S. Korean football body listens to fans' views on nat'l team development

All News 15:44 September 20, 2018

SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's football governing body on Thursday held a public hearing to listen to fans' opinions on ways to boost the competitiveness of the men's national team.

The meeting organized by the Korea Football Association (KFA) was attended by KFA General Secretary Hong Myung-bo, KFA national team coach appointment committee chief Kim Pan-gon and some 100 fans who had proposed their ideas through the KFA website.

"South Korea didn't make to the round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup in Russia, but they beat Germany and recently earned a gold medal at the Asian Games to re-gain popularity," Hong said ahead at the hearing at Seoul Trade Exhibition Center.

"However, there were times that we were criticized. In order to put our football on the right track, we will listen carefully to your thoughts," Hong said.

South Korean football fans touched on various subjects, from the coaching system to national team operations.

"In Europe, a performance analyst is a member of coaching staff, not supporting staff," said Bae Tae-han who previously worked as a performance analyst at West Ham United. "I hope the KFA can strengthen the education program for performance analysis and use good data from Europe."

Kim Pil-jung, who introduced himself as a sports psychology doctor, said the national team should hire a mental skills coach.

"If there's a financial impediment to hiring these coaches, I think we should also use outsourcing," he said.

A football fan named Kim Ji-hong said the KFA should have patience with national team coaches, saying coaching changes are too frequent.

"Since Guus Hiddink, we've rarely seen a foreign coach who stayed with the national team about three years," he said. "For now, I hope we can trust Bento and wait for him to make his team, so that we can earn good results four years from now."

Others suggested that South Korea should play friendly matches against football powerhouses in Europe and Africa, and proposed that the senior national team should test promising prospects, like Lee Kang-in of Valencia and Jeong Woo-young of Bayern Munich.

The KFA said it will have three more hearings before end of this year and will reflect fans' ideas in its long-term plan for the national football, which is scheduled to be unveiled in January 2019.