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Interview with Ganbold Buyannemekh

Profile：
Born 1 October 1957. Started playing football at the age of five. During his days as a core member of the national team of Mongolia, he was an noted striker with amazing speed and excellent goal-getting skills. During his days as a university student, he studied abroad in Moscow and joined the reserve squad of the most distinguished club in the nation, Dynamo Kiev, where he honed his skills in a high level environment. From the year of his retirement in 1997 to this day, he has been serving as General Secretary of the Mongolia Football Federation. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the East Asian Football Federation.

--The reforms which began in 1997--
Mongolian football has always suffered from adverse climate conditions.

Football was introduced to Mongolia in the 1950s from Russia, but the very closed structure of the socialist regime at the time only worked in the negative direction. The Mongolian Football Federation (MFF) founded in 1959 was a state run organization, and it was not even affiliated with AFC or FIFA. National competitions only meant that football matches were played, and there was no concept of development or promotion of the sport. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that in real terms we just started in 1997 when the MFF was privatized.

MFF had two goals. One was to be admitted to AFC and FIFA. This goal was swiftly attained the following year in 1998. Our second goal was to upgrade our facilities. There were no grounds with natural grass in Mongolia, and our teams had no choice but to play on uneven soil that served as a football pitch. The country’s popular sports were traditional events such as sumo, horse racing, and archery. Interest in football was very low and there we could expect no support from the government or corporate sponsors because of our nation’s harsh economic conditions.

--Artificial turf pitch triggers interest in football--
We honestly didn’t know what to do, when FIFA came to our rescue. Our nation became a target for FIFA’s ‘GOAL Project’ and they built a magnificent Football Center with an artificial turf ground in the capital, Ulaan Baatar. People may wonder why not natural turf, but the grass will not survive the severe winter of Mongolia.

Since its completion in2002, the phones at the MFF office will not stop ringing as inquiries have been pouring in from schools and companies interested in using the facilities. Playing on a green pitch became an big status symbol for Mongolians. Fortunately, interest in football suddenly expanded, and the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ Germany was broadcast live for the first time in the history of Mongolia, keeping people awake after midnight and into the early morning hours. Despite the hours of the live broadcast, the people of Mongolia truly enjoyed the fantastic world-class football demonstrated at the World Cup.

I feel extremely grateful to Dato’ Paul Mony Samuel (Deputy General Secretary of AFC), President Mohamed bin Hammam of AFC, and President Joseph S. Blatter of FIFA for extending their generous support toward the construction of the Football Center.

--Aiming for more--
We have made great improvements in the past ten years. We were able to fulfill our dream of playing official matches on our artificial turf pitch. We have established a competition for all age categories so that we can emphasize youth development.

There are still many other challenges for us. We would like to install a second and third artificial turf pitch, improve the level and increase the numbers of players and coaches, and promote football not only in Ulaan Baator but in other areas throughout the country as well.

I have great respect for Mr. Saburo Kawabuchi, the President of JFA, who made the 2005 JFA declaration. I especially admire his attitude of never being satisfied with the present but always striving for the better. But I must say it is not very realistic for Mongolia to set a goal of winning the World Cup! Mongolia’s declaration is to improve our level of football and rank 6th in East Asia and rank between 25th to 30th in all of Asia. Judging from the current state of Mongolian football, that is a very ambitious goal. Three years ago, in minus 20 degrees freezing weather, we hosted a World Cup qualifier against Maldives. Anything is possible.

Mongolia Embraces a Period of Transition; Shifting from Physical to Mental Football

The Mongolian Youth Championship “Peace Cup” was held from September 24-30 in the capital, Ulaan Baatar. Competitions for the three age group categories of U-12 (8-12 y.o.), U-15 (13-15 y.o.) and U-18 (16-18 y.o.) were organized, and Darkhan Province 2, Darkhan Province and Kharaatsai captured the title for the respective categories.

Sharkhuu Chultem, an original member of the first national team of Mongolia formed in 1958 and a leading coach who currently looks after School No. 5, who place third in the U-18 category, looked back on the championship and observed, “It is evident that Mongolian football has made great strides in development.”

“In the past, you would see football that relied solely on the physical aspect, but now the players can think what they should do in a given situation and adjust their play accordingly. As we take part in football festivals organized by EAFF and youth tournaments hosted by AFC, our players are affected by the high level tactics and skills they see first-hand. Our football season used to be limited to the three summer months, but now we have indoor facilities that allow us to play futsal even in the coldest months of winter. We’ve come a long way and we owe it to the efforts of all those involved with the MFF and football, and I express my deepest gratitude.”

Mr. Sharkhuu points out that there are still a lot of issues remaining.

“We witnessed the end of the socialist era and our level of living improved, but on the other hand I see the downside of these changes such as the lack of motivation or discipline, which are essential elements of football. I also see more self-centered players who want to score goals and attract attention. When I was a player, under the guidance of a Russian coach, it was all about teamwork. Now as we see improvement in the ability and techniques of the players, we should return to basics and reconsider the importance of teamwork.”

Mr. Battolga, the astonishingly young 20-year-old coach of Baganuur, who finished third in the U-15 category, also voiced a similar concern.

“It is true that Mongolian football dribbles the ball a lot. Even when they should pass the ball, they don’t.” Mr. Battolga studied in Japan and was a member of the football team at the Kokusai Kaiyo Dai-ichi High School. His experience abroad exposed him to football outside of Mongolia, giving him a broader perspective to make such observations.

“But there is no need to feel pessimistic,” he continues. “When I was in Japan, I have seen teams dramatically improve with the quality coaching from former J.Leaguers. If our players and coaches continue to work hard, our efforts will definitely pay off.”

Changes were already evident on the pitch. True to Mr. Sharkhuu’s words that “Mongolian football excels in the physical aspect,” all the teams that participated in the championship went all out and indeed the matches were very physical. When a goal was scored they exploded in joy. When they conceded a goal, they became increasingly offensive in order to score back. They played with determination, which is more important than skills or tactics.

Head coach of the national team, Ishdorj Otogonbayar, attended every U-18 match that took place at the Military University grounds. “We currently do not have any national A-team members here, but I am trying to have a long-range view as a build the team. I had a chance to check the youth players and discover new talent, so this was a very significant tournament,” he said with a big smile.

The biggest challenge for the Mongolian national team awaits them at the next East Asian Football Championship qualifying competition. Coach Otogonbayar hopes his team can resume the positive outcome they experienced when they drew with Chinese Taipei in the last qualifiers. There is a good possibility that some of the players who played in the “Peace Cup” will be called to the national A-team.

Construction is underway to convert the Football Center with an artificial turf, which was constructed with the support from FIFA under the GOAL project, as a modern stadium equipped with sufficient spectator seats, dressing rooms and conference rooms. Eventually, Mongolia wishes to host the final competition of the East Asian Football Championship. The most pressing goal is the development of the youth players who will be the core of the future team who will represent Mongolia at center stage, and Mongolian football stands united as they take on the challenge.

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