Camel Live interviewed Seul Ham, CEO of D-Drive, the organizer of Barcelona's current Asia tour.
Hello, Seul Ham, how are you?
"If you ask how I am, the truth is that last night was a very tough moment for me. Many people in Japan and South Korea are really worried about this situation because there are so many who love Barcelona, and they’ve lost the chance to watch the players in the stadium.
As the general manager of this promotion company, this is extremely difficult for me, not only because of the fans who love the club, but also because of the people involved in organizing these matches.
My first thought was that I had a great opportunity to arrange two Barcelona matches in South Korea. It was a huge honor for me, and I was very happy. Then I thought, besides South Korea, we could organize matches in other countries too."
Could you explain what happened with Barcelona's scheduled friendly match against Vissel Kobe in Japan?
"I received many offers from Asian clubs wanting to play against Barcelona. There were clubs from Tokyo and other countries. A man sent me a message on LinkedIn, claiming to be one of the main sponsors of a Spanish club, and he explained that he had organized very successful friendly matches in Japan before. I believed him because he gave me confidence, and we met.
Then he explained that if Barcelona went to Kobe, he might be able to find a good sponsor to secure a big sponsorship. It was a very large Japanese company, so I decided to host a match in Kobe. Then I signed a good contract with Barcelona for this match in Kobe, and I even sent an advance payment myself."
Was it with your own money?
"Yes. It was my money, and some came from sponsors. Some payments have been made, but as time passed, other payments were delayed. So I asked for documents and evidence to verify the payment status. He sent me bank documents, but those documents were invalid. The deadline was June, and I didn’t receive any money from that person.
He made excuses, but everything was false. Last night, I pressed him and his secretary, and the secretary finally admitted to me that the Yasuda Group had never paid me this money."
Was 10% of the fee required for the Japan match?
"No, no. It’s not 10%. I can’t disclose the details of the contract, but I can tell you that it was more than 10%. What I can assure you is that the Yasuda Group’s money never arrived, except for a small portion from its sponsors. In fact, at 4 a.m., I managed to speak to an employee of that sponsorship company, who told me the company had paid a large sum. But where is that money? We have to pay Barcelona because we have an agreement. I’m really shocked.
So Barcelona ultimately decided to suspend their match in Kobe, and I think that’s a very reasonable solution because they gave us plenty of time to get this done, but the Japanese side didn’t honor the agreement.
So I want to apologize to everyone at Barcelona, all my partners in Spain, and also to the relevant teams in South Korea and Japan. Now I hope to complete all payments for South Korea, including the charter flight fees and travel expenses from Barcelona to South Korea, and I hope Barcelona will have a pleasant experience in South Korea."
That means Barcelona will fly to South Korea?
“I will do everything I can to make sure Barcelona can come to South Korea. I’m not worried right now.”
You’re not worried? Why?
“Because we’re already handling the charter flight fees... So I’m not worried because I know we can do it.”
That means you will arrange the charter flight, and the payments for the South Korean matches have been 100% made?
“Yes! The payments for the two matches in South Korea have been 100% made and secured. Hotels and transportation have also been paid for. I hope the club will give me one more chance to arrange the charter flight and resolve the issues.”
There’s a lot of controversy around this. Luki (a close friend of Laporta’s confidant and former technical director of the Spanish Football Association) is in your company. What role does he play there?
“I’m sorry. He was a very good player and also a former technical director of the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Sometimes he gives advice on football matters, that’s all. I don’t want to damage his reputation here because he has nothing to do with the situation in Japan and knows nothing about the Yasuda Group or this matter. We must be very transparent about this.”
Is there anything else you want to say to those who were going to watch the matches but couldn’t?
"I’m a 37-year-old woman. I’m still too young to organize such a big event in South Korea and Japan. I regret some of my decisions, but I will do my best to finalize the matches and host the Barcelona team in South Korea. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it."
