On January 18, the Korea Football Association (Soccer Association) held a board meeting and decided to change the existing 2-judge system to a 1-judge system from 2023. It is a policy that changes the soccer environment of Korean soccer dreamers 180 degrees. It is an important matter for the future of Korean football. For this reason, a cautious approach is needed, a consensus among members must be formed, and above all, it must be a policy for children. However, the conflict began at the same time as the first trial system was implemented, and the controversy is growing as time goes by. There was a gap between the ideals of the Football Association and the reality of the field. In response, ‘My Daily’ covered in-depth the problems of the first trial system and the causes of conflict, and published a total of three series, including voices from the field, the position of the Football Association, and the veteran coach’s revelation. <Editor’s Note> ‘My Daily
‘ While covering the controversy over the 1st trial system in elementary school, we requested formal interviews with leaders from many fields. But the answer that came back was the same. ‘There are problems and complaints’, but the answer was that the interview could not be held. He did not change his mind even when asked for an ‘anonymous’ interview. It seems that the public expression of negative opinions about the policies implemented by the Football Association has acted as a burden.
Around the time I was about to give up, I was contacted by two elementary school leaders, who responded that they would be interviewed right away without a second thought. He said there was no need for ‘anonymous’. I didn’t have to look into anyone’s eyes. It is only for the future of children and their growth. ‘My Daily’ met the two leaders who showed courage.
One is a very famous person. Coach Ham Sang-heon is called the ‘Alex Ferguson’ of elementary soccer. He has been a primary school leader for more than 20 years and has achieved numerous achievements. Head coach Ham joined Shinjeong Elementary School in 2001 and won more than 100 championships, earning him the nickname ‘Elementary Ferguson’.
In addition, coach Ham obtained a master’s degree in sports coaching from Korea National Sport University for his systematic guidance. Current national team goalkeepers Cho Hyeon-woo (Ulsan Prefecture) and Moon Seon-min (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors) have been taught by coach Ham.
The other is director Shin Il-ho. He has been leading Daejeon P&S FC since its foundation in 2001. Daejeon P&S FC participated in the weekend league as a first-generation club team in 2010 after the introduction of the weekend league in 2009. In 2019, he was selected as the club’s first representative for the Daejeon Youth Sports Festival. Director Shin served as an adjunct professor at Woosong University and Daejeon University from 2009 to 2021.
Two veteran coaches who have gone through all sorts of battles. The two coaches strongly opposed the elementary school 1st trial system with one voice. voiced in anger. And I refuted the position of the football association. 토토사이트
◇The missing fairness
The biggest reason was the missing fairness.
Director Ham said, “Now, children who start playing soccer and learn are going through an unfortunate situation. I don’t know if there will be,” he said.
“Soccer requires a variety of growth processes. You have to develop your own skills, and you need to improve your understanding of soccer while training together. Also, children grow in a competitive situation. The important thing is all these processes. “Sports is fair” is based on the basic value, but it doesn’t make sense to create an unfair situation and tell the children to enjoy it,” he emphasized.
Coach Shin also said, “Parents are leaving the soccer world as fairness disappears with the first judgement system. I think children are exercising in sports with unfair rules. As a result, children are falling into sports other than soccer. In the long term, It is a situation where the football population itself can decrease,” he expressed regret.
Regarding the improvement of respect for judgment through the 1-judge system, coach Ham said, “Respect for referees cannot be forced. How can I accept being told to respect that?” he questioned.
◇ Cultural differences not considered
The Football Association emphasized that the 1st trial system is a global trend implemented in Europe and Japan.
In response, director Ham said, “We have to think about the environment of each country first. Korea and Japan have different youth bases and different directions for nurturing. Each country has different characteristics and has its own direction. Just following unconditionally is not good. We need to come up with a way to reduce false positives while maintaining the rules, but now players, parents,
Since 2020, the Football Association has completely abolished the ranking method for elementary school competitions. It is explained that it is a plan to break away from sexual supremacy and nurture creative players. The first trial was also a kind of expansion policy, and the situation in which rankings were not considered was used as the background.
Director Ham disagreed. He said, “Children in the 5th and 6th grade of elementary school enter middle school soon after, and from this point on, ‘grades’ are taken into account. No. It’s a situation where the gap between pleasure and sexuality can grow even bigger.”
Deterioration of children’s skills
Concerns about the 1st trial system led to concerns about the skills of players in the long term.
Head coach Ham said, “In this situation, all the kids who are a little good at soccer want to go to the professional youth team. As a result, the gap between the regular club team and the professional youth team widens. Even the kids who can’t even tie their soccer shoes want to go to the professional youth team. Children who remain on regular club teams ultimately lose both fun and skills.”
Director Shin also said, “Elementary school children are subject to different guidance depending on the purpose of dealing with soccer. Without considering the situation, after abolishing the grades, we are proceeding until the 1st trial. The more this happens, the more the gap between children widens and the growth of individual players inevitably slows down,” he raised his voice.
◇Unanswered question
One trial system in which everyone becomes a victim. Incomprehensible policy. Because of this, the intention of the Football Association’s unilateral promotion was eventually raised to the question of ‘isn’t it money?’
Head coach Ham said, “There are many doubts that the first trial system is a way to reduce investment in the field. Since the elementary league disappeared, no support has come from the Football Association. I’d rather understand the current financial situation honestly, but it’s a frustrating situation when they ask me to accept an unreasonable system for reasons I can’t understand.”