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FIFA President Gianni Infantino greets children at the Pyongyang International Football School before attending the 2022 World Cup qualifier between North and South Korea at Kim Il-sung Stadium on Oct. 15. (FIFA website)
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Ironically, FIFA and South and North Korea discuss jointly hosting the Women’s World Cup in 2023,
“I was looking forward to seeing a full stadium for such a historic match but was disappointed to see there were no fans in the stands,” said the president of FIFA, the international football organization. Gianni Infantino attended a match between the South and North Korean football teams at Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang on the afternoon of Oct. 15. The match was the third in the H group, the second Asian qualifier for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Infantino’s criticism of the “no-fan game” was printed in an interview on the FIFA website. “We were surprised by this and by several issues related to its live broadcast and problems with visas and access for foreign journalists,” Infantino went on to say. “For us, freedom of the press and freedom of speech are obviously paramount, but on the other hand it would be naïve to think we can change the world from one minute to the next.” The FIFA president’s remarks represent an indirect criticism of the North Korean government’s refusal to allow South Korean reporters and broadcasters to attend the game. “We raised these questions with the local association and we will certainly keep pushing so that football can have a positive influence in [North Korea] and other countries around the world,” Infantino said. While at the stadium, Infantino met with officials from the South and North Korean football associations for a discussion that touched on the possibility of South and North Korea jointly hosting the Women’s World Cup in 2023, FIFA said. Infantino’s trip to Pyongyang was the first stop in a tour of Asia that will also take him to Mongolia, Bangladesh, China, Laos, Brunei, and the Philippines. By Kim Kyung-moo, senior staff writer Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
