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Jeonbuk State, in collaboration with the Jeonbuk State Office of Education and Jeonbuk Physicl Education Middle & High School, is continuing international exchange and friendship through sports by delivering sports equipment donated by students to youth in three African nations. On the 5th, the State and the Office of Education held a send-off ceremony at Jeonbuk Sports Middle & High School for the project titled “Re; Play Together, Jeonbuk Sports Friendship Gifts,” shipping the items to Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Namibia. The theme, ‘Re; Play Together,’ signifies resuming games (Re; Play) that had been halted due to a shortage of soccer balls and sports gear, this time together with Jeonbuk.

This initiative goes beyond mere material support; it aims to practice solidarity and friendship across borders through sports and to expand the foundation for exchange among future generations. In particular, sharing equipment that students actually used spreads the value of sharing while extending Jeonbuk’s international sports diplomacy into schools and the local community. The project originated from visits last year by officials from Zimbabwe and Namibia, with whom Jeonbuk has maintained international sports exchanges. During their visit to Jeonbuk Sports Middle & High School, they requested support for sports equipment. Students readily agreed to contribute, leading to a broader international exchange program supported by the State, the Office of Education, and the school. The donated items total 616 pieces across 12 sports, including soccer, taekwondo, shooting, archery, swimming, etc. —comprising both gear previously used by students and new items collected for this project. The equipment will be delivered to the Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture and National Olympic Committees of each country via Zimbabwean diplomatic missions and international shipping. It will then be distributed to young athletes and youth active in organizations such as the Kirsty Coventry Academy in Zimbabwe, the Waitaka Taekwondo Club in Kenya, and the MTC Hopsol Youth Soccer League in Namibia.

Kim Jong-phil, Director General of Jeonbuk State’s 2036 Summer Olympics Bid Department, stated: “I hope the precious sports items that nurtured the dreams of our Jeonbuk students will serve as a new source of hope for African youth. Moving forward, we will continue to promote international exchange through sports, guided by the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) core values of inclusion and solidarity.” Im Young-gun, Director of Arts, Physical Ed & Health Division at the Jeonbuk State Office of Education, said, “It was a meaningful opportunity for our students to put into practice the spirit of sportsmanship through sharing and caring while developing a global perspective. We hope that the students’ small but heartfelt gesture will be warmly received by young people in Africa.”

Meanwhile, Jeonbuk State has been steadily expanding its international sports network by dispatching a Taekwondo demonstration team to the World Taekwondo U-21 Championship in Kenya, participating in the World Union of Olympic Cities General Assembly, and broadening sports exchanges with African nations. Starting with the “Sports Friendship Gift” pilot project, Jeonbuk State plans to consider expanding the countries and sports covered by the initiative, while also promoting the hosting of international sporting events and exchange programs inviting young athletes from overseas, with the goal of developing Jeonbuk into a specialized international sports city.

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Shin wants a more clinical Korea Republic, IR Iran’s Jafari welcomes challenge

Gold Coast: A dominant performance might have seen Korea Republic take all three points in their AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™ opener on Monday, but it did not leave Shin Sang-woo entirely satisfied.
While Choe Yu-ri’s first-half strike was added to by Kim Hye-ri and Ko Yoo-jin after the break in their 3-0 Group C win against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the 49-year-old head coach admitted that he would have liked a higher return from the 33 shots that his side chalked up, with 11 of those on target.Maryam Yektaei made some fine saves in the Iranian goal but the Taegeuk Ladies were also guilty of spurning good opportunities, and Shin hopes that they can be more prolific in the upcoming matches.

“I’d like to thank all my players as we achieved victory, but we need to be more clinical, and I am a bit disappointed today,” he said. “Our players were quite nervous (in the opening stages), because this was our first match.” “Iran played with six defenders so we needed to stretch the play more and attack the half-spaces more (and I told them this at half-time). The time we have for preparation is really short during such tournaments, so we need to focus on video analysis meetings (and use them to improve).”

Despite defeat, Marziyeh Jafari was satisfied with the efforts of Team Melli Banovan, playing in only their second Finals, against an Asian power that has featured 14 times in the tournament and been to the FIFA Women’s World Cup on four occasions.

Putting their bodies on the line repeatedly, the Central Asians frustrated their opponents and Jafari pointed out that the three goals conceded were due to lapses in concentration. “We knew that we would have a tough game ahead as Korea is one of the toughest teams in Asia,” the 43-year-old said. “They played very well, so I congratulate them and I hope we can come back to the competition powerfully.

“We had a strategy for the second half and we put pressure (on them); we transitioned from defensive to offensive (tactics). We had an individual error for the penalty and also the set-piece (goal conceded) was one of our players’ fault. But I think the team performance was very good.” The lowest FIFA-ranked side in the group, Jafari knows that the odds will remain against them in their upcoming matches against Australia and the Philippines, but chose to embrace the situation.

“I know we had a tough game but this match is finished and (now) we have to put all our concentration into the next match,” she said. “But in my opinion, playing tough matches is enjoyable and the players can gain so much good experience for the future (and become better).”

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Shin wants a more clinical Korea Republic, IR Iran’s Jafari welcomes challenge

Gold Coast: A dominant performance might have seen Korea Republic take all three points in their AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™ opener on Monday, but it did not leave Shin Sang-woo entirely satisfied.
While Choe Yu-ri’s first-half strike was added to by Kim Hye-ri and Ko Yoo-jin after the break in their 3-0 Group C win against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the 49-year-old head coach admitted that he would have liked a higher return from the 33 shots that his side chalked up, with 11 of those on target.Maryam Yektaei made some fine saves in the Iranian goal but the Taegeuk Ladies were also guilty of spurning good opportunities, and Shin hopes that they can be more prolific in the upcoming matches.

“I’d like to thank all my players as we achieved victory, but we need to be more clinical, and I am a bit disappointed today,” he said. “Our players were quite nervous (in the opening stages), because this was our first match.” “Iran played with six defenders so we needed to stretch the play more and attack the half-spaces more (and I told them this at half-time). The time we have for preparation is really short during such tournaments, so we need to focus on video analysis meetings (and use them to improve).”

Despite defeat, Marziyeh Jafari was satisfied with the efforts of Team Melli Banovan, playing in only their second Finals, against an Asian power that has featured 14 times in the tournament and been to the FIFA Women’s World Cup on four occasions.

Putting their bodies on the line repeatedly, the Central Asians frustrated their opponents and Jafari pointed out that the three goals conceded were due to lapses in concentration. “We knew that we would have a tough game ahead as Korea is one of the toughest teams in Asia,” the 43-year-old said. “They played very well, so I congratulate them and I hope we can come back to the competition powerfully.

“We had a strategy for the second half and we put pressure (on them); we transitioned from defensive to offensive (tactics). We had an individual error for the penalty and also the set-piece (goal conceded) was one of our players’ fault. But I think the team performance was very good.” The lowest FIFA-ranked side in the group, Jafari knows that the odds will remain against them in their upcoming matches against Australia and the Philippines, but chose to embrace the situation.

“I know we had a tough game but this match is finished and (now) we have to put all our concentration into the next match,” she said. “But in my opinion, playing tough matches is enjoyable and the players can gain so much good experience for the future (and become better).”

Publications
”More>>”
Videos
”More>>”

Jeonbuk State, in collaboration with the Jeonbuk State Office of Education and Jeonbuk Physicl Education Middle & High School, is continuing international exchange and friendship through sports by delivering sports equipment donated by students to youth in three African nations. On the 5th, the State and the Office of Education held a send-off ceremony at Jeonbuk Sports Middle & High School for the project titled “Re; Play Together, Jeonbuk Sports Friendship Gifts,” shipping the items to Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Namibia. The theme, ‘Re; Play Together,’ signifies resuming games (Re; Play) that had been halted due to a shortage of soccer balls and sports gear, this time together with Jeonbuk.

This initiative goes beyond mere material support; it aims to practice solidarity and friendship across borders through sports and to expand the foundation for exchange among future generations. In particular, sharing equipment that students actually used spreads the value of sharing while extending Jeonbuk’s international sports diplomacy into schools and the local community. The project originated from visits last year by officials from Zimbabwe and Namibia, with whom Jeonbuk has maintained international sports exchanges. During their visit to Jeonbuk Sports Middle & High School, they requested support for sports equipment. Students readily agreed to contribute, leading to a broader international exchange program supported by the State, the Office of Education, and the school. The donated items total 616 pieces across 12 sports, including soccer, taekwondo, shooting, archery, swimming, etc. —comprising both gear previously used by students and new items collected for this project. The equipment will be delivered to the Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture and National Olympic Committees of each country via Zimbabwean diplomatic missions and international shipping. It will then be distributed to young athletes and youth active in organizations such as the Kirsty Coventry Academy in Zimbabwe, the Waitaka Taekwondo Club in Kenya, and the MTC Hopsol Youth Soccer League in Namibia.

Kim Jong-phil, Director General of Jeonbuk State’s 2036 Summer Olympics Bid Department, stated: “I hope the precious sports items that nurtured the dreams of our Jeonbuk students will serve as a new source of hope for African youth. Moving forward, we will continue to promote international exchange through sports, guided by the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) core values of inclusion and solidarity.” Im Young-gun, Director of Arts, Physical Ed & Health Division at the Jeonbuk State Office of Education, said, “It was a meaningful opportunity for our students to put into practice the spirit of sportsmanship through sharing and caring while developing a global perspective. We hope that the students’ small but heartfelt gesture will be warmly received by young people in Africa.”

Meanwhile, Jeonbuk State has been steadily expanding its international sports network by dispatching a Taekwondo demonstration team to the World Taekwondo U-21 Championship in Kenya, participating in the World Union of Olympic Cities General Assembly, and broadening sports exchanges with African nations. Starting with the “Sports Friendship Gift” pilot project, Jeonbuk State plans to consider expanding the countries and sports covered by the initiative, while also promoting the hosting of international sporting events and exchange programs inviting young athletes from overseas, with the goal of developing Jeonbuk into a specialized international sports city.

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