Until now, the national team had traditionally held send-off ceremonies and domestic friendlies before the World Cup, but this time they boldly decided to skip them. This is the first time in 40 years since the 1986 Mexico Games that a team will attend the World Cup domestically without a send-off ceremony. As a result, claims arose that Hong Myung-bo-bo canceled the send-off ceremony in response to criticism from fans, to which the KFA cited ▲match schedule and adjustment to high-altitude conditions. The first match of the North and Central America World Cup, Group A match against the Czech Republic will be held on June 12, and there are only 18 days left until the match date, when players can be called up, May 25. The KFA also explained, " From the player call-up date on May 25 until the first match, the breathing gap is extremely short, and having a team mainly composed of overseas players travel across continents could be critical to their biorhythm and condition management." Above all, the first and second group stage matches of the World Cup are being held in Guadalajara, a region about 1,500 meters above sea level, so they must focus on adaptation. The KFA stated, "The national team will announce the final roster on May 16 and then move to the pre-camp site in Salt Lake City, USA, two days later on the 18th," adding, "Experts advise that it takes at least 10 days to more than 2 weeks for the body to adapt to the high-altitude environment." Considering the timing of entering Guadalajara, where the first group stage match will be held, and judging that time is insufficient and it is not the optimal timeline for acclimatizing to the high altitude, the KFA plans to skip the send-off ceremony and instead hold a participation event at Gwanghwamun Square on the day the final squad is announced to provide a place to communicate with fans.
Comments 0
Log in to comment.