Lee Geun-ho, 39, the South Korean striker who won the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with a thunderous mid-range goal, is making a “soccer impact for good” 10 years later as the organizer of the 2024 Seoul Homeless World Cup. He hopes the tournament will give homeless athletes, who wear the Korean flag on their chests, the confidence to overcome the challenges of everyday life.
Connecting with social themes, 카지노사이트 추천 football can do it
Lee’s job is to publicize the tournament and encourage the players. “I’ve been doing interviews and appearing in promotional videos, just like now,” he said on the 26th at Hanyang University’s Seoul campus in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. My soccer connections also help the tournament,” he said. ”I’m seeing the effect of connecting everyone’s favorite sport with heavy social topics to make them more accessible. It’s all possible because of soccer.”
Since retiring as a player last year, Lee has been busy serving as the president of the Korea Professional Football Players Association, an independent board member of the Korea Football Association, and a soccer broadcast commentator. His passion and drive were recognized by Han Jun-hee, the vice president of the Korea Football Association, who added the title of “chairman” in April. The Homeless World Cup, which has been held every year (except during COVID-19) since 2003 in Graz, Austria, was held in Seoul for the first time in Asia on Nov. 21.
The South Korean team is made up of three young people preparing for independence, three young people living in social welfare, one person with intellectual disabilities, and one asylum seeker. His experience playing for the national team is a strong motivator for the players. Lee’s fast pace and high workload led him to score 19 goals in 84 A-match appearances. He made his K-League debut in 2004 and went on to play across the Korean, Japanese, and Qatari leagues. “I hope they can experience the spirit of sacrifice, teamwork, self-confidence, and the joy of achieving goals through soccer,” he said as he reflected on his playing days.
Preparation for the tournament wasn’t all smooth sailing. The organizers were late in forming the committee and had trouble getting sponsorship. In response, singer Lim Young-woong’s fan club stepped up to the plate. Lee said, “It was a competition that required corporate sponsorship and government interest, but the process was more difficult than expected. I apologize for not being able to help. We are in desperate need of financial support.”
Need for corporate and government interest
When the tournament ends with the closing ceremony on the 28th, Lee will return to the soccer field. “After I finished my professional career, I looked for places that needed help rather than taking coaching classes right away. There is nothing so easy that I think soccer is the easiest (laughs),” he said. “I will think about when to return to the field when I finish my coaching certification course next month.”
