Hosts of 2002 World Cup have work cut out for them
Hosts of 2002 World Cup have work cut out for them
TOKYO (AFP): For officials of Japan and South Korea, joint
hosts of the 2002 soccer World Cup, trips between each other's
capitals have become routine as they try to bridge more than the
stretch of water that separates them.
"We are optimistic but it's really a big challenge," said
Tadao Murata of the Japan Organizing Committee for the FIFA World
Cup Korea/Japan (JAWOC), mindful of the enormous tasks to be
completed by June 2002.
Some 50 people are at work full time at JAWOC's Tokyo
headquarters. That will swell to 100 by April when they, along
with soccer's world governing body FIFA, prepare the draws for
the qualifying round.
Five contact groups have been formed by JAWOC and its South
Korean counterpart, KOWOC.
They will have to tread softly, Murata acknowledged, noting:
"Japan and South Korea are so different and I think more
dissimilar than European countries between themselves."
Ticket pricing has to allow for the much weaker purchasing
power of the Koreans as against the Japanese.
Common logos, the sharing out of match fixtures and readiness
for surprise moves from North Korea during the event are other
major sources of worry.
In a show of goodwill, Tokyo and Seoul decided last month to
ease some visa restrictions for the finals and form twin cities
of ten host cities in each country.
"Co-organizing such a big event needs very close co-operation
because differences can erupt over delicate situations," said
Rene-Georges Querry, who officiated at France '98.
In Tokyo to share experiences from that event, Querry said the
organization of transport between venues would be a major
problem.
"Crowd control is important but could be limited in view of
the traditional discipline that characterizes the two countries
and their distance from Europe and Latin America, the two major
regions from where hooligans travel," he said.
Despite recent signs of a thaw, ties between Japan and South
Korea remain stuck in deep distrust. Differences are still
blocking a possible visit to Seoul by Emperor Akihito.
President Kim Dae-jung said Thursday that it would not be
suitable for the visit to take place after the World Cup but the
Japanese public thinks the opposite, opinion polls show.
The emperor's visit has great significance as it would be the
first since a 35-year Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula
ended in 1945. The period left behind scars too deep to be healed
by the exchange of goodwill that followed Kim's Japan trip in
October.