Multicultural Club

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Korea's first self-proclaimed multicultural football club has officially launched and joined the domestic K-league. Check it out in our next report.

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Athletes are in their final stages of training ahead of their very first season. Foreign players showcase accurate shootings. The newly birthed Ansan Greeners FC decided in December to join the K League Challenge, the second tier of Korea's football league system. The club has also finalized a 33 member roster. Four of the members are from overseas. Given that Ansan city is known for the highest concentration of multicultural families in all of Korea, the club made active efforts to recruit foreign players, though it's just starting out in the second tier.

[Soundbite] Bakhodir Nasimov(From Uzbekistan) : "It was tough at first. But now it's been a month and I have begun to communicate with the Korean players. I am acclimating well."

The city's under-15 youth club also includes two players with multicultural backgrounds. With foreigners accounting for 12 percent of Ansan's population, the club aims to foster talented soccer players from their early years.

[Soundbite] Je Jong-geel(Ansan Mayor) : "The club seeks to discover youths in difficult situations and provide hope to multicultural residents. Our city will actively support this endeavor."

The K League Challenge consists of ten clubs including the Ansan Greeners. Their fierce competition to rise to the first division will be a key factor determining the league's popularity.

[Soundbite] Chung Mong-gyu(President, Korea Football Association) : "All that is left now is for the Ansan Greeners to stir up a green fever in the pro football league this season."

The self-proclaimed multicultural Ansan Greeners hold their first match against the Daejeon Citizen on March 4th.