SEOUL– The age limit in men’s football at the postponed Asian Games will be raised by one year, officials here said Friday, keeping the doors open for players who otherwise wouldn’t have been eligible in 2023.
According to the Korea Football Association (KFA) and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) on Friday, the organizing committee for the Hangzhou Asian Games recently decided to allow players at 24 years old and under to play in the men’s football tournament.
Men’s football at Asian Games is typically limited to players under 23, save for three over-age players per each nation. However, after the Asian Games were pushed back by one year to this September due to lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, the organizers decided to raise the age limit by one year too.
If the competition had been held on schedule last year, players born on Jan. 1, 1999, or after would have been eligible. With Hangzhou’s decision, those 1999 births will remain eligible.
Organizers of the Tokyo Summer Olympics took the same step, after their competition was postponed from 2020 to 2021. Olympic men’s football tournaments are usually reserved for U-23 players too.
Coached by Hwang Sun-hong, South Korea will try to win their third straight Asian Games gold medal in Hangzhou, and will stand to benefit from this rule change, given their strong talent pool among the 1999 births.
Members of the runner-up team from the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup will likely form the core of the Asian Games squad, including Ulsan Hyundai FC midfielder Um Won-sang and Gimcheon Sangmu FC forward Cho Young-wook, along with a pair of Europe-based players in SC Freiburg forward Jeong Woo-yeong and KAA Gent midfielder Hong Hyun-seok.
The Asian Games entry has also expanded from 20 players in 2018 to 22 players. Teams can make up to five substitutions, up from three.
Source: Yonhap News Agency