Thanks for the update, I've heard that the j-brazilians who went to japan in the 80's & 90's were coming back so I guess that would explain the increase.
i remember some australians years ago mentioned that joining afc would be a good stepping stone to join uefa in the future. in the extremely unlikely scenario that uefa would allow oz into its confederation, on what grounds would it ban korea from joining? i understand the economic and political rationale behind allowing turkey to join, but there really isn't a sound argument otherwise - unless: we accept the notion that all continental boundaries are arbitrarily drawn, so if this is the case, then in principle, there can be no objection on grounds of geography, for any nation in the eurasian land mass to join the "european" confederation, and inversely, of any european team from joining the "asian" confederation. if you come to think of it, there really isn't a sound geographical explanation for the existence of an exclusive federation called CONMEBOL either. the only boundaries that seem inviolable to the authorities-that-be are those of africa: all nations in from that continent have not budged from the CAF to the best of my knowledge. i think if there are precedents, in this case more than one, then i don't think anyone can really make a case on geographical grounds alone. but ultimately it would probably come down to the mutual profitability and logistical viability of the transition. from fifa's and uefa's standpoint, it might actually be profitable to have another strong team and economic powerhouse join the european ranks. but from kfa's and afc's standpoint, i can't imagine it would be deemed an improvement on the status quo. i think the right strategy has always been to strengthen the competition within asia itself, and the more korea seeks to share expertise with its neighbors and make investments in other ways, which is beginning to happen, it can only pay dividends later in the oikonomikós of asian football. allowing australia to join AFC ranks is a good start. (and perhaps a change in the FIFA ranking coefficient from .85 to at least .90 or .95 would appropriately account for the very obvious improvement in asian football, and the fact that a great deal of parity seems to developing in asian football now.) we can't be short-sighted if we want success over the long-term. if the move is motivated primarily for higher FIFA rankings, it is silly to change to UEFA. but if UEFA membership would actually help the development of the infrastructure as well as the performance of the team in Korea, then and only then should it be pursued. and i see no convincing argument on this thread for this. but i do heartily agree with koreano that more friendlies need to be arranged abroad, especially in europe; and not always in LA.
Australia joining UEFA makes as much sense as Uruguay joining UEFA. Yes, most of their population are of European heritage, but both countries are too damn far away and have decent conferences that don't hate their guts that they could play in instead.
Turkey has functioned as a geopolitical member of Europe for quite some time. Saying Turkey is not European is like saying Russia is not European. There's some truth to that claim, but both countries are more European than anything else.
yes, a sort of liaison role/double-agent, i.e., European political pawn. Korea is also a political pawn that has been recruited in globalist wars to appropriate/steal natural resources, so if that is what it takes for membership, then it shouldn't be too hard. maybe since it is a "geopolitical ally" of Washington, it should seek to join CONCACAF - this way they will rack up more points in the FIFA rankings, can have their base in LA, and have a relatively easy qualification path to WC along with Mexico and the US.
Geopolitical - geo for sure, political too. But talking about cultural context absolutely not. And don't bring Russia here which always was in Europe and the map we know nowadays is only effect of their expansion to the east. Still Turkey is nice country and probably, aside from Balkans and some people in Germany, no one has much against them and count Turkey as another European country. Talking about football - they were always Europe oriented and I haven't heard anyone asking why they are part of UEFA in my entire life.
At the height of their power, the Ottomans were the strongest state in Europe. They fell behind in the 19th century due to industrialization, hence the "Sick Man of Europe" nickname.
Because European people are afraid of immigrants who doesn't care about culture (almost unified for 16 centuries), don't want to learn language, work and take as much from social help as possible? Those are the reasons. If someone goes to another country, works hard and doesn't want to rob pockets of citizens I think that person would be more than welcome in any country in the world. And European aren't exception from that rule.
Wait, you think that Europe has had a unified culture for 16 centuries? Are you of the belief that all continents should be culturally unified? Do you advocate the partitioning of Asia then, so that diverse places like Iraq and Korea aren't regarded as being part of the same continent? What about Africa? Seems pretty ridiculous that Egypt and South Africa are considered as part of the same continent.
I don't get this obsession. The only way this becomes even remotely possible is if somebody invents transportation that lets you go half-way around the globe in like 2 hours without jet-lag. There's a reason the countries that tend to move are relatively close to the federation they move to. That said, if we really wanted to move into UEFA, it'd be far more justified if we invade Luxemborg or the Faerie Islands. =)
What the hell. Really? Why not just wait until the AFC actually gets good at soccer? Look at the progress we've made in 60 years. Another 60 years and who knows what it will look like. Let's build a legacy here instead of going to another continent to do it. Seriously guys. Have some pride.
Korea should join Oceania Football Confederation. Big fish (maybe) in small pond----> infinite circle jerk-----> football fever---->more revenue for KFA----->go back to AFC and hire Pep Guardiola------->win AFC Asian Cup-------->go to FIFA Confederations Cup------>impress-----> underachieve at World Cup-----> Pep leaves-----> rinse & repeat.