2002 FIFA World Cup hosting controversy

The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the subject of several public disputes between South Korea and Japan regarding the hosting and naming of the first football World Cup to be held in Asia, thought by some to have been worsened by the two countries' past diplomatic disagreements. The tournament was eventually co-hosted by both nations without major incident from May 31 to June 30.

Initially, the two Asian countries were competitors in the bidding process, but at the last minute before the vote, they agreed with FIFA to co-host the event. However, the competitive nature of the two host nations (partly due to a historical rivalry) led to problems in organization and logistics. After the tournament, FIFA has repeatedly said co-hosting will likely not happen again, and in 2004, FIFA stated that its statutes do not allow bids that involve co-hosting.

Background

In 1986, FIFA's former President, João Havelange, proposed a plan of holding a World Cup either in Asia or Africa. China had been the first choice for a World Cup in Asia. But the idea was dropped after logistical and human rights concerns presented themselves.

Havelange then threw his support behind Japan. The Japan Football Association, eager to increase the popularity of the sport in the country, agreed to submit a bid and organised a preparatory committee in 1989.

Korea, also aiming to be the first Asian country to host a World Cup, announced its intention in 1993 after the successful organization of the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul and organised a committee the following year. Europe's football governing body, UEFA, resenting Havelange's power, decided to back the Korean bid.

In February 1995, the two countries officially announced their candidacies, with no other countries running campaigns to host the tournament.

With Japan lobbying FIFA and Korea lobbying UEFA, the soccer world was split badly. Japan pushed its modern infrastructure, wealth, and technology as key points. Korea, which had a longer professional soccer tradition, believed it was more deserving.

Bidding

The lobbying by both sides was fierce and extravagantly funded, though no one knows exactly how much the two countries spent during their seven-year battle. Japan may have budgeted close to $50 million for the bid, and for building or upgrading stadiums and hotels in 15 cities around the country. Korea planned to construct 11 new stadiums and renovate five others at a cost of approximately $1.3 billion. They criticized Japan's bid as merely "commercial," describing the development of that country's new professional football league, the J. League, as a crass lobbying tool.

The Koreans believed they deserved the right to host the World Cup. The Japanese professional football league came into existence only in 1993 and football had only just started to get popular in Japan. In contrast, Korea had established the first professional football league in Asia a decade earlier and the sport had been widely popular for a long time.

In games between the two countries, the Koreans had won 52 and lost 12, with 15 drawn. Korea was the region's dominant power and had reached four World Cup finals (more than any other Asian country). Japan had not even qualified for one at that time (Japan later qualified for the World Cup 1998 held in France). Korean officials tried to play on this last point, but with little success. Japanese officials responded that the 1994 tournament was awarded to the United States, whose national team at the time had not won a single World Cup game since 1950.

Many groups in Korea lobbied for the World Cup - the Korean President Kim Young Sam donned a "World Cup 2002" t-shirt and cap during his morning jogs, Buddhist monks in a temple in Seoul prayed for FIFA to smile on their country's bid, flags with the slogan "Dream For All, 2002 World Cup Korea" were displayed in front of Gimpo International Airport, and the world's largest football — diameter 3.60 meters — sat in the entrance of the building that houses the offices of the Korean bidding committee.

Big business also joined the Korean campaign in full force. Korea's 2002 World Cup bid committee was headed by Ku Puǒng-hoe, an LG executive. The Hyundai Group also demonstrated keen interest in the project.

Chung Mong Joon, who headed the South Korean Football Association, even suggested that the tournament might help bring peace to the Korean peninsula, with North Korea participating in the event. FIFA officials were attracted by the notion that the World Cup could be more than just a sporting event, but also "a catalyst for world peace".

The Japanese lobbied hard as well. Two Japanese ex-ministers visited the Middle East to tip the balance in favor of Tokyo. Japan emphasized its success in hosting a football tournament called the Toyota Cup as well as its safety, economic power, stable government, and democratic tradition. Japanese officials also indicated that the hosting of the Cup in South Korea would probably attract the danger of a North Korean terrorist attack. The Koreans replied that international visitors to Japan would be under threat of an earthquake or even a gas attack by a fanatical sect like Aum Shinrikyo"It is increasingly obvious that the fear of losing the tournament has become more important than the desire to win," commented one European member of FIFA. "It is clear that the nation which loses the bid will suffer a devastating blow." The contest between Japan and South Korea to host Asia's first World Cup became increasingly bitter in nature.

The Decision

On May 31, 1996, FIFA made the announcement that Korea and Japan would co-host the 2002 tournament. The decision, unprecedented in World Cup history, was considered by many observers as a cop-out.

On November 6, 1996, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, announced its decision for Korea and Japan to co-host the event.

Three or four months after the decision, Korea and Japan had a meeting to decide how to call the tournament and which to hold the big events such as the opening, the ending, and the final match. FIFA at the first suggested calling it "Japan-Korea" in the English alphabetical order, but Korea insisted on adopting the French alphabetical order "Corée" and "Japon" (since the name "FIFA" is in French) and calling it "Korea-Japan".

The final FIFA provisions can be outlined as follows:
# The event's official name will be the 2002 FIFA WORLD CUP Korea Japan.
# A total of 32 participating teams will play 64 games. During the first round of competition, each country will host 4 groups composed of 4 teams each.
# Each country is to provide a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 10 stadiums in which to hold the events.
# The opening match will be hosted by Korea and the final match will take place in Japan.
# The drawing to select teams for the elimination matches will be held in Japan, and the drawing to determine which teams meet in the finals will be held in Korea.
# Both countries will have the right to field national teams in the competition.

"The World Cup plays an important psychological role in economic recovery and in helping to regain confidence about the future of our country," Chung said. "More importantly, the experience of co-hosting the 2002 World Cup can bring Korea and Japan together and bring Koreans together by resolving all regional and social difference within Korea."

Disputes

On January 5, 2001, Yasuhiko Endo, secretary general of the Japanese organizing committee, informed the Koreans that it planned to reverse the name order on tickets to be sold in Japan. Insisting that it had been agreed that it was left to their own discretion how to write the name of the tournament in their own language, the Japanese called it World Cup "日本・韓国 (Japan/Korea)". The Korea Football Association claimed that alternating the order of the countries' names would damage the co-hosting spirit and violate the existing agreement between them. FIFA accepted this claim and ordered Japan to stop reversing the naming order. The Japanese then decided to eliminate the country names entirely, simply calling it the "2002 World Cup". In English, the order "Korea/Japan" was kept.Fact|date=June 2007

The two sides even fought over what to name the tournament's trio of official mascots. The Koreans considered their names--Ato, Nik, and Kaz--too Japanese. Kaz, for instance, is close to the name of a Japanese football player and pronunciation of the "z" sound does not exist in the Korean language. The Japanese found the entire discussion annoying, since they said FIFA devised the characters and their names.

Emperor Akihito and Crown Prince Naruhito declined a long-standing invitation from Korea to attend the World Cup's opening ceremony in Seoul. Instead, Japan's Prince Takamado and Princess Takamado made a six-day visit to Korea and attended the opening gala event. It was the first official visit to Korea by a member of the Japanese royal family since 1945.

Traditionally, the head of state of the host nation attends the opening match. Although Japan does not officially have a head of state, the emperor is often considered the country's head of state (the Japanese Constitution defines him as "the symbol of the State and the unity of the people"). The emperor's decision not to attend the opening ceremony was attributed to lingering animosity towards Japan. Many Koreans were disappointed, however, when it was confirmed that he would not come.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was present at the opening ceremonies and the emperor, the prime minister, and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung all attended the final match held in Yokohama.

Despite the conflict between the two countries, about 74.6% of Japanese and 60.9% of Koreans polled thought the World Cup would improve international relations between the two countries.

External links

# [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/3586349.stm Co-Hosting]
# [http://www.pathfinder.com/asiaweek/96/0531/nat6.html Bidding]
# [http://www.le.ac.uk/sociology/css/resources/factsheets/fs12.html A history of FIFA and the 2002 World Cup]
# [http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_13/b3776008.htm Business Week's overview on the rivalry]
# [http://www.pathfinder.com/Asiaweek/96/0621/ed1.html FIFA's compromise]
# [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/2002/world_cup/countdown/news/2001/01/16/korea_japan_ap/ Information about the argument of the trademark]
# [http://www.dailynews.lk/2001/12/03/spo04.html More about the double-hosting]
# [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/2002/world_cup/news/2002/05/31/ceremony_ap/ The ceremony]