Đồng Nai Football Club is a professional association football club based in Đồng Nai municipality, Vietnam. The team currently plays in Vietnamese Third Division, the fourth tier of Vietnamese football, after a demotion from the 2024–25 V.League 2 due to financial reasons. The club's home ground is the 30,000-seater Đồng Nai Stadium.
History Early football movement (pre-1975) Between 1955 and 1975, Đồng Nai had four teams competed in the first and second tier of the South Vietnam football system: Sư Đoàn 3 Không Quân, Tiểu Khu Biên Hòa, Không Đoàn Kỹ Thuật - Tiếp Vận and Thanh Niên Hiệp Hòa.
Founding and amateur era (1976–2004) After 1975, football was the first sport to be formally organized in the new province. In March 1976, the Department of Sports and Physical Education established the provincial football team of Đồng Nai/ They participated in the first post-unification tournament, the Cửu Long League, finishing 8th out of 9 teams.
The team spent many years in the A1 Division, the second-tier at the time. From 1990 to 1999, Đồng Nai reached the final promotion round for the top-tier league three times (1990, 1994, 1998) but was unsuccessful each time. During this period, Đồng Nai province was unique for having three teams in the A1 Division simultaneously: Đồng Nai FC, Xuân Lộc, and Cao Su Đồng Nai.
Professional era and promotion to the V.League 1 (2005–2016) In 2005, the team (having merged with Cao Su Đồng Nai) turned professional. With sponsorship from the Strata Group, the club was renamed Strata Đồng Nai FC and earned promotion to the First Division. In 2008, the Đồng Nai Football Joint Stock Company was established and the team found a new sponsor, Berjaya Corporation, changing their name to Đồng Nai Berjaya FC.
In the 2012 season, Dong Nai finished third in the V.League 2, a position that did not grant promotion. However, the club was given a "special promotion" to 2013 V.League 1 to ensure the league had 12 teams.
At the end of the 2015 V.League 1 season, Đồng Nai finished last and was relegated to the V.League 2.
Relegation and rebuild (2017–present) Following their relegation from V.League 1, Đồng Nai did not enter the 2016 V.League 2. In 2017, the club started over from the Vietnamese Third Division with a core of local U-19 players. In 2019, the team finished second in their group and promoted to the 2020 Second Division. They remained in the Second Division for four seasons.
In the 2023 Second Division, Đồng Nai finished second in Group B to qualify for the promotion play-off. In the final, they defeated Đắk Lắk 2–1, with a brace from Cao Quốc Khánh to earn promotion back to the V.League 2.
Restructuration to an amateur team The finished 9th in the 2024–25 V.League 2 season. In mid-2025, following the merge of Bình Phước province into Đồng Nai province, Đồng Nai FC ceased receiving financial support from the province, as Trường Tươi Bình Phước was prioritized as the province's representative team. As the result, Đồng Nai withdrew from the 2025–26 V.League 2 and was restructured into a youth team. They entered the 2025 Vietnamese Third Division.
Stadium The club's home ground is Đồng Nai Stadium. The stadium has a capacity of approximately 25,000 spectators. In 2013, to meet V.League 1 standards, the stadium was upgraded with a new lighting system of 1,200–1,400 lux at a cost of over 20 billion VND.
Kit suppliers and sponsors Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor 2003–2005 Strata 2008–2010 Berjaya 2022–present Demenino Sport Dien Bao Nguyen, Hai Thanh Group, Vinatexin, LPBank
Current squad As of 12 March 2025Dong Nai FC at VPF.vn
Current coaching staff Position Name General manager Nguyễn Văn Long Head coach Nguyễn Minh Phương Assistant coach Phan Thế Hiếu Goalkeeping coach Nguyễn Hoàng Duy Team doctor Trần Mạnh Trí
Honours Tay Ninh TV Cup Champions (2): 2009, 2010 Runners-up (1): 2007 Vietnamese Football League Second Division Champions (1): 2023 Vietnamese National Cup Third place (3): 2013
Season-by-season domestical record SeasonPldWonDrawLostGFGAGDPTSFinal positionNotes 2005 First Division 22 6 4 11 19 20 −1 23 10th 2006 First Division 26 8 9 9 30 28 +2 33 7th 2007 First Division 26 12 6 8 31 24 +7 42 4th 2008 First Division 26 7 9 10 33 33 0 30 8th 2009 First Division 24 7 7 10 26 30 −4 28 9th 2010 First Division 24 6 8 10 27 31 −4 26 12th 2011 First Division 26 9 9 8 34 35 −1 36 7th 2012 First Division 26 11 7 8 40 30 +10 40 3rd Promotion to V.League 1 2013 V.League 1 20 6 7 7 27 36 −9 25 7th 2014 V.League 1 22 7 4 11 39 40 −1 25 7th 2015 V.League 1 26 5 6 15 35 52 −17 21 14th Relegation to V.League 2 2016 V.League 2 18 8 6 4 24 17 +7 30 4th Demotion to Vietnamese Third Division due to financial issues 2017 Third Division 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4 3rd (Group B) 2018 Third Division 3 0 0 3 3 6 -3 0 4th (Group B) 2019 Third Division 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4 2nd (Group B) Promotion to Vietnamese Second Division 2020 Second Division 14 4 0 10 16 30 -14 12 6th (Group B) 2021 Second Division 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 4th (Group B) Season cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic 2022 Second Division 12 8 1 3 19 6 +13 25 1st (Group B) Defeated in the promotion play-offs 2023 Second Division 12 6 4 2 30 15 +15 22 2nd (Group B) Won the promotion play-offs and promotion to V.League 2 2023–24 V.League 2 20 6 5 9 12 21 −9 23 9th 2024–25 V.League 2 20 3 9 8 13 20 −7 18 9th Demotion to Vietnamese Third Division due to financial issues 2025 Third Division 10 3 1 6 26 27 −1 10 5th (Group C)
References
External links Team info on Soccerway