my timesThe Korea Times

Sungshin footballers win friendly

Listen
  • Published KST
  • Updated KST

By Alexander Ahn

Sungshin Women’s University football club, VERONICA, played a friendly football match Saturday against military personnel of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command (CFC) to promote friendship.

Sungshin’s VERONICA beat the Combined Forces Command team, made up of soldiers from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, 4:3 after a rough start at the Collier Field Stadium in the U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan. The Most Valuable Player award was given to Sungshin student, Park Min-ji.

“It was difficult for us to adapt early on at the Collier field, so we struggled through the first half of the game. But in any case, the friendly match was played with respect from the military personnel team. So, even though we ended up winning, we were able to place more significance on the memorable time spent with the ROK-US Combined Forces Command soldiers than on the match results” said VERONICA member Hyun Yi-kyung.

The event coincided with Korea’s Veterans Month, where Koreans show their support and respect for their country’s veterans and patriots. The importance of the ROK-US alliance and role in Korea, both in regards to the past and the present, was highlighted for the students who participated in the event.

Combined Forces Command Corporal Hong Seok-won, who participated in the friendly match, said, “The Sungshin VERONICA team was more active and aggressive than I had anticipated, and their competitive spirit was surprisingly strong. It was fun to take part in such an event which is normally difficult for military service members to have the chance to experience. I think it’d be great if we could offer these sorts of events more often for our junior soldiers.”

The Sungshin VERONICA club was founded in 2009, and currently consists of 35 student members. It won first place in the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s first National University Sports Club Women’s Football Tournament in 2009, and also placed third in the 11th National Women’s Soccer Tournament Athletics in 2011, solidifying its strong amateur team status.