The Busan I-Park Unified Soccer Team finished as the runner-up for the third consecutive year at the Special Olympics Korea K League Unified Soccer Unified Cup 2023 (the Unified Cup).
The Unified Cup has been organized by the Korea Professional Football Association and Special Olympics Korea since 2021 토토사이트 to improve social awareness and integration of people with developmental disabilities in Korea.
Busan I-Park, which has participated in the tournament since its inception, is in its third year with Dynamic FC, a soccer team for people with developmental disabilities. The team has finished as runners-up in the past two editions of the tournament and won the International Unified Soccer Club Cup last year.
Placed in the top group, Group A, alongside Gyeongnam FC, Bucheon FC, and Jeju United, Busan won 2-1 and 2-0 against Gyeongnam and Bucheon, respectively, but lost to Jeju by 224 to finish the tournament with a 2-1 record. In keeping with the Special Olympics ethos of “everyone is a winner,” the rankings are expressed as “first winner (1st place)” and “fourth winner (4th place),” with Busan receiving the “second winner (2nd place)” medal.
Jeon Chi-kyu, head coach of the Busan Unified Football Team, said, “We wanted to win this tournament, but we finished as runners-up. Next time, we will prepare a winning strategy to compensate for our deficiencies,” he said, expressing his enthusiasm for the next tournament.
Lee Pyeong-woo, a partner athlete representative, said, “I feel that the tournament is getting bigger and better every year. It was an honor to participate in the competition with Busan IPark. I felt that we were a team when I saw everyone enjoying and celebrating together, regardless of whether they were disabled or not.”
“Through this Unified Cup, we became one with our partner athletes and felt that our unified soccer team is the best,” said Shin Jae-mo, a special athlete representative.
The Busan I-Park Women’s Soccer Team ‘Shooter Women’ will participate in the 2023 K League K-WIN CUP (hereinafter referred to as the Queen Cup) at the Jecheon Football Center in Chungcheongbuk-do from the 14th.
The Queen Cup has been organized by the Korea Professional Football Association since 2010 to promote women’s amateur soccer. Until 2021, it was held as a club soccer tournament for female university students, and from last year, it was reorganized as a tournament for women of all ages, with K League clubs selecting their own players and forming teams. Busan I-Park Shooter Women participated in the tournament last year, the first year of its reorganization, and finished eighth out of 12 clubs.
Operating as two teams, the first and second teams, the Shooting Superwomen held a selection match between the two horses in August to participate in the Queen Cup. The second team, led by Seung-hwa Jung, coach of the Busan I-Park U15 team, will compete in the Queen’s Cup. The 13-member second team has been training regularly and playing practice games every week to prepare for the tournament. In addition, Eo Won-young, the younger sister of Busan’s Eo Won-jung, is also participating in the tournament this year after participating last year.
The Shooter Women’s Queen Cup entry ceremony was held during their home game against Ansan on September 19. Captain Kim Yeon-ju said, “As we are participating in the tournament in the uniform of Busan IPark, we will do our best to showcase Busan’s strength and win the tournament. I’m determined to stay injury-free and enjoy the competition.”