The 11-member delegation were in Doha as part of the inter-governmental youth exchange programme between the governments of South Korea and Qatar.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar will unite the Middle East just as South Korea became one in 2002 while co-hosting the only previous tournament held in Asia.
That was the view of the Lee Byong-Hwa, the head of a South Korean youth delegation visiting the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) last week.
The 11-member delegation were briefed at length about the progress of ongoing preparations for the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East as part of the inter-governmental youth exchange programme between the governments of South Korea and Qatar.
Seoul-based Lee, 43, reminisced about the only previous tournament hosted in Asia, reflecting on the lasting legacy left behind by the FIFA World Cup 2002.
He told www.sc.qa: “I was working as an airport immigration officer in 2002 and had to do long shifts during the time of the World Cup, therefore I was unable to watch any live football from the stadium,” said Lee, currently a deputy director at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
“However, I vividly remember how the event united the country. Public places were opened up for supporters to unite and cheer the national team and our support carried the national team to great heights.”
“Of course we had a wonderful coach in Guus Hiddink but without public support we would not have progressed to the semi-final. The World Cup is an enormous event and should the Qatar national team progress to the round of 16 it will become even bigger from the point of view of legacy. Football in Qatar is going to get a massive boost if this happens along the lines of the sport’s surge in popularity in Korea post 2002.”
South Korea and Japan co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the national teams of both host nations progressed out of the group stages. Japan lost to Turkey in the round of 16 while South Korea shocked giants Italy in the same stage and Spain in the quarter-finals, only to lose to Germany in the semi-finals.
Sixteen-year-old Kwon Jun-ho, a member of the delegation, was thrilled to learn about the preparations and progress Qatar has made to date, saying: “I am so excited to be here because there are two members of the South Korean national team playing in the Qatar Stars League currently -- Nam Tae-hee [Lekhwiya] and Han Kook-young [Qatar SC]. Qatar is becoming an important football destination.”
The delegation’s youth leader Song Jin-sil said she was excited to visit Qatar and learn about the progress made in the ongoing preparations to stage the biggest sporting event on earth.
She promised: “We’ll brief people in Korea about the enormously enthusiastic people here who are systematically preparing for the tournament,” said 24-year-old Song. “We’ll tell our fellow Koreans that Qatar is a great place to be in and that Doha will throb with excitement in 2022. We’ll all be here to cheer our national team in 2022.” (SC.qa)
Sports / Sport
Second Asian World Cup will unite and inspire, say members of South Korean delegation
