K-pop stars BTS back South Korea's 2023 Asian Cup bid
SEOUL – K-pop group BTS have added a bit of “Dynamite” to South Korea’s bid to host the 2023 Asian Cup with a new video backing the country’s campaign to stage a first major football tournament since they shared the 2002 World Cup with Japan.
The seven-piece boy band have become a worldwide sensation over the last decade with a string of upbeat hits and South Korea will be hoping to leverage their stardom to pip Qatar and Indonesia to the hosting rights next week.
The clip, which is almost 1 minute and 40 seconds long, was posted on the official YouTube channel of the South Korean national football team on Wednesday.
“Millions of people cheering in the streets astounded the world during the 2002 World Cup in South Korea,” band member Jimin says in the video in Korean, recalling the response to South Korea reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup on home soil.
“Those special moments will be witnessed again in June and July of next year if South Korea is chosen as the host of the 2023 Asian Cup,” his bandmate J-Hope adds.
South Korea won the inaugural Asian Cup in 1956 and retained the trophy as hosts four years later.
China was set to stage the 24-team Asian Cup in June and July 2023 but relinquished its hosting rights in May as it pursued a zero-Covid policy.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will decide on the replacement hosts next Monday.
Meanwhile, BTS recently teamed with South Korean car marker Hyundai to release a new version of their track, Yet To Come, in preparation for the FIFA World Cup, wich kicks off in Qatar in November. - REUTERS
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