The Korea Football Association said it is still considering an incumbent coach in the K-League to take charge of the 2026 North-Central America World Cup. If the K-League decides to appoint an official coach in May at the latest, the controversy over the removal of a coach during the previous season is likely to flare up.
The direction Korean soccer suggested by the association is still not well seen. The Power Reinforcement Committee, which is tasked with finding a coach, said it has also nominated seven foreign leaders, but replaced them with an ambiguous answer that it prefers a coach who can understand the Korean atmosphere well.
Jeong Hae-sung, chairman of the Power Enhancement Committee, held a press conference after the fifth meeting at the Seoul Shinmun-ro Football Center on the 2nd to explain the progress so far and answer questions from reporters.
Q: Why did you hold a press conference today.
“Since the last briefing, a considerable amount of time has passed, and the media and the public have been interested in the appointment of the coach, but there has been no opportunity to convey the official contents, so I came here today to briefly talk about the current situation. First of all, I would like to thank Coach Hwang Sun-hong for his hard work in the two World Cup qualifying games as the interim coach this time.”
Q: What’s the progress.
“The Power Enhancement Committee has been discussing the appointment of a formal coach since it appointed interim coaches for the two games in February. At the time of the fourth meeting on March 12, there was a list of candidates for the coach, which was composed of about 20 people. Through the fifth meeting, a total of 11 coaches out of 32 candidates were decided to be on the list. There are four in Korea and seven in foreign countries, and we plan to immediately pursue interviews with seven foreign leaders.”
Q: What’s the schedule for the interview.
“Interviews with foreign leaders will first be conducted non-face-to-face, and in this regard, video clips of the relevant leaders’ matches have been collected and analyzed. In the case of the four domestic leaders, it is planned to proceed immediately after the interview with foreign leaders. Through this process, we will reduce the number of 11 candidates through in-depth interviews. We will make sure that a director can be appointed by the middle of early May as much as possible.”
- Supervisor qualifications, more specific.
“We are in the process of demanding the eight conditions (tactical competence, development of players in vulnerable positions, performance as a leader, abundant experience, communication skills, leadership, coaching staff construction skills, and ability to produce results). We will clearly grasp how prepared we are for the philosophy of soccer and the Korean atmosphere and choose the most suitable person.”
- Did you include the K-League coach.
“Yes, a national team is for our Korean soccer, and it is a very honorable occasion, but if you come out of the team in the middle of the season, there may be some difficulties for the team. However, it will be a courtesy to the fans only when the association puts priority on the team and asks for a thorough understanding on that.”
Q: What are the most important criteria other than foreign candidate screening and football philosophy.
“I think the most important part is whether Korean players can have a consensus on Korean culture.”
Q: Do you have a foreign leader in your priority. 핑크알바
“First of all, the domestic leaders are on the ground. They decided to start with the seven foreign leaders first because they have more data on the four domestic supervisors than foreign leaders