WK League News

The Korean Women’s Football Federation (KWFF) recently announced its “W-Project”, a development plan which aims to grow women’s football in Korea by 100% over the next 10 years. The project cites five major areas for improvement and comes after an overhaul of the KWFF’s organisational structure earlier this year.

With a central vision of “Korean women’s football receiving the love and attention of the people”, the W-Project’s aims include the professionalisation and expansion of the WK League, the establishment of a women’s Korea Cup, expansion of grassroots football, and better support for female players, coaches, and officials. In the short term, the KWFF intends to reorganise and increase its personnel by 2026. Plans include the establishment of a new marketing team as well as a team focused on the expansion of grassroots football. The player selection and salary system will also be overhauled and the 2026 WK League draft will be used to kick-start a “new WK League”.

Improving the foundations of women’s football is a priority for the W-Project, which promises to increase access to football for young girls through after-school clubs, football festivals, and competitions for club (not school-affiliated) teams. In order to increase opportunities for all and reduce regional bias, the KWFF plans to establish six regional leagues for girls’ football clubs by 2030.

The importance of youth football is also evident in the KWFF’s plans for structural innovation with the eventual goal of professionalising the WK League. WK League teams will be required to operate an U12 side by 2027, an U15 team by 2030, and an U18 team by 2033. The KWFF will assist clubs in improving their administration and facilities to achieve these targets. The WK League itself will expand to ten teams by 2035, and a women’s Korea Cup will be established. The KWFF will also operate a Women’s University football league and improve conditions for university players.

The W-Project’s third key area for development is the strengthening of women’s leadership. This includes cultivating talent and supporting young players as well as providing better career support for retired players, coaches, and officials. The KWFF will work to provide education not only in football itself but also in other areas such as football administration and management, clean sport, gender issues and media training.

As part of the earlier restructuring of the KWFF, its website has already undergone a major update and its social media channels have been more active over the past few months. Digital marketing will be further improved as part of the W-Project, with the KWFF planning to use social media and video contents to connect with fans. Furthermore, it was announced that exchanges will take place between the WK League and leagues elsewhere in the world to improve marketing and communication with fans.

The final key point of the W-Project is the strengthening of relationships between WK League clubs and their local communities through social liaison activities such as football coaching visits and volunteering. League clubs will be required to participate in such activities at least twice a month in order to establish women’s football in local communities, improving the visibility and reputation of all teams, and the league as a whole.

KWFF chairman Yang Myungseok, appointed earlier this year following the death of long-time chairman Oh Gyusang, promised that the W-Project is “not just a slogan but a blueprint for practical change” that will usher in “a new golden age for Korean women’s football”.

With so little change over the past few years, it can be hard for those involved with women’s football in Korea to believe promises of progress. Even with a new, seemingly more dynamic, chairman at the helm of the KWFF, we were never likely to see much difference from last year to this one, as the new administration inherited the system in its current state. It will be some time before we see any long-term effects of the W-Project, but with the promise of short-term improvements, fans will be looking for material change in 2026, for example the addition of weekend fixtures. As women’s football in other regions continues to develop rapidly, the WK League has a lot of catching up to do to retain talent and gain legitimacy on the continental and global stage. Hopefully the W-Project is a meaningful start.