Amid the ongoing controversy over the Korea Football Association, FIFA President Gianni Infantino saw no problem.
Infantino arrived in Seoul on Friday to attend the Asian Football Confederation Annual Awards, which will take place at Kyung Hee University’s Hall of Peace at 8 p.m. on Saturday. On the same day, he visited a soccer center in Seoul’s Jongno district.
It is the first time in seven years that Infantino visited the soccer center after visiting Korea to observe the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup final.
During his visit, Infantino met with Chung Mong-gyu, president of the Korea Football Association, Kim Jeong-geun, vice chairman of the Korea Football Association, and Kim Kwang-guk, CEO of Ulsan HD. He also heard a briefing on the Korea Football Association’s general soccer center under construction in Cheonan.
FIFA promotes the development of soccer by associations through the FIFA Forward Program. The Korea Football Association is providing 6 million U.S. dollars to build a soccer center. 메이저사이트
In the meantime, Infantino also expressed his opinion on the Korea Football Association, which is under various suspicion. The Korea Football Association is mired in controversy over the process of appointing the men’s national team and the privatization of the association. Eventually, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism began an audit of the association, and was met with criticism through questioning on pending issues by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee and an audit by the state government. Under these circumstances, FIFA sent an official letter to ensure autonomy of soccer administration.
Infantino said of the Korea Football Association, “It is running very well,” adding, “FIFA values the autonomy of sports very much.” He also said, “The Korea Football Association is an exemplary organization that operates not only in East Asia but also in Asia and around the world,” adding, “It makes the right investments in men’s and women’s soccer, youth, and daily sports.”