The Korea Sports Association will push forward the mandatory certification of baseball and soccer team leaders participating in reinforcement training. An official from the athletic meeting said, "The revision of the national selection and operation regulations that were put on hold on the 6th is scheduled to be discussed again by the Sports Fair Committee scheduled to be held on June 5th."

The Korea Sports Association originally decided to make it mandatory for the baseball-football national team leaders to hold a class 2 or higher sports instructor license at the Sports Fair Committee on May 6, but it was temporarily put on hold for fear of a strong backlash from the baseball-football industry.

The Korea Sports Association stated that "there is a rule that all national team leaders participating in international competitions must possess a professional sports leader's certification level 2 or higher certified by the National Sports Promotion Agency." It was also planned to strictly apply this to the leaders of the national soccer team from 2023.

According to Article 15, 'Selection of Leaders for Enhancement Training Participants', Article 15 of the National Sports Association's Selection Rules, it is stated that leaders participating in reinforcement training must possess a professional sports instructor level 2 or higher. Applicable targets are the leaders of the national teams participating in the international competitions organized by the Korea Sports Association, such as the Winter and Summer Olympic Games and the Winter and Asian Games. The World Cup hosted by the International Football Federation (FIFA), the World Baseball Softball Federation and the World Baseball Classic (WBC) held by the major leagues are not tournaments organized by the athletics association.
The Athletic Association thought that the leaders of all sports teams except soccer and baseball would be covered by this clause, and since 2023, it was planned to stipulate that the level 2 or higher license holders would be coaching and coaching the baseball team.

However, in the event that each sporting group exercised the authority to select leaders, the Athletic Association was controversial that it did not fully consult with the Korea Football Association and the Korea Baseball Softball Association. In particular, I was faced with criticism that it was unreasonable to recognize a sports instructor certification that is only used in Korea without recognizing the FIFA leader's certification that is used worldwide.

Since then, the Korea Sports Association sent official letters to the Korea Football Association and the Korea Baseball Softball Association to receive the official opinions of the organizations. First of all, the Korean Baseball Softball Association expressed its intention to accept the policy of the athletic meeting in general. Baseball, unlike soccer, does not have a separate leader certification system issued by the United Nations. Accordingly, starting in 2023, baseball team leaders, whether they are from professional baseball teams or baseball team leaders, are expected to be able to compete in international competitions by obtaining a sports coach's certificate.

On the other hand, football with its own fine-grained certification system has a different voice. The Korea Football Association asked the Korea Sports Association to "recognize the FIFA leader's certification."

In a call to SBS, the secretary-general of the Korea Football Association, Jeon Han-jin, said, "We do not have the exception of the events that systematically manage the leaders' qualifications. The leaders of the soccer team are the most professional people, especially FIFA or AFC (Asia. Soccer Federation) I think it is harder to obtain a leader's certificate than a professional sports instructor's certificate issued by the National Sports Promotion Agency. "

Regarding the position of the Korea Football Association, an official of the Korea Sports Association said, “On June 5th, the Sports Fair Committee will decide whether or not to accept the claims of the Football Association. Dozens of other sports except soccer follow the rules of the Korea Sports Association. "It is difficult to predict whether it is desirable to apply an exception only to the level of equity. It is difficult to predict what conclusion will be drawn."

The Professional Sports Instructor Examination organized by the National Sports Promotion Institute is divided into Level 1 and Level 2, and the Level 2 exam is generally composed of four steps: writing, practical, oral, and training. Current professional athletes or professional athletes registered in a professional sports organization (football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, golf) designated by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism pass the oral exam after a prescribed training You can do it.

As a national representative, those who have participated in any of the international competitions hosted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Asian Olympic Council (OCA), the International Federation by Events (IF), and the Asian Federation by Events need only take the oral exam.

(Photo = Korea Football Association, Yonhap News)