On August 24, 2014, the opening ceremony for the “2014 1st Damunwha World Cup” was held in Ansan Wa Stadium. This festival was an opportunity for multi-cultural people and Koreans to mingle and understand each other.The starting games began with a kick-off onthree different football grounds. The games were held from August 24 through October 5.
The Damunwha World Cup was hosted by the Multi-cultural Family Service Center(MFSC) and Gyeonggi Province Council of Sport for All. It was supervised by the Korea Ansan Football Association and supported by Gyeonggi Province, Ansan City, Yonhap News, Damunwha-Ilbo, Hwarang Credit Union, Danwon Police Station, and others.
This event included 40 teams. Twenty teams were Korean teams, and twenty teams were from different countries, such as China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Nigeria, Tanzania, Cameroon, Uganda, and Liberia.
During the Damunwha World Cup, the games were held onfive different football grounds, and the competitionswere group league and tournaments. The semifinal games and the final game took place on October 5, 2014, to decide the winner. Only 20 teams would qualify for the tournaments, twoteams from each group.
“The Damunwha World Cup will be a festival for families from around the world and from different continents, seeking peace, charity, and love as the motto. Let’s accomplish global harmony through this competition,” said Kim YoungSoo, president of the Damunwha World Cup and director of MFSC.
The mayor of Ansan City, Jae Jong-gil,remarked, “Ansan City dreams of a city made up of people from different cultures but mixed together in harmony. With Ansan City having the highest population of foreigners in Korea, we should make the city the best in diversity and harmony.”
This special Damunwha World Cup, designed after the FIFA World Cup, which is a global festival, was planned to help heal the pain which Ansan City isgoing through after the tragic sinking of the Sewol Ferry and to help brighten the mood of the city.