Nat'l football federation accepting applications for caretaker boss for men's squad

The logo of the Korea Football Association is seen at Korea Football Park, where the association is based, in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, June 29. Yonhap

The national football governing body began accepting applications for the vacant men's national team head coaching position Thursday.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said the deadline to submit applications is 5 p.m. Aug. 9, South Korean time, and added it will only accept email submissions at recruit@kfa.or.kr.

Following a board of directors meeting last Friday, the KFA announced it would hire a temporary head coach and his staff through an open recruitment process. The new staff will be in charge for the next two FIFA international match windows, from Sept. 21 to Oct. 6, and then from Nov. 9 to 17. Teams will each be allowed to play a maximum four matches in the first window and two more in the second. The new staff's contract will run through Nov. 27.

The KFA said it will try to finalize the process before the end of August.

According to the KFA, applications must be submitted as a unit, consisting of five to seven members.

South Korean nationals applying for the head job must have a Pro License as issued by the Asian Football Confederation, plus a Class 2 Professional Sports Instructor Certificate. Foreign nationals only need a Pro License from their continental governing body.

The KFA said a minimum of two finalist teams will advance to the final interview phase, scheduled for Aug. 20 and 21. It said application evaluation and interviews will be conducted by its selection committee, which will be made up of experts in coaching, national team operations and other related areas.

The KFA said it has previously hired head coaches for the men's under-20 and under-23 national teams through an open process, but it has never done so with the senior national squad.

"With an understanding that there are concerns about taking this step for the senior team, we will try to identify pros and cons about the process," the KFA said.

The top men's head coaching position has been vacant since late June, when Hong Myung-bo resigned to take the fall for South Korea's elimination from the group stage at the FIFA World Cup.