Growing number of women making foray into football

Members of W-Kicks, a female football club at Yonsei University, cheer at a football field in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, after winning the K-WIN CUP two years in a row in this June 2021 photo. Courtesy of W-Kicks

SBS TV show 'Kick a Goal' helps lower barriers for female amateur players

By Lee Yeon-woo

Sports shows focused on the growth of female amateur players are gaining rave reviews. Viewers, especially female ones, say that such programs ― like SBS' "Kick a Goal" featuring futsal, JTBC's "Jump Like a Witch" for basketball and MBC's "Curling Queens" for curling ― have not only provided entertainment but also removed barriers for women wishing to participate in team games that were typically considered male sports.

Among the many reality sports shows, "Kick a Goal" is leading the trend. Starting as a pilot program in February 2021, it is now running for a second season since October and currently has a 7 percent viewing rate on average, recording a high of 9.5 percent on Dec. 22.

The success of the program has contributed to bringing more women to the male dominated game and related sports.

Shin Nam-hee, a trainee in the futsal academy JN Sports, kicks a ball on an indoor futsal pitch in Mapo-gu, Seoul, in this September photo. Courtesy of Shin Nam-hee

Shin Nam-hee, a 26-year-old law school student, started her first futsal training session seven months ago at JN Sports, an academy where professional futsal coaches give lessons and organize games among trainees who are mostly women.

"Some of my friends told me that they had enrolled in the academy after watching 'Kick a Goal.' From students in their 20s to housewives in their 40s, the group members are diverse," Shin said.

According to a member of staff of JN Sports, the number of female trainees skyrocketed from 40 in 2018 when the academy started to 1,500 this April.

Shin Chae-eun, the vice-captain of a female football club called W-Kicks from Yonsei University, also noticed the sudden increase in interest toward football when she recruited new members earlier this year. "Most of the applicants mentioned that 'Kick a Goal' inspired them to play football. I was surprised as I never realized the program's popularity would have this much of an effect."

Ahn, a 26-year-old office worker playing futsal in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, often browses the hashtag "women's football" to check out other teams' activities. "The number of female clubs has definitely increased and the regions where they play have also grown in number compared to last year," she said.

In line with the increase in popularity, the Korea Football Association launched the Women's University Football Club League with Shinsegae Group this year. Sixteen university clubs including Yonsei's W-Kicks are participating in the league from April to September.

Members of W-Kicks listen to their coach before playing a game with Korea University in the Women's University Football Club League, April 17. Courtesy of W-Kicks

However, women still have some hurdles to overcome. Shin faced being stereotyped when she and the team trained on outdoor fields. "Many passers-by stop and watch us playing with the ball. I don't mind them watching. What bothers me is their insensitive words. They sometimes drop words ignoring us or comparing our performance to that of male players. They think they say it quietly, but I can hear them all," Shin added.

Seong Hyun-ju, who created and runs FC25 three years ago, also mentioned her struggle to reserve futsal facilities, which have a separate changing room for women. It is common that such facilities, whose main users are men, only provide one changing room. Female players feel uncomfortable using the changing room in those types of situations.

Despite such difficulties, female amateur players generally show a high satisfaction in playing football, saying they have changed not only physically but also psychologically and attained a feeling of accomplishment, a sense of belonging and a growing sense of high self-esteem.

"Women normally choose yoga or pilates for a workout. Football is a tough sport indeed, but it's a good stress reliever. You get energy and feel a sense of belonging by playing as a team," Shin said.

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