The Dedication Sports Awards 2026: Defining a New Form of Honor for Vietnamese Sports

The Dedication Sports Awards were launched in 2023 as part of a strategy to broaden the reach and impact of the Dedication Music Awards, initiated and organized by the Sports & Culture newspaper (Vietnam News Agency). This introduction sought to transfer the "Spirit of Dedication" from a longstanding music award to the sports domain, creating a comprehensive, unified "ecosystem."

1. In its first three seasons from 2023 to 2025, the Dedication Sports Awards followed a clear trajectory, starting with three categories: Sports Achievement of the Year; Sports Personality of the Year; and Young Sports Personality of the Year. In 2024, the category "Aspiration for Dedication" was added to honor contributions from socialized, grassroots, and community sports. By 2025, the voting and communication systems were further "digitized" by combining selections from the Professional Council and the public through an online voting mechanism.

Beyond changes in categories and voting methods, the evolution of the Dedication Sports Awards is also reflected in the winners. In 2023, it honored track and field athlete Nguyễn Thị Oanh and the Women's Football Team's World Cup qualification. In 2024, it marked the rise of women's volleyball and sepak takraw, while expanding to community football models with VietGoal being honored.

And 2025 captured the "regional emotional peak" with the Men's Football Team's ASEAN Cup 2024 championship and the standout naturalized player Nguyễn Xuân Son, alongside a young Olympic canoeing athlete and a long-term sports partner company, Động Lực Corporation.

2. However, the award's most notable feature lies in its effort to define "Dedication" not merely as competing for medals, but encompassing exceptional efforts by individuals and groups in sports, as well as their positive social impact, inspiration, socialization, and grassroots development, through specific layers of value.

The first layer is professional excellence but must be "groundbreaking" or demonstrate "exceptional effort and determination… and leave a positive impression on experts and fans." This is how the regulations define the Sports Achievement of the Year category. Thus, the choices in 2023 (Women's World Cup qualification), 2024 (Women's volleyball Asian Top 4), and 2025 (ASEAN Cup 2024 championship) are all "first-time/defining" milestones with significance beyond a single sports event.

The second layer is the individual role model: "Individuals with outstanding achievements or actions, activities contributing… in a dedicated manner." From this perspective, female track athlete Nguyễn Thị Oanh is mentioned as a figure with "brilliant performance" with 4 SEA Games 32 gold medals; swimmer Nguyễn Huy Hoàng is highlighted for his Olympic qualification and ASIAD medal; Nguyễn Xuân Son is framed within the story of the "new breeze" brought by naturalized players contributing to defending the national flag and jersey.

The third layer, and what distinguishes the award since 2024, is dedication to the foundation: Socialization, grassroots movements, and community inspiration. The regulations define "Aspiration for Dedication" as honoring individuals/collectives with outstanding actions aimed at "igniting passion, inspiring, and spreading positive values within the community."

In practice, awarding the "Aspiration for Dedication" to VietGoal (a children/community football model) in 2024 and to Động Lực Joint Stock Company (a long-term sports partner enterprise) in 2025 shows the Organizing Committee's intent to move "dedication" beyond the professional field towards a sports support ecosystem: facilities, grassroots movements, social resources, and sustainability.

3. The first three seasons (2023-2025) show the Dedication Sports Awards moving towards "softening" sports criteria: from solely honoring achievements to including social impact, aligning with the spirit of regulations on socialization and community outreach. This is a strength as it creates an additional benchmark alongside systems traditionally focused purely on expertise.

In 2026, the Dedication Sports Awards continue with a system of four main categories: Sports Achievement of the Year, Sports Personality of the Year, Young Sports Personality of the Year, and Aspiration for Dedication. These categories are still designed to encompass both peak performance and developmental potential, while also recognizing the spiritual elements that sports bring to society.

From a professional standpoint, the 2026 nomination list clearly reflects the landscape of Vietnamese sports over the past year, focusing on achievements at regional and international arenas. In the Sports Achievement of the Year category, notable highlights such as the U22 Vietnam Football Team's SEA Games gold medal, the Women's Futsal Team's performance, and the Women's 4x400m Relay Track Team's results are included in the nominations. These achievements not only bring glory but also generate significant public interest.

Meanwhile, the Sports Personality of the Year category gathers prominent athletes from various disciplines like: Nguyễn Đình Bắc (football), Nguyễn Thị Oanh (track and field), Trịnh Thu Vinh (shooting), all individuals with outstanding achievements who represent the image of Vietnamese sports. The Young Sports Personality of the Year category continues to acknowledge emerging young talents such: Bùi Thị Kim Anh (track and field), Võ Thị Mỹ Tiên (swimming), showcasing generational transition and the sustainable development potential of national sports.

4. It can be said that compared to other domestic sports awards, the Dedication Sports Awards adopts a different approach. While many awards focus on determining "who is the best," the Dedication Awards pose the question "who has the greatest influence." This difference helps broaden the evaluation scope, allowing special stories, challenging journeys, or historic milestones to be duly recognized.

With that direction, the Dedication Sports Awards 2026 not only reflects Vietnamese sports achievements over a year but also contributes to shaping how sports are perceived in society. Sports is not just about competition; it is also a source of inspiration, motivation, and a symbol of aspiration to rise. Honoring these values is the core meaning the award aims for.

In the context of Vietnamese sports increasingly integrating and developing, the Dedication Sports Awards is gradually becoming an important rendezvous, where achievements, individuals, and representative stories are recognized and honored comprehensively. Not just an award, it is also a space where sports is recounted in a deeper way, beyond numbers, to reach lasting value.