North Korea's players rejoiced after scoring a goal during the FIFA U-17 Women’s Football World Cup 2024 final match against Spain at the Olimpico Felix Sanchez Stadium in Santo Domingo on November 3, 2024. – AFP
Talent, discipline, and a fervent desire to honor leader Kim Jong Un have propelled North Korea's young footballers to two Women's World Cup titles within weeks, according to experts. Despite being nuclear-armed and impoverished, North Korea is more frequently in the news for its sanctions-busting ballistic missile launches. However, after clinching the under-17 Women's World Cup on Sunday, state media hailed the country's teenage players as 'the focus of football experts, fans, and spectators worldwide'. This victory followed North Korea's triumph at the under-20 Women's World Cup in September, a tournament they won despite being largely isolated from the global community.
'I want to share this joyous news with our beloved father and leader Kim Jong Un,' said under-17 goalkeeper Park Ju Gyong, who was overwhelmed with emotion. Expressing gratitude to the Kim family is customary for North Korean athletes after significant wins. Lee Sang-yoon, a former South Korean men's team player, noted that North Korea's women footballers are 'highly skilled and renowned for their stamina'. He attributed their success partly to the 'political system', which enforces strict adherence to predetermined play patterns and tactics.
Irune Dorado, a member of the Spain under-17 team that lost on penalties in the final, described the North Koreans as 'a very intense team' that 'doesn't let you breathe'. North Korean women generally outperform men in sports. At the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, women athletes won 10 out of 11 gold medals. The government's annual list of North Korea's top 10 athletes often features mostly women. 'While North Korean society is extremely patriarchal, the state is eager to elevate female athletes to the same, and sometimes higher, level as their male counterparts,' said Shreyas Reddy, a North Korean analyst at NK News.
The logic is straightforward: it offers a greater chance of success. North Korea's men have participated in the World Cup twice, famously reaching the quarter-finals in 1966, and are currently ranked 111th globally. Their female counterparts have been to the Women's World Cup four times, reaching the quarter-finals in 2007, and are ranked ninth. Experts note that while European nations have recently invested heavily in women's football, North Korea seized the opportunity in the female game when other countries were less interested. The recent World Cup victories were not flukes; North Korea has won each tournament a record three times, though they have yet to achieve the ultimate prize, the Women's World Cup.
Shaun Goater, a former Premier League striker and member of FIFA's technical study group at the under-17 tournament, observed that North Korea's team is 'highly organized, fit, and athletic, with a high level of technical ability and game understanding'. Winger Jon Il Chong was awarded the Golden Ball for best player, and Choe Il Son, another North Korean, was named best player and top scorer at the under-20 World Cup. Defector Cho Mi-young revealed that the state identifies promising footballers from primary schools across the country and brings them to Pyongyang for training. 'North Korea dedicates significant resources to developing talented athletes, as it's one of the few ways to gain positive international attention,' Cho said.
The players undergo rigorous training, but Cho believes 'the strong mentality and tenacity of North Korean women' were key to their victory. 'Their genuine belief in the need to please their leader' is another significant motivator, Cho added. Kim Jong Un is known to have a passion for football, and a 'Pyongyang International Football School' was established two years into his rule. Heo Jeong-pil, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul, noted that Kim has shown 'interest and support' for women's football. Heo attributed the teams' success to 'their powerful physical conditioning combined with solid resolve', driven by a strong desire to enhance national prestige.
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