[New Year's Message] Chung Mong-gyu, President of the Football Association, "The Paradigm of Football Administration Will Change"

Chung Mong-gyu, President of the Korea Football Association
Photo by Korea Football Association

I wish all football families and football fans a healthy and happy year.

Last year, Korean football achieved valuable results, including the first-ever runner-up finish at the FIFA U-20 World Cup and winning the EAFF E-1 Championship three consecutive times.

The U-20 national team surpassed the 1983 semi-final legend and set a great achievement as the best-ever result in FIFA men's tournaments. Lee Kang-in, the youngest member of the team, was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP). The men's national team defeated their rival Japan in the E-1 Championship held last December, achieving three consecutive championships.

This year, the Taegeuk Warriors will run to bring joy and vitality to the entire nation.

First, the men's and women's Olympic teams will enter the fierce competition to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics finals. The U-23 team, led by coach Kim Hak-bum, aims for their ninth consecutive Olympic finals appearance through the AFC U-23 Championship held in Thailand in January. The women's national team, rejuvenated under new coach Colin Bell, will challenge for their first-ever Olympic finals qualification in the final qualifiers held in Jeju in February.

Additionally, the men's national team, which started the long journey of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, will compete in both the combined qualifiers and the final qualifiers, and we also look forward to the Taegeuk Ladies' performance in the U-20 Women's World Cup. To ensure the success of the national teams, all executives and staff of the Korea Football Association, including myself, will prepare meticulously without any negligence.

Football fans, 2020 will be a year of paradigm shift in Korean football administration.

Since I took office in 2013, the Korea Football Association has made every effort for football integration, public consensus, and building assets for Korean football. There have been some achievements along the way, such as integrating grassroots football, holding public policy proposal meetings, and selecting candidate sites for the Football Comprehensive Center. Now is the time to take a step further based on these achievements.

Therefore, we have set the new policy direction of the Football Association as "MOVING FORWARD" without fear.

Based on the solid foundation we have built, we will pursue change and innovation and move forward fearlessly to develop Korean football. To this end, various effective policies will be implemented in earnest.

First, the K3 League and K4 League, which will be the backbone of the Korean football division system, will be newly launched. The K3 and K4 Leagues, which include existing National League and K3 League teams as well as new teams, are expected to have fierce competition through their own promotion and relegation system. The K5, K6, and K7 Leagues, which were launched sequentially over the past three years, will also implement full promotion and relegation. The Football Association will implement a comprehensive promotion and relegation system from the first division to the seventh division to create a foundation where "Korea's Jamie Vardy" can emerge.

We have also established new systems to nurture world-class referees and coaches. Starting this year, the Football Association will directly assign referees for the K League. Previously, there was some confusion due to the dual management of referees by the Professional Football League and the Football Association, but from now on, the Football Association will strictly and meticulously manage all areas including selection, education, assignment, and evaluation of referees. Efforts to strengthen youth coaches' capabilities will continue to establish the 8-a-side format that will change the future of Korean football.

Investment in women's football, a hot topic in the global football community, will also be expanded. Having laid the foundation last year by securing the first main partner for women's football, we will pursue substantial changes from this year. We will increase the competitiveness of the women's national team by creating regular A matches during the women's A match weeks. Additionally, long-term development programs such as establishing a women's football coach training course will be implemented to expand the base of women's football.

Attempts to establish a foundation for sustainable growth will continue. We will secure resources to realize various football policies through integrated broadcasting rights contracts, expansion of new businesses linked to partners, and increasing partners. We will also diversify publicity strategies and promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs to continuously communicate with football fans. Furthermore, we will proceed smoothly with the construction of the Football Comprehensive Center, whose final candidate site has been confirmed in Cheonan.

Football family, efforts to take a step forward are impossible without bone-cutting effort and a spirit of sacrifice. The Football Association has overcome crises and moved forward thanks to the dedication and passion of its members at every crisis. I will take the lead in sacrificing and dedicating myself for the innovation of the Football Association.

We must all strive to make the "spring of football," brought by the victory against Germany in the 2018 Russia World Cup and the gold medal at the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, not a short spring day but a future full of brilliant glory. I hope this year will be one of moving forward fearlessly with pride and a sense of mission.

To all football families and football fans, Happy New Year.

Jung Mong-gyu, President of the Korea Football Association

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.