24/09/2026
🇰🇷 Kang-in Lee was just 10 years old when he was scouted in Korea and invited for trials at Valencia which he passed with flying colors.
However, under FIFA regulations, a minor under 18 cannot be transferred to a club on another continent. But there is one exception, that is if the player's parents relocate to that country for non-footballing reasons and bring their child with them, the club can sign them.
His father, a former South Korean special forces soldier, relocated to Valencia, Spain and opened a taekwondo studio, teaching locals how to train in a country whose language he did not speak. The move was deemed non-footballing in nature, which legally allowed 10-year-old Kang-in to be registered with Valencia's academy. His mother resigned from her job as a hospital administrator in Korea to help run the studio. His two sisters followed.
An entire family uprooted their lives for the dream of a 10-year-old boy they believed in with no guarantees he would make it.
Safe to say, he made it.
