Bidding Committee for the 2022 World Cup Korea
The Bidding Committee for the 2022 World Cup Korea was established on August 19, 2009. Han Seung-ju, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade was designated as its chairperson, and appointed fifty-eight committee members from diverse fields including athletics, local government, politics, economy, culture and the media, eight of whom were appointed as executive committee members. Seven celebrities (Cha Bum-kun, Park Ji-sung, Jung Joon-ho, Jung Kyung-ho, Cho Yun-hee, Kim Young-chul, and Kim Heung-guk) were requested to serve as honorary promotion ambassadors, and about thirty workers engaged in promotional activities at the head office in Seoul.
The committee launched the official website on January 12, 2010, asking the public to take part in an open competition for slogans, cheering messages, and UCC stories, etc. A general meeting was held on March 4th to select fourteen stadiums in twelve cities for the 2022 World Cup. March 31st marked the first day of the World Cup Organization Committee on FIFA records, and an official Bid Book was submitted to FIFA on May 14th. For four days from July 22nd to 25th, FIFA’s on-the-spot survey team visited Korea to check preparation status, so that review report per country could be submitted to the FIFA execution committee in November 2010.
The committee has put spurs to their final eight weeks convincing all FIFA-related people involved in international matches and events, while finalizing preparations for the presentation to the execution committee, held on December 2nd in Zurich, which is the official the last stage of the bidding campaign.
Why Korea for the 2022 World Cup?
There are several reasons why the 2022 World Cup ought to be held in Korea, but the most important one is that there will be three ‘heritages’ after the games. The first one is the ‘heritage of inspiration’. Korea has made the switch from being a beneficiary of to a provider of help in only one generation, so holding the World Cup in such a country will inspire other developing countries to believe that “We can do it too!”
The second is the ‘heritage of peace’. Korea is now the only separated country in the world, so holding the World Cup in the country could help further the cause of peace on the Korean peninsula, as well as contributing to world peace. That is to remind the massive success of the 1988 Olympics, and the milestone of leaving the Cold War behind, which was a critical stage in the opening up of Eastern Europe and the unification of Germany. As so, the 2022 World Cup held on the Korea peninsula can be expected to lead the two Koreas to undergo positive changes and contribute to world peace and prosperity.
Third is the ‘heritage of passion’. The fan fest and street cheering that started spontaneously at Seoul Plaza during the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan spread to the whole world at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Globalization of the World Cup has brought a worldwide passion for soccer, and Korean government and citizens passionate and serious about the sport are ready to impress the worldwide soccer fans.
Now the World Cup is important to Korea because it will bring benefits to everyone in Korea, including local communities. According to the estimates of a U.K. economy group called PWC, the 2018 World Cup will bring more than 3.7 billion EUR in advantages to the U.K. economy. We are also expecting that the 2022 games will induce about KRW 7.4 trillion of manufacturing and KRW 3.2 trillion of added values to our economy.More valuable than just the numbers are the expectations outside the economy, the most important of which concern the dramatic improvement of the national brand.
FIFA writes a report on each bidding country based on the Bid Book and the on-site review and Korea by no means falls behind other candidate countries. Korea, has the passion for soccer, warmth and kindness, a friendly climate, excellent infrastructures, and experience of hosting international events, while nurturing the value of ‘inspiration’ and ‘peace’ coinciding with the spirit of the global festival.
Complete infrastructure ready to host the World Cup event
The success of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan and the steady supply of social infrastructure from government, and our experience of hosting major international events mean that Korea has the capability and facilities required of a World Cup site. FIFA pays close attention to the capabilities of the bidder countries, as well as the physical heritages acquired from hosting other events. For example, Korea has ten suitable stadiums after co-hosting the 2002 World Cup, and the 2010 games in South Africa which brought a grand success beyond expectations, gave the country a better look than it used to thanks to the new facilities including the stadiums.
FIFA requires the host country to have 12~18 stadiums, 88~100 training sites, 60,000 accommodation facilities, inter-city transportation, a broadcasting system for the fast and accurate delivery of game information, medical facilities, and many other social infrastructures. In addition to the ten stadiums from the 2002 WC, there are 12 other cities with 14 stadiums including the Cheonan and Goyang Stadiums built for the U-17 World Cup in 2007, Seoul Olympic Stadium, and the main stadium built for the Asian Games Incheon 2014. Also, many new ultramodern hotels will have been built by 2022, although the current number of hotel rooms already exceeds 100,000. Our infrastructure includes 15 airports and KTX railroads, expressways, world-top broadband networks, and medical institutes capable of catering to global medical tourism.
As for the physical aspect of hosting the games, efforts are continued to reinforce the existing facilities, and work on finalizing planned ones. Plans for the main stadium for the Asian Games Incheon 2014, the underwater tunnel between Mokpo and Jeju, and new express railroads and expressways should be widely promoted, while investments are being made in the maintenance of existing stadiums and the utilization of eco-friendly systems.
Bidding Committee for the 2022 World Cup Korea http://www.korea2022.org
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