quarter-finals as in both previous campaigns. More on the Vietnam football news page.