Cong An Ho Chi Minh City Football Club (), also known as CAHCMC and Ho Chi Minh City Police, is a professional football club based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The club competes in the V.League 1, the highest level of Vietnamese football, since the 2017 season. The club was known as Thương Cảng Sài Gòn (Saigon Harbour) before 1975, then Cảng Sài Gòn (Saigon Port) between 1975 and 2009, and Ho Chi Minh City FC between 2009 and 2025. The club's home ground is the Thống Nhất Stadium.
History Saigon Port era On 1 November 1975, the Saigon Port Workers Football Club was officially established, inherited many players and staffs from the previous Saigon Harbour Football Club that competed in the South Vietnam Football Championship. The team quickly became well known in Southern Vietnam, together with Hải Quan - their local rivals.
In 1980, Saigon Port was one of 10 clubs based in Southern Vietnam to participate in the 1980 Vietnamese National A1 League - the first football championship in Vietnam. In 1983, former defender Phạm Huỳnh Tam Lang returned from Germany and was appointed as a head coach for the club. In 1984, CSG began to focus on recruiting young players from their youth academy, including Đặng Trần Chỉnh, Hà Vương Ngầu Nại, Nguyễn Hoàng Châu, Phạm Văn Tám, ... This squad was later regarded as the club's "Golden Generation". Among them, midfielder Hà Vương Ngầu Nại received recognition by becoming the top scorer of the 1989 V-League, scoring a total of 10 goals. However, until the end of 1990, the team had not won any more titles besides the 1986 V-League.
From 1990 to 2001, many players of the team were called up to the Vietnam national team, including Nguyễn Hồng Phẩm, Hà Vương Ngầu Nại, Lư Đình Tuấn, Hồ Văn Lợi, Huỳnh Hồng Sơn. In 2001, under the new name Saigon Port Football Club, they won another league title in the 2001–02 season. However, they were relegated to the First Division the following season, returning to the V-League again in 2005.
Ho Chi Minh City era The Saigon Port Corporation's officials claimed at the end of 2008 that they no longer had money to support the club. At that time, they only had one primary sponsor, the Vietnam Steel Company. The club's leadership decided to alter the name in order to operate on a professional model. Ho Chi Minh City Football Club was adopted with the permission of the club's management unit, the Ho Chi Minh City Football Company Ltd, and the Ho Chi Minh City Football Federation, with a 15 billion Vietnam Dong investment.
Because of their devotion to the heritage connected with the name Saigon Port, the club's supporters have expressed disappointment and resistance. The club officially changed its name to Ho Chi Minh City Football Club on 22 January 2009, with the Vietnam Steel Corporation serving as the primary sponsor.
The whole fans association executive committee resigned, and the Saigon Port Football Supporters Association dissolved. They were relegated to the Vietnamese Football League Second Division after finishing 13th place in the 2009 season. In 2012, the club finished last in the Vietnamese First League. After only one season at the second league, Ho Chi Minh returned to the V.League 2 in 2015. With the ambition to return to top fight, Ho Chi Minh City received big investments and successfully gained a promotion to the V.League 1 after winning the 2016 V.League 2.
The club's reputation among supporters progressively improved, Ho Chi Minh City Football Club Fans Association was formed. The squad finished 12th in the league standings in 2017. In the 2019 season, Jung Hae-seong was named as Hồ Chí Minh City's new coach. He was the VIetnam national team's assistant coach. Under his management, Hồ Chí Minh City was in the title race, being the league's top 2 throughout the season. The club finished first after the first part of the season, but Hà Nội won the title. The team also qualified to the 2020 AFC Champions League preliminary round.
In the following season, Hồ Chí Minh City had spent 20 billion ₫ on the transfer market, signing several reputated players, such as Nguyễn Công Phượng and Võ Huy Toàn, as well as Costa Rican forwards Ariel Rodríguez and José Guillermo Ortiz. The club began the season with a defeat against Hà Nội in the Vietnamese Super Cup, followed by the defeat in the AFC Champions League preliminary round which resulted in their entry to the 2020 AFC Cup group stage. There, the team topped their group with two wins and one defeat, before the competition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. in the 2020 V.League 1, the club's form was inconsistent and the foreign players performed poorly. The club finished 5th in the league.
Before the start of the 2021 season, the club's management made several changes to the personnel. Alexandré Pölking, the former coach of Bangkok United, was appointed as the new coach with a 1-year contract. In December 2020, Ho Chi Minh City announced the signing of Vietnamese-American midfielder Lee Nguyen, who played for USA national team. However, the team performed poorly due to players' difficulties to adapt to the coach's tactics. They eventually finished at 11th place when the season was cancelled after the 14th matchday, due to the impact of pandemic in Vietnam.
Cong An Ho Chi Minh City era On 14 July 2025, the club was officially rebranded to Cong An Ho Chi Minh City FC, following the ownership transfer to the Ho Chi Minh City Public Security Department. This marked the return of the name Cong An Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnamese football since 2002, when the 1979 established team had dissolved. In the first season after the name change, they finished sixth in the V.League 1, and won the Vietnamese Cup after a 2–1 win over Ninh Bình in the cup final. This was their first national cup title in 26 years.
Name history Saigon Harbour(1958–1975) Saigon Port(1975–2009) Cong An Ho Chi Minh City(1979–2002) Ho Chi Minh City(2009–2025) Cong An Ho Chi Minh City(2025–present)
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors PeriodKit manufacturerShirt sponsor 2017–2018 Mizuno Cityland2019 Zaicro2020 Kappa2021–2023 KelmeCitylandBamboo Airways Viva LandSCBPhú Mỹ HưngMurata2023–present JogarbolaMansion SportsPhu Hung Life InsurancePhu Hung SecuritiesCông An TP. Hồ Chí MinhSacombank
Players
Out on loan
Current staff
PositionNameHead coach Arthur DilesAssistant coach Peter Kofinas Hoàng Hùng Phùng Thanh PhươngGoalkeeper coach Châu Trí CườngFitness coach Dean FilopoulosTechnical analyst Doãn Nhật Tiến Ngô Xuân Nghĩa Doctor An Văn Pháp Đặng Hiếu Hảo Physiotherapist Luiz Felipe Santos Interpreter Nguyễn Hưng Phát Kit manager Huỳnh Tấn Trí Thông
Affiliated clubs Geylang International (2019–present) Grêmio (2025–present)
Season-by-season record SeasonPldWonDrawLostGFGAGDPTSFinal positionNotes2000–01 V-League187652921+8274th2001–02 V-League189542016+432ChampionsQualified for the 2002–03 AFC Champions League qualification Round 32003 V-League2247112641−151911thRelegated to the Vietnamese First League2004 Vietnamese First League2215525118+3350ChampionsPromoted to the V-League2005 V-League226972529−4278th2006 V-League247893538−32910th2007 V-League2681084140+1348th2008 V-League26116934340395th2009 V-League2685133444−102913thRelegated to the Vietnamese First League2010 Vietnamese First League2476112842−142710th2011 Vietnamese First League26610102936−72811th2012 Vietnamese First League2658133654−182314th Relegated to the Vietnamese Second League2013 Vietnamese Second League105141310+3162nd (group C)Promoted through play-offs2014 V.League 2143471119−8137th2015 V.League 2147341913+6243rd2016 V.League 21812333815+2339ChampionsPromoted to the V.League 12017 V.League 12667132946−172512th2018 V.League 12676133644−82712th2019 V.League 12614664129+12482ndQualified for the 2020 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs2020 V.League 1208482925+4285th2021 V.League 1124261417–31411thCancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic2022 V.League 12467112334259th2023 V.League 118431121321513th2023–24 V.League 12611783026+4404th2024–25 V.League 126610101936−172810th
Continental and regional record All results list Ho Chi Minh City's goal tally first.
Continental SeasonCompetitionRoundClubHomeAwayAggregate1993–94Asian Cup Winner' CupFirst round Sarawak FAw/oSecond round Semen Padang1995–96Asian Club ChampionshipFirst round Pahang FAw/o1998–99Asian Club ChampionshipFirst round Pohang Steelers2000–01Asian Cup Winners' CupFirst round Singapore Armed ForcesSecond round Shimizu S-Pulse2002–03AFC Champions LeagueQualification Churchill Brothers2020AFC Champions LeaguePreliminary round 2 Buriram UnitedAFC CupGroup F Yangon UnitedCancelled2–2 Hougang UnitedCancelled3–2 Lao ToyotaCancelled2–0
Regional SeasonCompetitionRoundClubHomeAwayAggregate2026–27ASEAN Club ChampionshipGroup A Ratchaburi Buriram United BG Tampines Rovers Kuching City Borneo Manila Digger
Performance in AFC competitions AFC Champions League: 2 appearances 2002–03: Qualification round 3 2020: Preliminary round 2 AFC Cup: 1 appearance 2020: Group stage
Honours National competitions League V.League 1: Winners: 1986, 1993–94, 1997, 2001–02 Runners-up: 2019 Third place: 1985, 1990, 1995 V.League 2: Winners: 2004, 2016 Third place: 2015 South Vietnam Football Championship: Winners: 1977, 1978, 1979 Cup Vietnamese Cup: Winners: 1992, 1999–2000, 2025–26 Runners-up: 1994, 1996, 1997 Third place: 2020, 2019 Vietnamese Super Cup: Runners-up: 2000, 2002, 2019, 2026
Other competitions BTV Cup: Winners: 2000 Runners-up: 2001
Notes
References
External links Team profile at Soccerway Team profile at V.League