North Korean club football

[MipoFanatic]

Why don't North Korean clubs participate in the AFC Champions League?

[daeguowl]

Why don't North Korean clubs participate in the AFC Champions League?

I assume their domestic league doesnt meet the relevant criteria

[MipoFanatic]

Why don't North Korean clubs participate in the AFC Champions League?

I assume their domestic league doesnt meet the relevant criteria

So what exactly are Hong Kong, Myanmar, India and Indonesia successfully doing that North Korea is not?

[daeguowl]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_AF ... ons_League

Is that actually a formal league in NK? I thiught they just play a series of cups.
There is a good explanation of how teams are selected here. If North Korea are not in the top 12 teams in East Asia they are excluded. Even, if the league was eligible, I would imagine individual clubs would be ineligible die to failure to meet licensing requirements.

[daeguowl]

I see they were allocated a group and play-off place in the AFC Cup but didnt bother to enter a team.

[Holyjoe]

The North Koreans have plans in place to get a three tier league system with full promotion and relegation set up for 2017 with a view to then having clubs participate in the AFC Cup as of 2018.

Took the K-League the best part of ten years to come up with a plan of how to implement promotion and relegation, the North Koreans have one meeting with some AFC executive types and get it all sorted within a week or two. I like that.

[Crane]

Do they even have enough clubs?

[MipoFanatic]

Forgot about the need for pro/rel. That makes sense.

Do they even have enough clubs?

Wikipedia suggests the top-flight has 16 clubs, while the second tier has 11 sides. The third tier is apparently amateur.

[Holyjoe]

Forgot about the need for pro/rel. That makes sense.

Not really kept up to speed with what the AFC require in terms of league structure for continental club cup participation but the A-League don't appear to have any intention of ever introducing promotion & relegation and their continued inclusion doesn't appear to be in doubt (or they're not fussed if their clubs eventually get excluded).

[MipoFanatic]

Results of 13th People's Games in DPRK (via KCNA Watch):

The Kigwancha team came first in the men's football event and the April 25 team in the women's football.

Meanwhile, the Naegohyang team comprising mainly of teenagers came third in the women's football event.

[eujin]

The third tier is apparently amateur.

I'd be surprised if anyone was formally a professional footballer in North Korea. That's not the way it was done in European communist countries and not the way it worked back in 1966. I'd expect a good number of the players are technically "working" for the army or the police, doing their 10 year national service and getting to play football by the side. Teams like April 25 are very clearly associated with the army and teams like Amrokgang the police. What probably distinguishes the higher level players from the lower level is how much time off they get for training and travelling to matches and whether they have to buy their own boots.