Failed to advance to the round of 16 as they were at the bottom of their group with 1 draw and 2 losses (1 win and 4 losses). This is the performance recorded by the Korean women’s national soccer team at the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. It was good that they tied with 2nd place Germany in the FIFA rankings in the final match of the group stage and won the finals for the first time in 8 years.
What is the reason for Korea’s sluggishness? The biggest thing is the decreasing number of players.
According to a report issued by FIFA in 2019, there are 4,200 female players registered with the Korea Football Association. However, as of April this year, only 1,487 female players were registered with the association. A 65% drop in 4 years. On the other hand, the world’s top ranking countries have an overwhelming number of players. The United States, which ranks first in the FIFA rankings, has 9.5 million people. American schools encourage girls to play soccer as a de facto national policy. There are more than 20,000 female leaders, and the proportion of female referees reaches 24% of the total. Germany, second in the FIFA rankings, has 197,575 registered players. Norway, England, France, the Netherlands and Sweden all have well over 100,000. Canada (290,87 people) and Australia (141,487 people) also have a lot. There are a whopping 390,000 female players registered in Japan, ranked 11th in the FIFA rankings. It is the result of the Japan Football Association’s main policy of co-growth of men’s and women’s football since the early 2000s.
The average age of Koreans participating in this World Cup is 28.9 years old. It is the highest among 32 participating countries. Major European countries are around the age of 25 or 26. Japan is 24.8 years old, the fourth youngest among 32 countries. Of course, Colin Bell, the coach of the Korean national team, was negligent in discovering new talent, but it is undeniable that there is not much useful young blood. There is only one soccer team at an elite girls’ elementary school in Seoul, where 10 million people live. Low birth rate and population decline, giving women’s soccer a base? It’s just an excuse. Then why is the number of male soccer players on the rise? In the end, the biggest responsibility lies with the Korea Football Association and the Women’s Football Federation, which did not pay attention to expanding the base of women’s football.
The association occasionally held symposiums on the development of women’s football. However, I have never set up a specific long-term strategy and pushed it strongly. A department in charge of women’s soccer was also created and then abolished. There are also few elite women’s competitions organized by the association. The women’s federation is also busy holding existing competitions, but has not even thought about mid- to long-term plans. The federation’s incompetence, thoughtlessness, and irresponsibility are nothing new. The governance structure between associations and federations is also weak, so it is difficult to expect efficient cooperation.
The domestic men’s football world is also not interested in the development of women’s football. There is no place that runs an elite women’s team among the 3rd and 4th divisions as well as the 1st and 2nd pro divisions. The youth team is also operated mainly by male students, and only a few female students are included. Few clubs have their own women’s youth team. In Europe, there are not a few soccer clubs that run men’s and women’s teams at the same time.
Currently, in the domestic soccer world, fathers often play as coaches and sons play as players. However, there are very few cases where fathers and mothers are active. Even footballers do not raise their daughters to be footballers.
Expecting results without investing is more like a thief. Korean soccer neglected women’s soccer, which led to a slump in the World Cup. Soccer entertainment programs such as ‘Goal Girl’ and women’s club competitions contributed in their own way to changing the prejudice and image of women’s soccer. However, there is still no environment and system in which girls can easily enter soccer at a young age.안전놀이터
When parents want to encourage their young daughters to play soccer, when girls can easily access soccer anywhere at a young age, when female students who enjoy playing soccer in elementary, middle and high schools grow louder, it is only then that Korean women’s soccer becomes a ‘lifelong’. ‘ and ‘survival’ can be expected. It is extravagant to discuss growth and development now.