Former footballer Ha Bon and his collection of football souvenirs

In his small house in Nui Truc Street in Hanoi, which is popularly called ‘the football museum’, Bon keeps hundreds of rare souvenirs of Vietnamese and global football.

Ha Bon’s 40-square-meter house welcomes visitors every day. They are either soccer players or fans, many of whom bring Bon their mementos.

Dang Van Phuong, President of the Honda Vietnam Football Club, said, “We come to Bon’s house to see his museum and touch the souvenirs he has collected over the years. I gave Bon the T-shirt I wore when I played in the Vietnam-Japan football championship in 1999. I hope the younger generation will learn about this period.”

On display in Bon’s museum are the signatures and shirts of world football stars including Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Petr Cech, and Oliver Kahn. 

He has boots David Beckham wore for games, a signed photo of legendary German goalkeeper Schumacher, and a photo signed by every member of the German National Football Team when they won the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Bon said, “These are three balls of the Binh Duong championship team that Coach Le Thuy Hai presented to me. This is the ball the Vietnam Women’s National Football Team used in the SEAGAMEs."

"This is the ball star Cong Vinh headed into the Thai team’s goal, helping Vietnam win its first championship. There are more than 100 balls in my collection. Since I was young, I’ve wanted to make a place where my colleagues could gather to relive memories,” he said.

Ha Bon has spent his time carefully preserving the old balls, gloves, and T-shirts for over the past 20 years. He said many people trust him and give him their keepsakes. 

“I don’t accept memorial items of people that I think do not deserve to be present in my museum. I only keep items from talented, virtuous people. It’s an honor for a person to have his souvenirs in my museum,” he said.

Nguyen Thi Huyen, Ha Bon’s wife, has always supported him. She said “At first my husband kept his items on the third floor. Then he had many more items and he used the sitting-room and kitchen. I support him. He displays photos and exhibits everywhere. I wish we could build more rooms to satisfy my husband’s passion.”

Former footballer Ha Bon wishes that Vietnam will soon have a football museum and says that he will grant all his collection to the museum.