V.League ranks fourth for ball-in-play time in survey of eight Asian leagues

The V.League ranks fourth of eight Asian top flights for average ball-in-play time, at 52.12 minutes a match, according to figures published by ASEAN Football on 22 October and reported by Tuổi Trẻ and Bongda24h. Vietnam's top division trails South Korea's K League, the Chinese Super League and Japan's J1 League, but sits above the Saudi Pro League, where Cristiano Ronaldo plays, as well as the leagues of the UAE, Indonesia and Singapore.

The figure has drawn attention, but both newspapers stress that ball-in-play time is not a ranking of quality.

Ball-in-play time across the eight leagues

By KBVN+'s arithmetic from those numbers, the V.League is 4.05 minutes a match behind the Korean leaders and only 0.89 minutes behind J1. The gap to the Asian Football Confederation's 60-minute target is much wider: the V.League is 7.88 minutes short, and even the K League has not reached it. Tuổi Trẻ notes that Asian football as a whole remains well below the AFC's goal.

More time with the ball moving is not the same as better football

Ball-in-play time measures how long the ball is actually in play, excluding stoppages for fouls, injuries, substitutions, throw-ins, goal kicks, corners before they are taken, goal celebrations and VAR checks. A higher figure simply means fewer interruptions.

Tuổi Trẻ says plainly that no link has been shown between average ball-in-play time and the quality of a league. Bongda24h makes the same point: the figure reflects tempo and actual playing time, not the level of the players, tactics or how competitive the teams are. Finishing above the Saudi Pro League on this measure does not make the V.League a stronger competition than a league packed with international stars.

What it means for Vietnamese fans

What the numbers do show is that V.League matches have less dead time than many Asian leagues. Tuổi Trẻ argues that fewer stoppages give spectators a better experience, and Bongda24h says the V.League is keeping up a notable tempo compared with other leagues in the region. Tuổi Trẻ adds that the survey gives Asian football a fuller picture of its competitions.

Neither paper says which season or how many matches the survey covers, so it is best read as a snapshot rather than a final verdict on each league's tempo.

What comes next

Six games remain in round 5 of the 2026/27 V.League, according to the Sportmonks schedule (Vietnam time, ICT):

Follow the V.League table and V.League fixtures on KBVN+.