[3] TĐCS Đồng Tháp were relegated after rivals Khatoco Khánh Hòa defeated Sông Lam Nghệ An 1–0 on 19 August 2012.
However, Hà Nội T&T Youth remained in the second tier of Vietnamese football due to league rules about clubs with the same owners competing in the same division.
Hà Nội was dissolved on 27 November 2012 when club officials could not secure a new sponsor after the earlier arrest of Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien caused all sponsorship from his assets to be blocked.
[8] On 8 December 2012, the VPF had stated that the Vietnam U22 team would be added to the V.League to gain experience ahead of the 2013 Southeast Asian Games and to bring the participating number of clubs to 12.
[9] However, the Vietnam Football Federation announced on December 13, 2012 that 2012 Vietnamese First Division second runners-up Đồng Nai would be the twelfth club in the 2013 campaign.