Many football (soccer) clubs in Vietnam have looked to pop stars as a source of inspiration for both their players and supporters.

Hari Won (middle) is seen singing at Cao Lanh Stadium in the southern province of Dong Thap before the Dong Thap FC – QNK Quang Nam match in the 2015 Toyota V-League 1 on January 31. Photo: Dong Thap FC

The latest team to join the trend are Dong Thap FC, a club headquartered in the namesake province in the Mekong Delta.

The club announced on their official Facebook page on Wednesday that Vietnamese pop singer Bao Thy will perform at their Cao Lanh Stadium on Saturday, when Dong Thap FC challenge Sanna Khanh Hoa in the 2015 Toyota V-League 1, which is the country’s top-flight competition.

This will be the second consecutive match in which Dong Thap FC supporters have been given a chance to enjoy a live performance by a pop star, after half-Korean singer and actress Hari Won rocked the arena on Saturday last week.

Hari, born to a South Korean mother and a Vietnamese father, sang two songs and inspired the hosts to beat QNK Quang Nam 3-0, which was apparent encouragement for Dong Thap FC to go on to invite Bao Thy for their next game.

Thy, who has created many catchy dance songs, will sing three to four songs before the game, Lam Trung Hieu, a media person with Dong Thap FC, told Tuoi Tre News.

Poster of Bao Thy’s performance at Cao Lanh Stadium in the southern province of Dong Thap on February 7, 2015. Photo: Dong Thap FC

Dong Thap FC jumped from 12th to 9th place in the standings, which include 14 clubs, after remaining unbeaten in the last three games.

Their decision to bring V-pop stars to their stadium was a surprise, as the club are not known to be wealthy.

But Pham Huu Phuoc, a Dong Thap FC representative, said it is “profitable business.”

Dong Thap FC paid VND30 million (US$1,398) for Hari Won’s performance, and raked in VND80 million ($3,728) from ticket sales, Dat Viet (Vietnam Land) newspaper quoted Phuoc as saying.

“The VND50 million [$2,330] profit seems small, but with 13 home matches for the whole season, it is a considerable gain – VND650 million [$30,292],” he said.

Phuoc added that 11,000 tickets were sold for last week’s match, up to 2,000 more than the usual figure.

“Bringing these singers to Cao Lanh Stadium, we want to cheer on the home players and at the same time provide a ‘mental dish’ for their supporters,” Hieu, the media person, explained to Tuoi Tre News.

Many other league clubs have also invited V-pop stars to perform to lure more supporters to the stands.

On January 4, Becamex Binh Duong had famous pop stars Noo Phuoc Thinh and Dong Nhi, and girl band Mat Ngoc, treat fans to vibrant music before their 2015 Toyota V-League 1 opener with Dong Thap FC.

Last year, Than Quang Ninh also invited pop star Luu Huong Giang, one of the judges of “The Voice Kids of Vietnam,” to rock the stadium before they faced SHB Da Nang in the same league.

Saigon Xuan Thanh, a Ho Chi Minh City-based club that dissolved in August 2013, was arguably the pioneer in bringing Vietnamese showbiz closer to a football league.

The club appointed star singer Ngoc Son as their ambassador, and the singer managed to invite many of his famous colleagues to perform at Thong Nhat Stadium for their home games.

The Vietnamese league plus V-pop trend seems to work as clubs usually win most of the games that are inspired by the singers.

Source Tuoitrenews