ULSAN < invest Korea

According to Yonhap News,

(SEOUL=Yonhap News) With South Korea hosting the world's premier youth football competition in two years' time, candidate cities presented their cases on Thursday to serve as tournament venues.

South Korea will stage the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup across six cities. Nine candidate cities had an opportunity to push their case for the inclusion before national football officials on Thursday.

Metropolitan cities of Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon and Ulsan, and provincial cities Suwon, Cheonan, Jeonju, Pohang and Seogwipo are vying for six spots in the rotation. The Korea Football Association (KFA) will inspect those candidates before FIFA makes its visits in September. The six host cities will be determined on Sept. 22.

Of those nine cities, all but Cheonan and Pohang hosted matches during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan.

All candidates boast their strong infrastructure and local support for the sport.

Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, some 45 kilometers south of Seoul, is home to the popular professional club Suwon Samsung Bluewings. Mayor Yeom Tae-young said Suwon is "the Korean capital of football."

"We don't just want to serve as a venue; we'd like to be the central location for the entire tournament," Yeom said. "The organizing committee and the international broadcasting center should all be located in Suwon."

South Korea so far has hosted the senior World Cup, the U-17 World Cup and the Confederations Cup, all major FIFA competitions. Yeom pointed out that Suwon is the only South Korean city to have staged a match in all three, and would like to add another tournament to its resume.

Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul, is home to the defending South Korean league champ Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Mayor Kim Seung-su said Jeonbuk's football "is already a part of our people's lives."

Ulsan and Pohang, both in the Gyeongsang region in the southeastern part of the country, are cities with football traditions. Ulsan has sleek Munsu Football Stadium that has held six matches during international tournaments. Pohang Steel Yard, home of the Pohang Steelers, opened in 1990 as the nation's first football-specific stadium.

Seoul has the 66,000-seat Seoul World Cup Stadium in the northwestern part of the city.

Chung Mong-gyu, president of the KFA, said South Korea is ready to welcome the football world once again.

"This competition will make its mark in South Korean football history," he said. "I ask you to help build up excitement for the sport to match the fever from 2002 (during the World Cup)."

jeeho@yna.co.kr

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