"In Peak Condition"... Hong Myungbo's Squad Heads to the Battlefield on a Chartered Flight

KFA Plans Charter Flight to Guadalajara
Expanded World Cup Support to Minimize Team Fatigue
Final Roster Announcement on May 16; First Group Departs on May 18

The Korean national soccer team, which is set to compete in the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, is expected to travel to their battleground, Guadalajara, Mexico, aboard a chartered flight supported by the Korea Football Association (KFA). This measure is intended to minimize fatigue from long-distance travel and enhance the players’ condition. The association is also focusing on supporting the team by taking the high-altitude match environment into account. With FIFA significantly increasing its financial support for participating countries, the team led by Hong Myung-bo has secured at least 18.5 billion won in revenue simply by qualifying for the finals.

According to the association on May 8, the plan is for the national team to use a chartered flight when traveling from Salt Lake City, Utah, where their pre-tournament training camp will be held, to Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, where their World Cup base camp will be located during the tournament.

An association official stated, “We are pushing to use a chartered flight when moving from the base camp to Guadalajara,” adding, “We will make an official announcement once it is confirmed.”

The stadium in Guadalajara, where the team will play two group stage matches, is situated at a high altitude of 1,571 meters above sea level. The association is focusing on minimizing the burden of travel to ensure the players can perform at their best.

The distance from Salt Lake City International Airport to Guadalajara International Airport is about 2,400 kilometers, with a flight time of approximately five hours. While local commercial flights are available, using a chartered flight will reduce waiting times at the airport and simplify immigration procedures, which is expected to help the team maintain their condition.

The association will announce the final roster for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup at 4 p.m. on May 16 at the KT Gwanghwamun Building West Ohnmadang in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The roster announcement event will be held alongside a fan festival and will be broadcast live on the large media wall “KT Square” on the exterior of the KT Gwanghwamun Building. This is only the second time, since the 2018 Russia World Cup send-off event, that the Football Association is holding a large-scale event with fans at a public venue ahead of the World Cup. As this event will effectively serve as the send-off, there will be no separate send-off ceremony.

After the roster is finalized, the first group, including head coach Hong Myung-bo, coaching staff, and support staff, will depart for Salt Lake City, USA, the pre-camp location, on May 18. Overseas-based players will join the base camp directly on-site. The national team plans to stay locally for about two weeks to optimize player condition and build team cohesion. Two friendly matches are scheduled, including one against El Salvador. Afterwards, the team will travel to Guadalajara on June 5 aboard the chartered flight supported by the Football Association.

This is not the first time the association has supported chartered flights for Hong Myung-bo’s team. The national team used chartered flights when returning from an away match in Jordan in October 2024 and for travel between Kuwait and Palestine in November of the same year. In the previous year, chartered flights were also used for the round trip to Iraq in June and for the two-match A friendly series in the United States and Mexico in September, with the association’s support.

Placed in Group A of the group stage, Korea will play its first match against the Czech Republic in Guadalajara on June 12. The team will then play its second match at the same venue against Mexico on June 19, before moving to Monterrey for their third match against South Africa. During the World Cup, the national team will use chartered flights provided by FIFA and the tournament organizing committee.

FIFA has not only provided chartered flight support but has also significantly increased financial support for participating countries. By qualifying for the North and Central America World Cup finals, the team led by Hong Myung-bo has secured approximately 18.5 billion won.

According to foreign media, FIFA decided at last month’s council meeting to increase financial support for all participating countries by 15 percent. Although FIFA had already approved a record-high support plan in December last year, the decision to co-host the tournament for the first time ever in the United States, Canada, and Mexico led to an additional increase due to the increased travel burden on participating nations.

As a result, the tournament preparation grant for finalists has increased from 1.5 million dollars (about 2.2 billion won) to 2.5 million dollars (about 3.7 billion won). The minimum compensation for teams eliminated in the group stage has also been raised from 9 million dollars (about 13.3 billion won) to 10 million dollars (about 14.8 billion won).

Therefore, even if Korea is eliminated in the group stage, they are guaranteed at least 12.5 million dollars (about 18.5 billion won). FIFA has also decided to expand additional support funds for delegation operating expenses and ticket allocations to over 16 million dollars (about 23.6 billion won).

The prize money for winning this North and Central America World Cup is 50 million dollars (about 73.9 billion won), which is an increase of 8 million dollars compared to the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The runner-up will receive 33 million dollars (about 48.7 billion won), third place 29 million dollars (about 42.8 billion won), and fourth place 27 million dollars (about 39.9 billion won). Teams reaching the quarterfinals will receive 19 million dollars (about 28 billion won), those reaching the round of 16 will receive 15 million dollars (about 22.2 billion won), and teams advancing to the round of 32 will receive 11 million dollars (about 16.3 billion won).

During the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup, the Korea Football Association received about 17.2 billion won in prize money from FIFA. At that time, the association awarded each player a base bonus of 20 million won, a win bonus of 30 million won, a draw bonus of 10 million won, and a round of 16 qualification bonus of 100 million won. It is reported that about 56 percent of the total prize money was distributed to the national team.