Three soccer legends, including Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho, Italian soccer legends Cannavaro and Materachi, held a joint press conference at Fairmont Ambassador Seoul on the morning of the 10th. Cannavaro, Materachi and Ronaldinho (from left) have a photo session, journalist Jeong Si-jong
The “Legend All-Star Game,” which drew attention due to the participation of legends from three countries, Korea, Brazil and Italy, was canceled. It is only about a week before the game. While there were great doubts about the success of the game (Goyang) and ticket prices from the time they were released, the sudden cancellation was decided as the money issue was entangled. Last summer, soccer-related events such as Naples and Mayorkas’ visit to Korea and the Korea Tour were canceled, leading to disgrace. The damage is entirely up to the fans.
Interpark tickets, which had booked tickets for the Legend Match, announced on its website on the 12th that the game was canceled due to the host’s circumstances. Fans who bought tickets promised refunds. The match was organized by Lashing City Group, headquartered in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Travel, a travel company. Traveling, a domestic company, has not even expressed its official position yet, erasing only related posts on social media (SNS).
Initially, the Legendary All-Star Game was scheduled to be held at Goyang Stadium on the 21st. Brazil’s Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Kaká and Italy were expected to feature a large number of legends, including Paolo Maldini, Francesco Totti, Fabio Cannavaro and Alessandro Del Piero, while South Korea was also scheduled to participate with Ahn Jung-hwan, Lee Woon-jae and Kim Nam-il. It was promoted as an event in which Korea, Brazil, and Italy each set up a legendary team and have a showdown.
As they are so world-class players, fans also had high expectations. Whenever the news of Legends entering the country was reported, fans gathered together at Incheon International Airport. Ahn Jung-hwan, who was scheduled to participate in the competition as a Korean legend, could not hide his joy, saying, “I never thought I could play with these world-class players before I died.”
Three soccer legends, including Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho, Italian soccer legends Cannavaro and Materachi, held a joint press conference at Fairmont Ambassador Seoul on the morning of the 10th. Legendary members are talking with bright faces. Reporter Jeong Si-jong
However, the venue for the game was decided to be Goyang Stadium, not Seoul, and the ticket price was set so high that there was a lot of concern among fans. Since it is a general stadium, the ticket price behind the goalpost where supporters sit generally reached 80,000 won, even though the view is not good. It was more than twice as expensive as the national team A at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Naturally, the speed of reservation for admission tickets to the stadium fell far short of expectations. Even among fans who reserved their own tickets to see the legends, there were concerns about whether it would be possible to hold it normally. Concerns have become a reality. According to an official familiar with the internal situation, the issue of expenses has not been resolved and the investment promised by Racing City Group has not been received. 안전놀이터
Eventually, the organizers decided to cancel the Legend Match just nine days before. Fortunately, it will be fully refunded to fans who have reserved tickets, but fans who have already reserved transportation or accommodation in advance have to bear the damage. Global stars who had been preparing for the Legendary All-Star Game while traveling to and from Korea also suddenly heard the news that the event was canceled.
The problem is that after such massive publicity, events in Korea are repeated. Last summer, Napoli and Mayorkas, who were then affiliated with Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in, respectively, visited Korea, but it was canceled because the host consortium failed to submit the documents required by the Korea Football Association (KFA). The KFA presented strict conditions, including the organizers’ financial capabilities, after Cristiano Ronaldo’s so-called “Nalgangdu” incident. Napoli and Mayorka’s visit to Korea was eventually canceled because they did not meet the KFA’s standards. At that time, the consortium pushed for a friendly tournament in which AS Roma, Wolverhampton, and Celtic visited Korea from July to August, but this was also canceled due to financial problems.
Furthermore, with the cancellation of the Legendary Match, the number of cases that ended in “nothing happened” after massive publicity has increased. The organizers, who are not capable of holding the event normally or are not sure to hold the event, are putting publicity first, but there are repeated cases of failure because the situation is not good. Some cases have even been reported through foreign media, and it is also a disgrace to overseas clubs and players who were suddenly notified of the cancellation of their visit to Korea. Fans, who have been looking forward to it as much as they can, are also suffering from disappointment and disappointment.
