Festival of Soccer Prospects '2023 Yeongdeok Football Festa' Thrives

The nationwide festival for promising soccer talents, the ‘2023 Yeongdeok Football Festa,’ successfully concluded from August 11 to 14 at Yeongdeok County Sports Complex and Ganggu Daegae Soccer Stadium.

'2023 Yeongdeok Football Festa'.

This tournament was hosted by Best Eleven, a soccer magazine with a 53-year history (CEO Park Jeong-seon), organized by the Yeongdeok County Football Association (President Ha Sang-mok) and Best Eleven, and supported by Yeongdeok County and the Yeongdeok County Sports Council.

This year’s Football Festa saw about 1,200 participants including players and their families, with 24 youth soccer club teams from across the country competing in a spirited and friendly competition. In the U-8 final held on the 13th at Ganggu Daegae Soccer Stadium, Chilgok FC won the championship by defeating Respect B team in a penalty shootout.

Following that, the U-12 final held on the 14th at Yeongdeok County Sports Complex saw Cheongju FCK defeat Haeoreum FC, and in the U-10 final, Haeoreum FC triumphed over Respect FC to claim the title.

Notably, the U-12 and U-10 finals were broadcast live on YouTube with professional commentary from Pohang MBC, enhancing the sense of presence and excitement. The recorded broadcast is scheduled to air on Pohang MBC at 3 PM on the 26th.

Additionally, Yeongdeok County and Best Eleven conducted the ‘2023 Rural Youth Advanced Soccer Experience Project,’ a program hosted by the Korea Football Association and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, providing young talents with opportunities to nurture their dreams and grow.

In this program, 150 youth from Yeongdeok County participated, receiving systematic guidance over three sessions from full-time instructors of the Korea Football Association and professional soccer coaches. Five outstanding players were finally selected to receive an overseas advanced soccer experience opportunity with the prestigious German club Bayern Munich, which recently signed national team player Kim Min-jae.

Moreover, from the 7th to the 8th of next month, the ‘Football Festa with Soccer Legends’ will be held, featuring charity matches, autograph events, and youth soccer clinics with Soccer Love Sharing FC (CEO Kim Ju-seong), composed of World Cup national team legends, and local soccer enthusiasts from Yeongdeok. The funds raised through this event will be donated to local youth and residents.

In this way, Yeongdeok County is developing the Yeongdeok Football Festa not just as a typical soccer tournament but as a new-concept soccer festival enjoyed by participating players, parents, and local residents alike. This fosters the development of soccer hopefuls, expands the soccer base, promotes the city as a sports and tourism hub, and aims to cultivate a soccer industry encompassing tourism, leisure, history, and culture in the region.

Yoon Sa-won, Director of the Facilities and Sports Business Office, commented, “By successfully concluding the 2023 Yeongdeok Football Festa, our county has further strengthened its status as a sports tourism city and a mecca for youth soccer.” He added, “We will continue to host nationwide soccer tournaments and festivals and discover soccer programs that anyone can participate in, striving to contribute to local sports and the economy.”

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