Bangkok--Dec 17--BAGOC
The men s soccer competition of the 13th Asian Games has no age limits for competitors, however the Olympic Games competition is solely for players under 23 years old.
Voravi Magudee, Secretary General of the Football Association of Thailand and an executive board member of FIFA, said there has been no age limit for soccer players at the SEA Games or Asian Games because it depends on each country s decision although many teams already send young players.
“South Korea and China have sent soccer players who are under 23 years old to compete at the 13th Asian Games and more than half of Japan s players are also under 23 years,” he said.
The age limit was first brought in at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain when FIFA and the International Olympic Council decided it would give young players the opportunity to show their skills in a world-class competition.
The two organizations decided that without the age limit, the standard of soccer at the Olympic Games would be no different from the World Cup. However the World Cup is a fully commercialized tournament with top professional players and the IOC only allow players to accept medals as an award.
Voravi said the World Cup is organized in the same year as the Asian Games with a gap of only six months. Some people believe that soccer players who have played in the World Cup would enliven the matches in the Asian Games. Others suggest young players should be allowed to show their skills in major tournaments to gain experience.
He believes soccer in the Asian Games is second to none in regional tournaments because so many countries want to win the gold medal.
It is unlikely that the AFC will seek a formal talk on an age limit for the Asian Games among AFC members and the OCA, to be in line with the Olympic Games.
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