South Korean football legend Cha Bum-kun said on Monday he is ready to devote himself to the country's successful hosting of the FIFA U-20 World Cup next year.
Cha was named the deputy chief of the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup Organizing Committee last Friday and officially started his work at the organizing committee's signboard unveiling ceremony in Seoul on Monday. This is the first administrative job for the 62-year-old, who has had a successful career as a player, a coach and a television analyst.
After ending his playing career in 1989, Cha, who scored 98 goals in 308 German Bundesliga matches, coached domestic professional football clubs and the South Korean national team at the 1998 World Cup. He has also starred as a football commentator.
Cha said he had been refusing to take the job at the organizing committee, but consistent requests from the committee chief Chung Mong-gyu, also president of the Korea Football Association, encouraged him to change his mind.
"It became difficult for me to turn down the offer over and over again," Cha said. "I always have a mindset to devote myself to football and I thought it was about time to make meaningful movements."
Cha, father of retired South Korean international Cha Du-ri, said that he doesn't know exactly what his role is going to be at the organizing committee at this moment, but will take on whatever job he is given to successfully host the U-20 World Cup.
"I think my appointment to the committee job has more of a symbolic meaning," he said. "I will not hesitate to help the committee's work."
Cha, who has been also leading a youth football academy under his name, said that the U-20 World Cup will serve as a great opportunity for young footballers to develop their talent. He emphasized that South Korea's result at the tournament will have a big impact on the development of country's football.
"Hosting this kind of major event gives a big advantage for South Korean football," he said. "If South Korea collect good results at the World Cup, people will pay more attention to football and it will provide positive influence for young footballers. I hope they collect better results than South Korea's semifinal run at the 2002 World Cup."
When asked whether he would manage teams again, Cha said there will no coaching for the rest of his life. Cha's last coaching experience dates back to 2010 when he led the K League Classic side Suwon Samsung Bluewings.
"Even before going to the Bundesliga, I thought my responsibility for South Korean football was to foster young footballers," he added.
The U-20 World Cup will be played from May 20 to June 11, 2017, in Cheonan, Daejeon, Incheon, Jeju, Jeonju and Suwon. The draw of the tournament is slated for March 11, 2017. The U-20 World Cup features 24 nations.
South Korea is the third country, along with Mexico and Japan, to have hosted all major FIFA men's tournaments, with the 2001 Confederations Cup, the 2002 World Cup and the 2007 U-17 World Cup. (Yonhap)
