“Are you coming to watch soccer….” Park Jin-seop, the head coach of Busan I-Park, was surprised. His imagination became reality. A soccer festival was held in Busan.
On October 29, the Busan Asiad main stadium hosted the ‘Hana OneQ K League 2 2023’ match between Busan I-Park and Bucheon FC. With one and a half hours left until kickoff, the stadium was already filled with soccer fans.
This was to be expected. Busan was in first place in the league with 66 points from 33 matches. They were on track for automatic promotion to the K League 1 next season, and the stakes were higher than ever. On this day, Kim Joo-sung, the secretary general of the East Asian Football Confederation, visited the stadium and interacted with the fans. In addition, the Busan Children’s Home Association and the Busan Children’s Home Association held a “Family Love Day” by inviting families of children in the Busan area. Fans responded enthusiastically. More than 10,000 people booked tickets in advance.
We opened the lid in anticipation. We exceeded our expectations. On the day, 16,438 people (13,340 paid) attended the event. It was Busan’s largest crowd this season and the largest crowd in K League 2 this year. The previous record was 7789 for the Seongnam FC-Chungbuk Cheongju match on September 23 at Tancheon Sports Complex. This is considered a record-breaker. It is the fifth largest crowd in the history of K League 2. It has been four years since 10,000 spectators attended a K League 2 match between FC Anyang and Ansan Greeners at Anyang Stadium on May 12, 2019.
Busan recorded a 2-1 upset victory amidst one-sided support from the fans. Park said, “From the moment I entered the stadium, I saw many Busan citizens. I wondered, ‘Are you coming to watch soccer? I was surprised that so many people came, and thanks to the fans’ support, the players played an extra step. That’s why we won. I feel a lot of responsibility and weight. We have to do better to keep them coming to watch soccer.” “The atmosphere was really good,” said ‘Captain’ Lee Han-do, “and that’s why we came from behind to win. They gave us a lot of support,” he said.
Busan has had to move stadiums several times this season due to various events. Even before this game, they were worried that the grass would be damaged due to the concert. Despite 바카라사이트 the struggles, Busan held a soccer festival that attracted the largest crowd in K League 2. Busan will aim to win the K-League 2 title and automatic promotion on November 12 against the Jeonnam Dragons (away) and Chungbuk Cheongju (home). Park said, “During the two-week break, we will prepare well while thinking only about Jeonnam. We will prepare as if we are going to the end. I think the most important thing is to stay cool and calm.”