“I will be the president who strives for the development of the future of college football.”
Park Han-dong, CEO of Moez Korea, has been elected as the new head of the Korea University Football Association. The Korea University Football Association held an election to become the 13th president of the Korea University Football Association at the Seoul Football Center on Tuesday. Park received 37 out of 72 valid votes. He defeated Byun Seok-hwa, current president of the Korea University Football Association, by just two votes to become the new president. Park will lead the university soccer for four years from January 9, 2025.
Park is an entrepreneur who used to be an elite soccer player. He played in Myeongji University, Pohang Steelers, and Korea Korail. He participated in the AFC U-20 Youth Championship in September 1994. Since retiring as an active player due to an injury in 2002, he has been running a business bond.
He challenged himself to become the president of the Korea University Football Association for the first time. In an interview with Sports Chosun earlier, Park said, “I thought a lot (about running for the presidency). I don’t think much has changed compared to when I was a college football player. I thought a change was needed, so I thought a lot about it. My goal in life is to give back more than I have received in the world. I will give everything I have for the development of college football. I will boldly put down my vested interests and privileges and make a college football that we all make together.” In order for college football to increase its financial independence, it requires external investment and government support. In order to receive investment from companies and individuals, it is essential to make college football an attractive product. We will create a ground where everyone comes in and out, beyond players, leaders, parents. We can and can change,” he pledged.
The result of the vote was a close race as expected. Out of 80 electors, 72 voted. It was a close race. In the result of the vote, Park received 37 votes. Immediately after the election, Park said through Sports Chosun, “I am so grateful to all university football officials. I thank all the players, executives, and supporters who supported me. Chairman Byun Seok-hwa has done a lot of hard work. Thank you so much. I think I received a lot of burden from everyone who supported me. I will continue to communicate with them and lead them,” he said.
Ahead of the upcoming election, Park pledged ▶ improvement of the U-22 (U-22) system and establishment of a platform ▶ expansion of college football players into professional leagues and support for employment ▶ operation of leadership education and support programs ▶ operation of open and horizontal federations. He also claimed improvement of the U-League system and victory of the International University Sports Federation’s university World Cup soccer tournament during his term in office through Sports Chosun.
“[The pledge] is something that I realized during the 25 years of college football. I will change that and make efforts for the players. I will become the chairman who makes great efforts for the development of the future of college football,” he said right after winning the election. President-elect Park has a lot of challenges to tackle in college football. Prospects for college football do not continue to go through college football, but rather immediately enter the professional arena. The title of prestigious college football player no longer guarantees their life after retirement. 안전놀이터
Since his inauguration in 2002, Byun Seok-hwa has displayed leadership as the head of university football for more than 20 years. He is considered the “Godfather” of university soccer. However, he failed to enter the seventh term unfortunately. Byun formed a relationship with the Korea Federation of University Football as a sponsor of the event in 2000. In 2002, he replaced Yoo Byung-jin as the head of the federation. He was reappointed as the president in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2017, and 2020. While serving as the president of the Korea Federation of University Football, he also served as the chairman of the Asian University Football Federation. Analysts say that he has expanded the base of Korean university soccer. In addition, the regular soccer match between Korea and Japan was expanded to the first and second grade championships. He has elevated the status of Korean university soccer through diplomacy on the international stage.