Until the establishment of ‘Cheonan City Hall Soccer Team’, an amateur unemployment (National League) soccer team in 2008, Chungnam soccer was evaluated as a marginal out of 17 attempts, so it was not out of the low ranks. However, development accelerated with the founding of the ‘Cheonan City Hall Soccer Team’, and now amateur elementary, middle, high, and university teams belonging to Chungnam have won national competitions one after another, and Chungnam soccer is firmly establishing its position as a strong player in 17 provinces. In particular, in 2017, Asan City announced the beginning of the first professional football era in Chungcheongnam-do, prior to the ‘Police Agency (Asan Mugunghwa FC)’ team in the professional football (K League), Asan City, despite the dissolution of ‘Asan Mugunghwa FC’, in 2020 The city itself founded ‘Chungnam Asan FC’, a civic football club, and is playing a role as a nutrient for the development of Chungnam football.
Encouraged by this, Cheonan City also converted the ‘Cheonan City Hall Football Team’ into a K-League team in 2022 and established a K-League 2 Yanggang system, truly revealing the green light of the Chungnam Football Renaissance era. Cheonan City and Asan City form virtually the same metropolitan area with overlapping city boundaries. This has the advantage of being able to bring about a synergistic effect of development through mutual competition with the formation of an unusual local connection in K League 2, but on the other hand, it can have a negative effect on attracting spectators as citizens’ awareness of the team’s existence can decrease. also have
Of course, ‘Suwon Samsung’ and Suwon FC in the K League 1 also have regional ties to the same region as ‘Cheonan City FC’ and ‘Chungnam Asan FC’. However, ‘Suwon Samsung’ is a corporate club, and ‘Suwon ‘FC’ is a true citizen’s club, and the purpose and nature of the team are distinctly different from ‘Cheonan City FC’ and ‘Chungnam Asan FC’, both of which are citizens’ clubs. Cheonan City and Asan City are not metropolitan cities and provinces. It is a small city with only about 657,000 people and about 336,000 people. Considering the degree of financial independence (Cheonan 31.8%, Asan 37.1%) by population distribution, it is not easy to run a K-League 2 professional soccer team that costs more than 5 billion won a year on average.
Accordingly, ‘Chungnam Asan’ FC is receiving 2 billion won in team operating funds from the province (Chungcheongnam-do). The problem is that after 2024, when this team’s operation support ends, the question of whether or not ‘Chungnam Asan FC’ will be abolished cannot be a matter of great interest. On the other hand, ‘Cheonan City FC’ has been operating without receiving support from the province since its inception. Considering the fact that Cheonan City invested 50 billion won in the construction of the Korean National Soccer Team Training Center (Cheonan Soccer Center), it is highly likely that Cheonan City FC will operate its own team in the future.
Then, after 2024, ‘Chungnam Asan FC’ cannot be deeply interested in the issue of whether the team will be abolished or not. Clearly, the passion that Asan City has put into running a professional soccer team for seven years, the improvement of quality of life due to citizens’ leisure and cultural life through sports, and the establishment of soccer infrastructure are valuable assets of soccer in Chungcheongnam-do. Therefore, it should not be neglected, and it is necessary to promote the establishment of a ‘Domin Professional Football Team’ to strengthen the harmony and competitiveness of the citizens of the province through soccer to 2.12 million citizens by preparing a policy plan that can effectively utilize it.
Currently, soccer players, including many residents of the province, are forming a consensus on this, which is the best way to achieve the provincial slogan of ‘Strong Chungnam’ through sports, as well as a shortcut to fostering talent through soccer. In the meantime, it is no exaggeration to say that the western part of Chungcheongnam-do has been left behind in the economy, culture, and sports compared to the relatively adjacent Gyeonggi-do. However, after Kim Tae-heum took office as Governor of the 8th civil election, Cheonan Future Mobility, Hongseong-gun National Industrial Complex, Naepo New City Revitalization, as well as attraction of public institutions and large companies were achieved, focusing on the future development strategy of the western region, including Cheonan City, Asan City, and Hongseong-gun. 토토사이트
Sports is also an indispensable field here. Therefore, at this point, the justification for the establishment of the ‘Chungnam Provincial Football Team’ is raised. That legitimacy also corresponds to the fact that there are a total of five teams, including K League 1 Incheon United, Gangwon FC, Daegu FC, Gwangju FC and K League 2 Gyeongnam FC, which are currently managed by the metropolitan city. Truly, Chungnam football, which was evaluated as a periphery, has grown rapidly since the mid-2010s and now reigns as a strong player with two professional teams secured. In this situation, if ‘Chungnam Asan FC’ disappears into history after 2024, it is a disgrace to Chungcheongnam-do, and it can’t help but lose the pride and pride of the people. However, if ‘Chungnam Asan FC’ is reborn as a professional soccer team for Chungcheongnam-do residents, it is a decision that meets the expectations of the provincial residents and is more than enough to receive applause.