Fans Gather Around Yeouido Hotel
Concerns Over COVID Spread and Quarantine Measures
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The area around the hotel where the players of the national soccer team captain Son Heung-min's club team are staying is bustling with crowds of soccer fans.
Tottenham arrived on the 10th and is staying at a hotel in Yeouido, Seoul. The team is conducting adaptation training twice a day at Goyang Sports Complex and Mokdong Sports Complex. On the 11th, they held a youth clinic at the auxiliary stadium of Seoul World Cup Stadium, followed by an open training session. About 6,000 fans attended the open training that day.
As proof of this popularity, the area around the hotel where the team is staying is constantly visited by soccer fans. When the team moves for training or official events, many gather to take photos or get autographs. Although the time to see the team directly is less than five minutes, these fans linger around the hotel from a few hours to all day long.
Due to this situation, some hotel guests have expressed discomfort. The cheers and loud voices that erupt whenever the team appears, as well as growing concerns about COVID-19 prevention amid the ongoing doubling phenomenon of infections, have increased anxiety. The number of new COVID-19 cases has shown signs of resurgence, reaching the 40,000 range for the first time in about two months since 43,871 cases were confirmed on May 11.
One guest said, "I came to the hotel for a summer vacation and was surprised by the crowds," adding, "With COVID getting worse, seeing dozens of people gathered makes me feel uneasy and uncomfortable."
The same situation applies to another hotel in Gangnam-gu where Sevilla FC, a Spanish professional soccer club visiting Korea around the same time and scheduled to play a friendly match against Tottenham on the 16th, is staying. To minimize inconvenience to guests and the team, the hotel has installed fences to reduce direct contact with soccer fans. However, such concerns are expected to continue throughout Tottenham's visit, which is scheduled until the 16th.
On the 10th, when Tottenham arrived, a soccer-related YouTuber caused controversy by live-streaming the chase of the Tottenham team bus through Incheon International Airport. The broadcast showed interference with security vehicles, and the YouTuber was criticized by viewers for driving with one hand while using a phone for live streaming with the other.
Meanwhile, Tottenham will play preseason friendly matches against 'Team K League' at 8 p.m. on the 13th at Seoul World Cup Stadium, and against Sevilla (Spain) at 8 p.m. on the 16th at Suwon World Cup Stadium.
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