The attitude of being responsible for the administration of Korean football is missing. Even after confirming the diplomatic disaster, it is a reality that it is difficult to hear even a response of “I’m sorry.”
At the 2023 Asian Football Federation (AFC) General Assembly held in Manama, Bahrain on the 1st, Korean football kicked a can. Chung Mong-gyu (61), president of the Korea Football Association, challenged to become a member of the FIFA Council for a four-year term until 2027, but failed.
In theory, it was an easy election. I only wanted to be in the top 5 of the 7 candidates, but the result was 6th. It received 19 out of 45 votes from 46 member states. It was a defeat, one vote ahead of Dujaokai (China, 18 votes).
Looking at the face of the candidates, it was not an easy election. Sheikh Ahmad Khalifa Al Thani (Qatar) was first with 40 votes. This is an understandable result, considering that it successfully held the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with ‘oil money’ and powerfully brought the right to host the 2023 Asian Cup, which China had given up.
Kozo Kelp, head of the Japan Football Association, received 39 votes. The seaweed, which showed off its close friendship with Chairman Chung, was a landslide victory in the diplomatic battle. Yasser Almisehal (Saudi Arabia)’s 35 votes equals the power of the 2027 Asian Cup bid. Mariano V. Areneta Jr. (Philippines, 34 votes) and Datuk Haji Hamiddin bin Haji Mohd (Malaysia, 30 votes) made it known that ASEAN’s power is formidable.
A high-ranking official from the Football Association responded with regret, saying, “The president usually had an innovative image within the AFC. It seems that there was an effect of friction with the AFC leading group forces.”
In fact, there were plenty of opportunities for Chairman Chung to make up for it in the election campaign. The AFC Executive Committee did that in October last year. At that time, Korea was completely defeated by Qatar in the bid for the Asian Cup. There was a clear lesson in confirming that the strength of the AFC’s power was in the Middle East. There was no power to suppress Qatar’s oil money, which had promised three times more subsidy than Korea. The justification and legitimacy of the attraction has long since collapsed in front of economic logic, but it has only been humiliated while carrying out emotional diplomacy.
Above all, information circulated within the AFC at the time that some of the existing council members would not participate in this election due to the political dynamics. Frapul Patel, president of the Indian Football Association (AIFF), said last year that AIFF was suspended from qualification following FIFA’s ‘unfair third party intervention’, and its position in the AFC was greatly reduced. This is because FIFA protested against the Indian Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss Patel, president of the Indian Football Association, who hosted the U-17 Women’s World Cup. In fact, Patel failed to run.
In the case of the chairman of the kelp, it was observed that he would serve as the chairman of the Japan Football Association for two more years, and this time he would not step forward. China lost public sentiment by returning the Asian Cup, and there were signs of some sponsors leaving. There was a good enough chance in that there was a power vacuum to replace India.
However, traffic was not controlled. Japan has not spared continuous investment in major Southeast Asian countries under the kelp chairman system. Leaders were steadily sent to Myanmar and the Philippines. Park Hang-seo of Vietnam, Kim Pan-gon of Malaysia, and Shin Tae-yong of Indonesia took on individual challenges, but they attacked from the grassroots. Even with administrative support, Japan was recognized as an administrative leader in the ASEAN region. Needless to say, attracting sponsors for major competitions.
Even if the oil money of Qatar and Saudi Arabia is understandable, it was more painful to be pushed back by the coalition of the Philippine and Malaysian powers. Areneta Jr. of the Philippines represented ASEAN for a second term. He absolutely took advantage of the religious solidarity between parts of ASEAN and the Middle East. It was also profitable to actively approach India and rally neighboring countries.
Bin Haji Mohd is known to have received full support from the King of Malaysia. In particular, Crown Prince Tungu Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, the owner of Johor Darul Takjim, who has recently emerged as the best team in Malaysia, has come forward to fight the Middle East. He blocked rumors of the relocation of the AFC headquarters to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) early on and led the plan to build the FIFA-AFC Stadium. The Malaysian Football Association is also said to have continued frequent exchanges with the AFC executive, such as friendly soccer. 카지노사이트
A footballer familiar with the AFC situation said, “Four years ago, Chairman Chung was pushed by Mongolian Gantator Amgalanbaatar and fell out of the AFC vice-presidentship. Considering the fact that he was unable to produce a member of the council, the power vacuum in Korea was really large. The Middle East It should have made strategic moves, such as holding on to it or increasing contact with ASEAN, but it did not happen at all. This failure is a prime example of a lack of consistency,” he pointed out.
Chairman Chung did not have content to target Asia. It was necessary to show off Korea’s commercial ability by inducing other domestic conglomerates to enter major AFC competitions as sponsors, or to plant the DNA of Korean soccer by dispatching leaders to developing countries like Japan, etc., but there was nothing in hand. . Just by going to the websites of the Korea Football Association and the Japan Football Association, you can see a stark difference in what policies are being implemented toward Asia.