More summer chaos in Korea

Coupang's promotional poster for the exhibition match between Manchester City and Atletico Madrid / Courtesy of Coupang

By John Duerden

What is going on with regard to South Korea and summer tours by European teams? There has been a debate for years as to the impact of big clubs from the big leagues visiting Asian cities and charging lots of money to locals to watch them.

There are people who think it is the worst kind of arrogance and disrespect to the local leagues and there are those who claim that such tours can actually help the domestic scene. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle: they are usually forgettable for all but diehard supporters and if they didn't happen at all, few would notice. But if they are going to happen, they should happen in a professional manner.

This was shaping up to be a busy summer in the Land of the Morning Calm. Napoli, Real Mallorca and Wolverhampton Wanderers (who all have Korean players ― Kim Min-jae, Lee Kang-in and Hwang Hee-chan respectively) were all ready to go and try to grow their newfound fan bases in East Asia.

None of those are coming now as the games have been canceled. First, it was Mallorca and Napoli that were scheduled to play each other twice in June. The second game was called off as it clashed with existing games in the domestic league. Then, the Korea Football Association asked the promoters for a deposit, around $600,000, to prove that the necessary funds actually existed. A contract also had to be signed that would promise compensation if certain star players (presumably Lee and Kim) did not show.

This is a response to the saga of 2019. Then, Italian giant Juventus came to Seoul. The 66,000 capacity of the World Cup Stadium was a sell-out, largely on the back of the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo, whose image was used extensively in promoting the game. Yet the Portuguese megastar sat on the bench for the full 90 minutes. Lawsuits from disgruntled fans ensued.

So that game never happened. Never mind as there was to be a four-team tournament featuring Incheon United, Scottish champion Celtic (with Oh Hyeong-gyu), AS Roma and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Yet the English Premier League and Italian teams are not coming. Wolves said in a statement last Thursday that financial and logistical obligations from the promoters had not been met: i.e. ― the promised money had not been forthcoming. The promoters confirmed on Friday that Wolves and Roma were not coming.

Naturally, there is some dispute between the two parties as to what should have happened and what did happen but the important point is that there will be no games. It has descended into a farce and whatever one thinks of these visits, these cancellations and charges of promises not being kept do not do the international image of soccer in South Korea much good.

At the moment, the July clash between European champion Manchester City and Atletico Madrid is still on but given recent events, fans will be well-advised to keep checking. And in the future, if the people organizing such events don't have the funds ready then they should not get involved.