How much money did Hanoi Police FC pocket after securing a spot in Asia's top club tournament?

Hanoi Police FC (CAHN) has not only set a historic milestone for Vietnamese football by earning a spot in the AFC Champions League Elite 2026/27, but is also guaranteed to receive a significant sum from the AFC.

After a 2-0 victory over Adelaide United in Australia, coach Alexandre Polking's team officially secured a place in the league stage of Asia's most prestigious club competition.

According to the regulations of the AFC Champions League Elite 2026/27, each club participating in the league stage receives a participation fee of 800,000 USD. Additionally, away teams in the preliminary round receive 50,000 USD in travel support from the AFC. CAHN, having just won 2-0 away against Adelaide United, is entitled to this support, bringing the total financial benefits from the AFC.

Thus, just by advancing past the play-off round and entering the league stage, CAHN has a total of 850,000 USD, equivalent to approximately 22.1 billion VND at an exchange rate of 26,000 VND/USD.

Notably, this is only the minimum amount. CAHN has the opportunity to significantly increase revenue based on performance. According to AFC regulations, each win in the league stage earns a bonus of 100,000 USD. The 2026/27 season uses a league format where each team plays 8 matches. If CAHN wins all 8 matches, the bonuses alone could reach 800,000 USD.

In addition to per-match bonuses, the AFC stipulates additional fees for teams that advance further. Teams reaching the round of 16 receive an extra 200,000 USD, the quarter-finals 400,000 USD, and the semi-finals 600,000 USD. These amounts are added to the club's finances, not replacing the 800,000 USD participation fee.

In particular, if CAHN achieves the miracle of winning the title, they will receive a prize of 10 million USD, while the runner-up receives 4 million USD. The AFC stipulates that 5% of these two prize amounts is withheld to contribute to the AFC Dream Asia Foundation for social responsibility activities. This means the champion receives 9.5 million USD net and the runner-up receives 3.8 million USD net.

It should be emphasized that the aforementioned 5% deduction does not apply to the 850,000 USD that CAHN is guaranteed upon entering the league stage. The 50,000 USD is travel assistance for the preliminary round, and the 800,000 USD is the league stage participation fee; both fall under the "Financial Contribution" category separately regulated by the AFC.

With a 2-0 victory over Adelaide United, CAHN has secured over 22 billion VND, while also opening up the opportunity to earn hundreds of thousands, even millions of USD if they advance further. More importantly, the Vietnamese representative will compete against top Asian clubs in a tournament expanded to 32 teams by the AFC starting from the 2026/27 season.