South Korea and Iran will soon sign a new agreement on a sports exchange, officials here said Tuesday.

Yoo Jin-ryong, South Korean minister of culture, sports and tourism, and Mohammad Abbasi, Iranian minister of youth affairs and sports, will sign off on a memorandum of understanding on their sports exchange programs on Wednesday, officials said.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism here, the agreement will cover the bilateral exchange of athletes, coaches and other sports experts. 

The two countries will also cooperate on matters related to international sports organizations, the ministry added.

The ministry said South Korea and Iran had previously signed an agreement on a sports exchange in 2007 and the deal expired in 2010.

With the new Iran deal, South Korea now has sports exchange pacts with 29 countries, the ministry added.

“We hope this signing will further expand sports exchanges and cooperation between South Korea and Iran,” said Yoo, the South Korean sports minister.

“We also hope that the two countries will actively engage in exchange programs in culture and tourism, among other areas.”

Despite apparent goodwill at the government level, South Korea and Iran remain bitter rivals in men’s football.

On June 18, Iran edged out South Korea 1-0 in their last World Cup qualification match, which was held after players and coaches from both sides traded verbal salvos for days.

Both countries qualified for the World Cup finals set for 2014 in Brazil. (Yonhap News)