SEOUL– South Korea on Friday asked China and Japan for support in its bid to host the top continental football tournament in 2023.
Park Bo-gyoon, South Korea’s minister of culture, sports and tourism, made that request during a virtual meeting with his two regional counterparts: Hu Heping, the Chinese minister of culture and tourism, and Keiko Nagaoka, Japan’s minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology.
South Korea is trying to stage the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup next year. The country last hosted the quadrennial competition in 1960, the tournament’s second edition.
“If we host the AFC Asian Cup, it will broaden the horizons of the tourism industry in Northeast Asia, through an elaborate integration of sports and culture,” Park told the Chinese and Japanese ministers.
South Korea is up against three countries: Australia, which hosted the 2015 tournament; Qatar, the defending Asian Cup champs and the host of the upcoming FIFA World Cup; and Indonesia, which co-hosted the 2007 competition with Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Candidates must submit their bid books by the end of August. The AFC will later visit the four countries for bid inspection, and the host will be announced at the AFC’s executive committee meeting in October.
Earlier Friday, Cho Yong-man, vice sports minister, met with representatives from the Korea Football Association (KFA), the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) and candidate host cities of the Asian Cup. They reviewed the country’s bidding process so far and discussed ways in which the sports ministry can support the KFA and regional authorities in their preparation for the AFC’s inspection visit.
“To bring the Asian Cup here for the first time in 63 years, it’s important to establish a systematic cooperative network between the KFA, local authorities and the government,” Cho said. “We will do our best to provide our support.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency