2002 World Cup may need rescheduling
Rainy season in Japan, South Korea could force move
Posted: Wednesday July 22, 1998 11:21 AM
SEOUL, South Korea
(AP) -- The 2002 World Cup may have to be rescheduled to avoid the usual
June-July rainy season in Japan and South
Korea, South Korea's top soccer official said Wednesday. The World
Cup finals have traditionally been held in June and July, avoiding pro
league schedules in Europe and South America. But Japan and South Korea
think that schedule should be changed in 2002 to avoid the rains.
Japan and South Korea are co-hosts of the 2002 World Cup, soccer's first
premier event to be held in Asia. "The rescheduling is an urgent
matter that should be decided on by the end of this year at the latest,"
Chung Moon-joon, head of the (South) Korean Football Association, said at a
luncheon meeting with local journalists. Chung, a vice president
representing Asia in soccer's governing body, FIFA, suggested that the 2002
World Cup finals be rescheduled for September. He noted that the
1998 Summer Olympics in Seoul were held in September and that the 1964
Summer Olympics in Tokyo were staged in October. When the issue was
unofficially raised at a FIFA executive meeting in Paris in June, Chung
said he understood that most members showed support for the suggested
rescheduling. "This year, as usual, Japan and South Korea had much
rain during the World Cup in France," he
said. This year's World Cup was held from June 10 to July 12. Chung
said changing the schedule will not be easy, because it will require
agreement from all major national soccer committees and clubs in Europe and
South America, which virtually control FIFA. In Geneva, FIFA
spokesman Andreas Herren said the governing body had not been officially
informed yet of the proposal, and that it still was too early to discuss
it. Chung also said he still wants North Korea to share two or three
of the 32 World Cup matches South Korea will stage in 2002. The other 32
matches will be played in Japan. North Korea so far has taken no
official stand on the proposed sharing, suggested by South Korea and
endorsed by FIFA last year. "I think the important thing for now is
that North Korea should try to build trust by taking part in regional
friendship tournaments or inter-Korea goodwill matches," Chung said.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
