“I hope it will spur me on to become a bigger player. “
The 2023 GROUND.N K League Youth Championship, a midsummer football tournament featuring all the top players in the K League, is in full swing. The high school competition, the K League U-18&17 Championship, has been held in Cheonan since last year. 바카라사이트
“We sincerely welcome the second edition of the K League Youth Championship,” said Cheonan Mayor Park Sang-don. “Cheonan is the best city to host the K League Youth Championship because it has the right infrastructure and facilities for football competitions. It has a sufficient number of stadiums, training facilities and spectator stands for football matches.”
The K-League Youth Championship is a competition for youth clubs affiliated with all K-League clubs. It started in 2015 and is now in its ninth year. The championship has produced many promising K League players over the years. From Um Ji-sung (Gwangju), who won the K League 2 Young Player Award last year, to Ko Young-joon (Pohang) and Lee Tae-seok (Seoul), they all came from this competition.
Cheonan City FC also took up the challenge of K League 2 this season. In addition, the U-18 team (Cheonan Industrial High School) participated in the tournament as a new team. Shin Shin-son, a former top goalkeeper in the K League, was appointed as the goalkeeping coach. Mayor Park said, “This year, Cheonan City FC is writing a new football history by entering the official professional stage and the youth team’s first appearance in the U-18 competition. This is a promising step for Cheonan, and it is expected that the youth players who will lead Korean football will showcase high-level performances,” said Park.
“The Youth Championship is an important competition for the future of Korean football, giving promising secondary and high school players the opportunity to develop as professional players and discovering talented youngsters who will lead the future of football. We will strive to make a significant contribution to the improvement of not only the K League but also the players’ performance through successful player development.”
Cheonan is striving to establish itself as a football city. Mayor Park said, “Cheonan supports various sports tournaments such as football tournaments every year, and in addition to the completion of the Cheonan Bandibi Gymnasium and the Seonggeo Ipjang Multipurpose Gymnasium, in 2025, the 130,000-pyeong Korea Football Comprehensive Centre will be completed in Gasan-ri, Ipsan-myeon. In addition, in 2027, the Football History Museum will be built, which will compile 140 years of Korean football history.” “We will lead the future of Korean football with the Football General Centre, which has world-class national training facilities, to establish ourselves as a football city.”
Finally, he also had a word for the youth players of the K League. “I applaud their enthusiasm and efforts to do their best. I hope that all the players competing in this tournament will not shed their sweat in vain and will become a driving force to grow into bigger players. We will support them to take Korean football to the next level and grow into great players on the world stage.” kkang@sportsseoul.com