Sports agency seeks next football stars
A young startup business operator, who once had dreams of becoming a professional football player, is helping future talents learn and play football overseas.
Stopia Korea CEO Cho Woo-tak said that he had to quit pursuing his dream when he was a high school student but decided to help other talented young players with the same dream.
“A number of talented players have knocked on the door of the European leagues, but very few have landed successfully on teams. Lee Seung-woo and Paik Seung-ho’s successes in FC Barcelona are exceptional, but it is no secret their success is attributed to their communication skills not only with their teammates but also with coaches and management.”
Lee and Paik are f amous FC Barcelona youth footballers who are anticipated to play on its A team side by side with Argentinean Lionel Messi and Brazilian Neymar Jr.
In a bid to learn sports agency management skills, Cho went to the University of Southern California and majored in economics. He then worked with a couple of Korean sports agencies, including Sportizen, and started his own agency Stopia Korea last year.
“Football is a sport of communication. How you interact with your teammates, coaches and management is crucial. Stopia Korea, therefore, emphasizes educational aspects,” Cho said.
“When I learned football in middle school and high school, coaches did not really care about our acade- mic performance and we usually slept during class. However, that shouldn’t be the case anymore.”
Stopia Korea conducts various international football camps under a marketing agreement with Nike. It recruits young players between 8 and 18 so they can learn individual skills, such as footwork, agility and anticipation, as well as team work such as set play, team dynamics and strategy. Separate from Nike Football Camp, Stopia Korea also pro- vides other summer and winter camps with Major League Soccer (MLS) giant LA Galaxy.
All the courses are conducted in English, and those who prove their qualities could be scouted to play in various international youth football tournaments such as the Ibercup. Last year, Cho also led a youth team participating in the Ibercup.
After the tournament, the Portland Timbers of MLS offered a tryout to one of the youth players.