KFA releases statement to deny recent media reports about new manager search | OneFootball

Icon: K League United

K League United

·10 December 2022

KFA releases statement to deny recent media reports about new manager search

Article image:KFA releases statement to deny recent media reports about new manager search

The Korea Football Association denies that it is only looking for a Korean coach to lead the national team. A statement was released on Saturday to dispell some of the recent media reports about Paulo Bento's replacement including a reported salary of 1 billion won ($770,000), and that the candidate must be a "patriotic leader."Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images

Paulo Bento announced after South Korea's 4-1 loss to Brazil in the 2022 World Cup Qatar Round of 16 that he will not be continuing as manager of the team.


OneFootball Videos


What followed were reports that the KFA had two names in mind, Choi Yong-soo and Kim Hak-bum.

There had also been reports that the salary would be around $770,000 and that the candidate would need to be Korean and "patriotic."

However, the Korea Football Association on Saturday released a statement to deny the claims made in those reports and that if any unnamed KFA official was quoted then they were merely expressing their personal opinion, not that of the KFA.

It called the idea that the candidate must be a "patriotic leader" as absurd and that the committee to appoint a new coach hasn't even started discussions yet.

The KFA also pointed to reports at the time of Bento's appointment which turned out to be false.

Statement in full

Statement regarding media reports about the search for a new manager of the national team

The Korea Football Association is deeply concerned about the recent indiscriminate speculation in some media outlets regarding the appointment of a new national team coach.

It is reported that remarks were made by an official from the Korea Football Association that said the new manager must be "a Korean leader," and the salary is "less than 1 billion won," There is even an absurd condition that the candidate must be "a patriotic leader." Certain people's names have also been mentioned as strong candidates.

In conclusion, the above is completely different from the truth.

There are suspicions about who the anonymous official is, and even if an official of the Korea Football Association made such a statement, it would be their personal opinion and not an official position of the Korea Football Association.

As per regulations and procedures, the appointment of the national team coach will be handled by the association's National Team Power Enhancement Committee. However, the first meeting has not yet been held, and we are now preparing for the discussions. With all possibilities open, we will start by establishing a direction for our national team in the future.

Therefore, as some reports say, it is not time to talk about whether the new coach will be Korean or foreign, and detailed conditions such as salaries have not even been discussed.

As you may have seen during Paulo Bento's appointment four years ago, there were numerous speculative reports using anonymity, such as "officials who know the internal situation well" and "news sources who are well informed." But most of the articles were different from the actual conclusions.

[The KFA] sincerely asks football fans not to make hasty predictions about the appointment of the national team coach until the official briefing of the Korea Football Association, referring to these past examples.

Thank you.

One of the names that had been mentioned in media reports was Gangwon FC's Choi Yong-soo.

However, according to Insight, an official from Gangwon FC said in an interview with local newspaper the Gangwon Ilbo that they had checked with Choi directly but it was the first he'd heard of it.

Adding that Choi is "only thinking about how to take Gangwon FC forward. Even right now he is hard at work in training."

View publisher imprint