The official opening of the Korea Football Association's 'Korea Football Park'... Korean Football Opens in Cheonan Era

*This content was translated by AI.

Korea Football Park, which will be a new growth engine for Korean soccer, held an official opening ceremony to mark the beginning of the Cheonan era.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) held an opening ceremony at 2 p.m. on the 7th at an indoor soccer field in Korea Football Park, Ipjang-myeon, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, with people from all walks of life attending.

Major Korean officials, including Chung Mong-kyu, president of the Korea Football Association, Kim Dae-hyun, the second vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, Kim Tae-heum, the governor of Chungcheongnam-do, and the president of the Yoo Seung Min, and officials from FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) attended the event to shine. In particular, a large number of 2002 World Cup heroes, including Hong Myung-bo, the men's national team coach, Kim Byung-ji, the representative of Gangwon FC, Lee Dong-guk, the technical director of Yongin FC, Seol Ki-hyun, Song Jong-guk, and Lee Chun-soo, attended the scene, which will be a new milestone for Korean soccer. In addition, former national soccer team coach Lee Ho-taek, president of the Korea Football Foundation Kim Ho-gon, president of the Korea OB Football Association Cho Young-hwa, former Ulsan Hyundai coach Kim Do-hoon and Jeju Youth Advisor Koo Ja-cheol attended.

"Korea Football Park is the fruit of building infrastructure that will lead to the leap forward of Korean soccer," Chairman Chung Mong-kyu said in a commemorative speech. "It will be an educational site that fosters soccer players in each field, including leaders, referees, and players, and a multi-platform for soccer exchanges across the community beyond the training facilities of national team players." FIFA President Infantino also congratulated Korean soccer in a video congratulatory speech, saying, "It has shown an exemplary example that leads to development through investment."

Korea Football Park, co-founded by Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do and the Korea Football Association, is a mammoth sports complex with a total area of about 145,000 pyeong and a construction cost of about 400 billion won. Since the site was selected in 2019, it has been preparing to operate the facility in stages, including the relocation of the association's headquarters last year and the implementation of national team training after construction in 2022.

In the complex, a total of 11 soccer fields were created, including a stadium where international competitions could be held, and an indoor soccer field, seven natural grasses and five artificial grasses. In addition, state-of-the-art training support facilities such as an accommodation building with 82 rooms, an underwater treatment room, a sauna, and a high performance center are complete. In the future, a sports center with a swimming pool and basketball court in the complex will open this summer, and the Football History Museum will be completed in 2028.

The association plans to operate Korea Football Park under three core values: landmark (enhancing national team competitiveness), campus (professional education), and playground (communication between fans and communities). It plans to utilize the geographical advantage, which can be accessed within two hours from anywhere in the country, as a multi-purpose base for training national teams, as well as youth competitions, leaders and referee seminars.

Meanwhile, the Korea Football Park U-18 Champions Cup final match between FC Seoul U-18 (Osan High School) and Jeonbuk Hyundai U-18 (Yeongsaeng High School) was held to commemorate the opening.

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*This content was translated by AI.