The 'overseas player' Ki Sung-yueng (36, Seoul) expressed admiration for the British turf.

'Eastar TV' released a video in March showing Ki visiting Birmingham City in the United Kingdom and meeting Baek Seung-ho. The content introduces the football environment in England, where Ki, who has played for Scotland's Celtic and is currently active in Seoul, is featured.

Ki visited the training ground of Baek Seung-ho, who plays for Birmingham City in the English League One. The turf condition was so perfect, despite being a training facility. It stood in stark contrast to the poor conditions of venues where professional athletes and national team players compete in the K League 1.

Ki said, “I feel so envious seeing this. How good must it be for the players to train in such a place? I feel sorry for Korean players. No matter how much we talk about it, there's no improvement. Seoul, which earns 8 billion won from revenues related to the Seoul World Cup Stadium, spends only 200 million won on turf maintenance. Even if I were a player, I would want to play here right now,” pointing out the realities in Korea.

Baek Seung-ho noted, “Even if it's League One in England, the grass is excellent, even if the stadiums are not.”

Ki pointed out sharply, “In England, no one talks about the turf. It's fundamental. Having good grass is fundamental to football. How can the national team play on such turf? This represents our country, yet no one talks about it. Isn’t it embarrassing? What kind of football development are they talking about? Korea keeps saying there's no choice, but that's lowering our standards.”

In fact, many players have raised concerns about the turf issues in Korea. Son Heung-min also said, “As it's a home game, we should play in good conditions and environments, but it’s frustrating that this isn't happening and there's no improvement. It's upsetting that football players cannot play in good environments. No matter the country, it can be cold or hot. However, other countries have good grass, and we do not. Shouldn’t we find another way?” conveying a strong message.

The United Kingdom has many rainy days, resulting in low sunlight and frequent rainfall. Nevertheless, through significant investment, it employs advanced equipment to maintain the grass at the highest quality. We should not simply blame Korea's poor turf conditions on the climate.

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