Women's Soccer League on the verge of collapse, who should save it
Women's Soccer League on the verge of collapse, who should save it
Blog Article
The Women's Business Football (WK League) is at a crossroads as the Korean Women's Football Federation gave up its league operation.
Oh Kyu-sang, president of the Korean Federation of Women's Federation, recently announced that he will give up running the WK League from next year. Oh is seeking his fifth term in the women's federation election in late December or early January next year. Currently, no candidate can compete against Oh. If he is the sole candidate, he will be elected without voting.
If Chairman Oh is elected and sets up the "5th Executive Branch," it is expected that he will take measures to separate the WK League from the federation. It is read as an intention to completely hand over the operation of the WK League to the next president of the Korea Football Association using the election of the president of the Korea Football Association on January 8 next year. Whether it is a single candidate or through a vote, if Chairman Oh is elected, it will be like receiving consent from the women's soccer community that the president who gave up the league operation is also good.
For the past 16 years, the WK League has been a flashlight. Currently, the league has eight teams. Icheon Bridge, one of the most prestigious schools, was disbanded in 2017 and the federation has been running Changnyeong WFC with its own budget. The league and the club's financial conditions show no signs of improvement. There is no visible profit model. The federation has only four secretariat personnel, and critics say that both professionalism and motivation are lacking. The club has weak capacity to mobilize spectators and its own marketing capabilities. The average attendance at a league game this season is 261. Coincidentally, the largest number of spectators is Mungyeong Sangmu, the military athletic unit, with 455 spectators. Suwon FC's average attendance fee is only 183.
Regardless of who runs the WK League, he has to spend a considerable amount of money. As the conditions are impossible to recover in the short term, he has to spend a considerable amount of money for a considerable period of time. Chances are not high that Shinsegae Group, whose official partner agreement period will end soon, will extend its sponsorship agreement. Other companies that are willing to invest have not appeared yet. Is it possible only in the U.S. for Michelle Kang, a Korean American businesswoman, to recently announce that she will invest 30 million U.S. dollars to develop women's soccer in the U.S..
First of all, the WK League is in a difficult situation where we have to put out the urgent fire and watch it. It doesn't mean much to point out now that there was no long-term development plan. First of all, we need to focus our efforts on saving the league and come up with mid- to long-term self-sustaining measures so that it is not too late.
Ultimately, the 온라인카지노 Korea Football Association, which is responsible for Korean soccer, should take the lead. This year's association's budget is about 180 billion won. Of those, about 100 billion won is the current expenditure, excluding the cost of building the Cheonan Football Center. They include 27.7 billion won for the operation of national teams at various levels, 17.6 billion won for the operation of domestic competitions, 12.5 billion won for the development of technology and the development of leaders and referees, and 9.7 billion won for the development of daily soccer. Women's soccer investment can only be financed by significantly reducing budgets for various places. The cost of the association, which has many places to spend money, is inevitably limited. Currently, the government desperately needs support from the government. It is only the government that has the power to increase the budget of the sports promotion fund that goes into the development of women's soccer.
Will there be a company that can save the WK League with the association and the government? If a company, male or female, is willing to invest, the association and the government should actively present support measures that may interest the company. Former and current women's soccer stars should not stay put. You cannot change the situation by making a complaint through the media in a way that asks for help unconditionally. Players and leaders should be more active in searching for sponsoring companies and creating crowdfunding. At the same time, we must present a realistic vision and persuade the association, the government, and the political community hard. Wouldn't people who will "help" and "invest" come out only when direct stakeholders actively participate.