K League United Sponsors FC INTs
K League United are delighted to announce a sponsorship partnership with amateur football team FC INTs. Amongst other collaborations and events, the partnership will mean that K League United will proudly become the official shirt sponsors of one of the League's longest standing members in time for the 2018 fall season and beyond.
FC INTs, an amateur football team that plays in the Seoul Saturday Soccer League Division 2, have become an official partner of K League United. K League United place great value in community and respect the importance of grass roots football and so the partnership is seen as the next logical step in trying to reach a wider audience within the Korea expat community whilst helping to support a team which holds similar values.
To find out about FC INTs in more detail, K League United sat down with the team's captain, John Georgie, and vice captain, Lawrence Dobbs.
Can you tell us a bit about the history of FC INTs, the meaning of the club’s name, when the club was founded?
Captain John Georgie: The club was formed in 2005 by Mr. Yoon Sangcheol, a Korean language professor from Kyunghee University. It was set up as a way for his students to have fun whilst providing a special environment for learning Korean through football and socialising. The team mostly consisted of Japanese, Chinese and Korean students who then later joined the Seoul Saturday Soccer League, an international pool of local and overseas teams that have been well organised for a good number of years.
They chose the name FC INTs to reflect the international and local community of its founding members along with using the university's crest. But, a founding member explained at the anniversary that it was more than just being international and that each player fought for that 'extra inch' on the field for one another, 'inch' became 'INTs' and that was the true meaning of INTs. Both of those elements have remained with the club to this day; we will always remain a great blend of Korean and foreign players sharing the global language of football.
What are the club/team’s greatest achievements?
JG: Our greatest achievement was bringing back all founding members to Korea for our 10th year anniversary in 2015. We had former members from all over the world, even as far as Mexico, travel back to Korea to mark the occasion. We had an old school versus new school friendly with special kits to celebrate 10 years. It was truly special having so many members come together like that. But in football terms, being promoted to the SSSL's 1st division for the first time in the cub's history was also a great achievement in 2016.
Vice Captain Lawrence Dobbs: Yeah, the greatest footballing achievement was probably getting promoted to the 1st division in 2016. It was the first in the club's history and I think it was long overdue. We had a good team around that time and had missed out on promotion for the last couple of seasons before that so it was a great feeling to actually win promotion and have a medal for everything we had worked towards.
How and when did you get involved with the club and what is your role within the team?
JG: When I arrived in Korea and joined the team in 2011, the lads really helped me learn the language as well, local lads and overseas students alike. The great attitude towards Korean culture and its east Asian roots were a joy to be a part of, so I still hold those first few years in Korea very dear to my heart. Every match day included families, public saunas, Korean barbecue restaurants and 'noraebang' (Korean karaoke room).
As time went on, the team was becoming more and more international, mainly due to the diverse pool of overseas students in Korea. By 2014 I was given the honour of captaining the team. Many students began to return to their home country to begin their careers so it was up to me to keep the team going. That's when there was a shift towards English teachers that brought more British, Irish, American and Korean lads into the team.
We continue to build the team from strength to strength. Though some of our longest serving members are getting a bit old (ahem.. me especially!), we continue to recruit players from all nationalities and backgrounds.
LD: I got involved by meeting John and he invited me to play in 2013. I've been playing ever since, so that's five years and 10 seasons in total, there's two seasons in each calendar year - spring and fall. I'm the vice captain of the team now, I was appointed for the start of last season, and I also run the team's Instagram account.
What does a typical match day involve with the team?
JG: Game day will always be treated with a strong desire to win and casual shop beers or 'chimaek' (chicken and beer) or BBQ after the match like a happy football family.
LD: A typical match day involves the team meeting up before kick off and getting to the pitch. There's the usual catch up with the players, chit-chat and we'll get a warm-up going. As John said, after the game we usually always go for some beers and food which is always great and something we like to do as a team.
Why K League United as a sponsor?
JG: For a lot of lads, being able to play football in this country has been a great way to feel like being at home again. No matter what country we are all from, football is a global language. That's been a great channel for us to come together as one which just further enriches our life here in Korea. K League United, I feel, carries a very similar meaning. In that, by providing English coverage of K League football, it has become a staple diet for the international community here who love football. They've made the domestic leagues here more accessible and I hope that they can grow.
LD: We chose K League United to sponsor us as we are close friends with the editors, he actually plays for our team. The website has a passion for all football related matters, especially local Korean football which is important in the country we all live in. And we are supporters of what K League United are trying to achieve in terms of providing a detailed English service to the expats of Korea, and beyond. We recognise the growing service they are providing and are happy to link up with them.
You can keep up to date with FC INTs on social media by following the cub's Facebook , Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and check their results and position in the league table via the Seoul Saturday Soccer League's Website.
FC INTs, an amateur football team that plays in the Seoul Saturday Soccer League Division 2, have become an official partner of K League United. K League United place great value in community and respect the importance of grass roots football and so the partnership is seen as the next logical step in trying to reach a wider audience within the Korea expat community whilst helping to support a team which holds similar values.
To find out about FC INTs in more detail, K League United sat down with the team's captain, John Georgie, and vice captain, Lawrence Dobbs.
Can you tell us a bit about the history of FC INTs, the meaning of the club’s name, when the club was founded?
Captain John Georgie: The club was formed in 2005 by Mr. Yoon Sangcheol, a Korean language professor from Kyunghee University. It was set up as a way for his students to have fun whilst providing a special environment for learning Korean through football and socialising. The team mostly consisted of Japanese, Chinese and Korean students who then later joined the Seoul Saturday Soccer League, an international pool of local and overseas teams that have been well organised for a good number of years.
They chose the name FC INTs to reflect the international and local community of its founding members along with using the university's crest. But, a founding member explained at the anniversary that it was more than just being international and that each player fought for that 'extra inch' on the field for one another, 'inch' became 'INTs' and that was the true meaning of INTs. Both of those elements have remained with the club to this day; we will always remain a great blend of Korean and foreign players sharing the global language of football.
What are the club/team’s greatest achievements?
JG: Our greatest achievement was bringing back all founding members to Korea for our 10th year anniversary in 2015. We had former members from all over the world, even as far as Mexico, travel back to Korea to mark the occasion. We had an old school versus new school friendly with special kits to celebrate 10 years. It was truly special having so many members come together like that. But in football terms, being promoted to the SSSL's 1st division for the first time in the cub's history was also a great achievement in 2016.
Vice Captain Lawrence Dobbs: Yeah, the greatest footballing achievement was probably getting promoted to the 1st division in 2016. It was the first in the club's history and I think it was long overdue. We had a good team around that time and had missed out on promotion for the last couple of seasons before that so it was a great feeling to actually win promotion and have a medal for everything we had worked towards.
How and when did you get involved with the club and what is your role within the team?
JG: When I arrived in Korea and joined the team in 2011, the lads really helped me learn the language as well, local lads and overseas students alike. The great attitude towards Korean culture and its east Asian roots were a joy to be a part of, so I still hold those first few years in Korea very dear to my heart. Every match day included families, public saunas, Korean barbecue restaurants and 'noraebang' (Korean karaoke room).
As time went on, the team was becoming more and more international, mainly due to the diverse pool of overseas students in Korea. By 2014 I was given the honour of captaining the team. Many students began to return to their home country to begin their careers so it was up to me to keep the team going. That's when there was a shift towards English teachers that brought more British, Irish, American and Korean lads into the team.
We continue to build the team from strength to strength. Though some of our longest serving members are getting a bit old (ahem.. me especially!), we continue to recruit players from all nationalities and backgrounds.
LD: I got involved by meeting John and he invited me to play in 2013. I've been playing ever since, so that's five years and 10 seasons in total, there's two seasons in each calendar year - spring and fall. I'm the vice captain of the team now, I was appointed for the start of last season, and I also run the team's Instagram account.
What does a typical match day involve with the team?
JG: Game day will always be treated with a strong desire to win and casual shop beers or 'chimaek' (chicken and beer) or BBQ after the match like a happy football family.
LD: A typical match day involves the team meeting up before kick off and getting to the pitch. There's the usual catch up with the players, chit-chat and we'll get a warm-up going. As John said, after the game we usually always go for some beers and food which is always great and something we like to do as a team.
Why K League United as a sponsor?
JG: For a lot of lads, being able to play football in this country has been a great way to feel like being at home again. No matter what country we are all from, football is a global language. That's been a great channel for us to come together as one which just further enriches our life here in Korea. K League United, I feel, carries a very similar meaning. In that, by providing English coverage of K League football, it has become a staple diet for the international community here who love football. They've made the domestic leagues here more accessible and I hope that they can grow.
LD: We chose K League United to sponsor us as we are close friends with the editors, he actually plays for our team. The website has a passion for all football related matters, especially local Korean football which is important in the country we all live in. And we are supporters of what K League United are trying to achieve in terms of providing a detailed English service to the expats of Korea, and beyond. We recognise the growing service they are providing and are happy to link up with them.
You can keep up to date with FC INTs on social media by following the cub's Facebook , Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and check their results and position in the league table via the Seoul Saturday Soccer League's Website.
No comments:
Post a Comment