The Lost Opportunity of the U20 World Cup
An intriguing U20 World Cup reaches its crescendo in Suwon today with England and Venezuela's youth teams vying for their first ever title. Both on and off the field, the tournament has largely been a success, but with one lingering question: where was the K League?
(Photo by Alex Morton - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
In the end this forced relocation could be looked at like an injury to a player or another similar dilemma strong teams are able to overcome. In spite of playing all of their home games in the rundown Jeonju Civil Stadium, Jeonbuk still managed to find their way to the top of the table as usual. So it was certainly possible to accommodate the U20 tournament and still perform in the league. The real frustration with the forced relocations comes with the lack of any signs of the regular tenants as thousands of potential fans walked through the gates. It's especially bothersome when considering these potential fans who filled the behemoth stadiums were already watching K League players.
Unlike the full national team where the majority of the roster comes from overseas, the U20 squad was largely comprised of university students and K League players. Sure the Barcelona boys Lee Seung-woo and Paik Seung-ho grabbed most of the headlines, but a third of the players on the roster are a part of Korea's top flight and there was almost zero focus on this.
Though a good number of the K League players aren't getting a ton of minutes in Classic, a few of them, like FC Seoul's Lim Min-hyeok and Jeonnam's Han Chan-hee, have a handful of starts for their clubs and have made an impact this season. The KFA would have been wise to highlight these budding stars and attempt to get people out on the weekends to watch them. If nothing else, it would have been a nice humble brag about developing talent domestically.
But back to those sellout crowds. With reported attendances of 37,500 vs Guinea, 27,058 vs Argentina, 35,279 vs England, and 21,361vs Portugal in Jeonju, Suwon, and little ol Cheonan respectively, that's over 120,000 people coming out to watch football. Sometimes on weeknights in stadiums that aren't exactly the easiest to get to. Korea dropping out earlier than expected meant an end to these kind of numbers, but the question remains: what did the KFA and K League do with the four opportunities they had to capitalize on this passion?
Of the over 120,000 who attended a Korea U20 match, not one saw a single ad nor promotion for the domestic league. It's genuinely baffling to believe K League couldn't have set up a table outside the grounds to advertise themselves. With the long break K League Classic took to accommodate the U20 World Cup, surely the home sides could have sent some Korean stars to the stadium in the team's kit? Lee Dong-gook signing autographs in Jeonju. Yeom Ki-hun taking selfies in Suwon. It's a seemingly small thing that would've gone a long way to put K League on the radar of the hordes of casual fans coming through the turnstiles. An interactive "competition" setup where kids can kick a ball and win some free tickets to a K League game would have been great. At the very least some pocket schedules for the home team at the concession stands would have been something.
But there was nothing.
No league table set up, no merch, no mentions, nothing. I'll admit I'm far from an expert on FIFA advertising regulations and perhaps it was either too expensive or simply not possible for K League to have a presence at the matches themselves. Even if that is the case, the league and its teams still dropped the ball.
37,500 came to Jeonju on May 20th to watch the hosts face off against Guinea and left quite delighted after Korea dispatched their African opponents 3-0. Jeonbuk did nothing to capitalize on this elation. In fact, they seemingly suffered from it. The league leaders hosted last place Incheon the next day on May 21st and saw a meager 6,579 come through the gate less than 24 hours after their usual home field was sold out. Forget K League being barred from advertising at the games (if that was indeed the case), Jeonbuk could have acted on their own and offered half off admission for anyone with a U20 ticket. Or the ever popular 2+1 for U20 ticket stubs. Advertise the deal on social media and with banners around town appealing to the visiting football fans. Surely a few thousand of the 37,500 that took in the match the night before would have been tempted by such a deal. It's another seemingly small thing that would have gone a long way to appeal to casual fans and get them interested in K League.
Something similar could have and should have been done by Daejeon Citizen, Incheon United, Jeju United, Suwon Bluewings, Suwon FC, and even little ol National League side Cheonan City FC. All of these teams were inconvenienced by the tournament, but sacrificed their home field and practice facilities for the greater good of growing the game in Korea. However, due to each team's and their respective league's marketing ineptitude, the only reward they'll get is a pat on the back and maybe a thank you from the KFA. This simply isn't good enough for a sport looking to increase its footprint domestically after hosting a globally recognized tournament. Opportunities like this don't come around very often, I dare to hope the K League does better next time.
(Photo by Alex Morton - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
The Venues
One of the biggest perks of Korea hosting the U20 World Cup was the excuse to finally visit some of the stadiums that have been on my list for far too long. I've long fancied an excuse to head over to Incheon or down to Daejeon, but never made the time until the USA Baby Nats came to town, and the venues did not disappoint. This was clearly something the KFA had in mind when they decided to avoid using Seoul World Cup Stadium in order to highlight other grounds throughout the country where the full National team rarely visits. It was a great thing for me personally, and worked well for this tournament, but wasn't overly convenient for the usual tenants. While it was admirable to shine a light on the lesser used World Cup venues, several K League clubs – including league-leaders Jeonbuk – agreed to relocate to much less... quality stadiums with fewer (occasionally no) amenities. Teams like Incheon United were forced to play five straight away games, where they went winless and watched themselves slide even further down the table. Similarly, Daejeon Citizen played away from home for nearly a month and also failed to pick up a result in a league where home field advantage means so much. Even the AFC Champions League was affected by the tournament with Jeju United moving their midweek clash vs J League's Urawa Reds to 3:00pm due to the Jeju Complex Stadium not having adequate lights for an evening match.In the end this forced relocation could be looked at like an injury to a player or another similar dilemma strong teams are able to overcome. In spite of playing all of their home games in the rundown Jeonju Civil Stadium, Jeonbuk still managed to find their way to the top of the table as usual. So it was certainly possible to accommodate the U20 tournament and still perform in the league. The real frustration with the forced relocations comes with the lack of any signs of the regular tenants as thousands of potential fans walked through the gates. It's especially bothersome when considering these potential fans who filled the behemoth stadiums were already watching K League players.
FANTASTIC atmosphere here for 대한민국! #U20WC pic.twitter.com/7fGxt5htln— Ryan Walters (@MrRyanWalters) May 20, 2017
Korea's Exit
The Korean U20 team falling in their first knockout round match was a huge blow for the team and the tournament as a whole. The ins and outs of why they lost is better left to the Tavern of the Taeguk Warriors. As for the impact, that could be felt far beyond those covering the national team. The lack of any sellout crowds moving forward was the biggest impact, and we'll get to that, but one of the biggest disappointments was Korea bowing out before the domestic-based players had their time to shine.Unlike the full national team where the majority of the roster comes from overseas, the U20 squad was largely comprised of university students and K League players. Sure the Barcelona boys Lee Seung-woo and Paik Seung-ho grabbed most of the headlines, but a third of the players on the roster are a part of Korea's top flight and there was almost zero focus on this.
| # | Pos. | Player | Club |
| 1 | GK | Song Bum-keun | Korea University |
| 2 | DF | Yoon Jong-gyu | FC Seoul |
| 3 | DF | Woo Chan-yang | Pohang Steelers |
| 4 | DF | Jeong Tae-wook | Ajou University |
| 5 | DF | Lee Sang-min | Soongsil University |
| 6 | MF | Lee Seung-mo | Pohang Steelers |
| 7 | MF | Lee Jin-hyun | Sungkyunkwan University |
| 8 | MF | Han Chan-hee | Jeonnam Dragons |
| 9 | FW | Cho Young-wook | Korea University |
| 10 | MF | Lee Seung-woo | FC Barcelona Juvenil A |
| 11 | FW | Ha Seung-un | Yonsei University |
| 12 | GK | Ahn Joon-soo | Cerezo Osaka |
| 13 | DF | Lee You-hyeon | Jeonnam Dragons |
| 14 | MF | Paik Seung-ho | FC Barcelona B |
| 15 | DF | Kim Min-ho | Yonsei University |
| 16 | MF | Lee Sang-heon | Ulsan Hyundai |
| 17 | MF | Kang Ji-hun | Yongin University |
| 18 | MF | Lim Min-hyeok | FC Seoul |
| 19 | DF | Kim Seung-woo | Yonsei University |
| 20 | DF | Lee Jung-moon | Yonsei University |
| 21 | GK | Lee Jun | Yonsei University |
Though a good number of the K League players aren't getting a ton of minutes in Classic, a few of them, like FC Seoul's Lim Min-hyeok and Jeonnam's Han Chan-hee, have a handful of starts for their clubs and have made an impact this season. The KFA would have been wise to highlight these budding stars and attempt to get people out on the weekends to watch them. If nothing else, it would have been a nice humble brag about developing talent domestically.
But back to those sellout crowds. With reported attendances of 37,500 vs Guinea, 27,058 vs Argentina, 35,279 vs England, and 21,361vs Portugal in Jeonju, Suwon, and little ol Cheonan respectively, that's over 120,000 people coming out to watch football. Sometimes on weeknights in stadiums that aren't exactly the easiest to get to. Korea dropping out earlier than expected meant an end to these kind of numbers, but the question remains: what did the KFA and K League do with the four opportunities they had to capitalize on this passion?
My Life For Some Marketing
Of the over 120,000 who attended a Korea U20 match, not one saw a single ad nor promotion for the domestic league. It's genuinely baffling to believe K League couldn't have set up a table outside the grounds to advertise themselves. With the long break K League Classic took to accommodate the U20 World Cup, surely the home sides could have sent some Korean stars to the stadium in the team's kit? Lee Dong-gook signing autographs in Jeonju. Yeom Ki-hun taking selfies in Suwon. It's a seemingly small thing that would've gone a long way to put K League on the radar of the hordes of casual fans coming through the turnstiles. An interactive "competition" setup where kids can kick a ball and win some free tickets to a K League game would have been great. At the very least some pocket schedules for the home team at the concession stands would have been something.But there was nothing.
No league table set up, no merch, no mentions, nothing. I'll admit I'm far from an expert on FIFA advertising regulations and perhaps it was either too expensive or simply not possible for K League to have a presence at the matches themselves. Even if that is the case, the league and its teams still dropped the ball.
37,500 came to Jeonju on May 20th to watch the hosts face off against Guinea and left quite delighted after Korea dispatched their African opponents 3-0. Jeonbuk did nothing to capitalize on this elation. In fact, they seemingly suffered from it. The league leaders hosted last place Incheon the next day on May 21st and saw a meager 6,579 come through the gate less than 24 hours after their usual home field was sold out. Forget K League being barred from advertising at the games (if that was indeed the case), Jeonbuk could have acted on their own and offered half off admission for anyone with a U20 ticket. Or the ever popular 2+1 for U20 ticket stubs. Advertise the deal on social media and with banners around town appealing to the visiting football fans. Surely a few thousand of the 37,500 that took in the match the night before would have been tempted by such a deal. It's another seemingly small thing that would have gone a long way to appeal to casual fans and get them interested in K League.
What do you think about K League's lack of marketing at the U20 World Cup? What you like to have seen them do? Or do you think it wasn't their place to advertise? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below or join the conversation on Twitter!
