World Cup success a confidence booster for Asian football: AFC (20.07.2002)
KUALA LUMPUR
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said Friday the success of last month`s World Cup had boosted the self-confidence of Asian footballers.
AFC general secretary Peter Velappan in a statement said Asians were "walking tall today" after the superb co-hosting by Japan and South Korea and the two countries` surprise performances in the tournament.
"Last October, we launched our new slogan for the new millennium which stated that the future is Asia. The slogan seemed to be a rather far-fetched notion to many at that time but the World Cup in Korea and Japan showed the world that Asia was indeed the future," he said.
South Korea become the first Asian team to reach the World Cup semi-finals, catapulting it from 40th to 22nd in the latest rankings of the international football governing body FIFA.
Japan notched up their first World Cup victory by reaching the last 16 for the first
time, pushing it from 32nd to 24th place in FIFA rankings.
Velappan, who was also coordination director for the World Cup, said no other co-hosted tournament would be able to match standards set by the two Asian nations.
"Clearly this World Cup scored more goals outside the field of play. Besides the excellent hospitality, we also witnessed a hooligan free, smoke free and crime free tournament," he said.
He said the Korean and Japanese fans added colour of their own to the month-long tournament, with streets packed by millions of cheering and celebrating fans.
"Such an outpouring of joy has left an indelible mark in the minds of Asians and lifted their sense of self confidence to unprecedented levels," he said.
"For Asia and Asian football, the future beckons with a promise of greater achievements. We will strive to ride the crest of this wave of World Cup success."
