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SEOUL - Korean billiards federation (KBF) has taken a major step towards spectacular growth and development of billiards in Korea in the future. KBF and billiards were selected by the government to be part of the 'Sports Club Division League' as a second sport following football. The project aims to increase the number of people participating in billiard sports in Korea by activating the regional sports and activities. Football was the first sport to be designated for the project in 2017.
Regarding the selection of billiards for the Sports Club Division League, Mr. Nam Sam-hyun, the president of the Korean federation, Mr. Nam Sam-hyun, said: ''I am very pleased to announce that it will be the second official sport in Korea for this project. I was confident that the infrastructure that our billiards had, would be fully selected. This means that billiards has just taken its first step toward becoming a strong and solid sport for 100 years. Thanks to the cooperation with KBF member federations, I will do my best to ensure that the league is well run and regional federations will ensure that the project is well run and successful."
Following football in 2017, it is only the second time in history of Korean sport that billiards has now been designated for the project. The Korean federation unveiled ‘KBF Division Roadmap' that will move into four steps towards 2023. The introduction of "Billiards Club Division League", which combines professionals and amateurs in billiards, has been finalized. The League project, hosted and organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and the Korea Sports Olymic Council (KSOC), aims to expand the number of people participating in billiards sports by activating the regional sports club league.
The project is a common way of division league operation, with the top team promoted to the upper league and the bottom team demoted to the lower league. For example, Korea football, which was first introduced in 2017, consists of a total of seven divisions from the amateur level K7 to the elite (professional) level K1.
The selection of billiards in the Sports Clubs Division League project shows that Korean billiards is suitable for the formation of divisional leagues, has an excellent infrastructure and has the potential to become a major domestic sport.
Mr. James Na, Secretary General of KBF, comments: ''I believe that KBF Division Project will bring the innovation of Korean billiards. We have been bidding for 3 months, Korean Division League is not just holding an event. The ecosystem of the Korean billiards industry will be renewed in Korea. The league will be held one weekend every 2, 4 weeks. If you only used billiard sports as a hobby so far, it will be a part of your life when ‘The Division League' starts. KBF has a vision to make ‘100 years strong sport' with KDL business.''
Meanwhile, KBF will first form and operate the D5 league, which will last a total of eight months from April to November 2020.
