WK League News

The Korean Women’s Football Federation (KWFF) recently announced the appointment of four stars from hit show Kick a Goal (골 때리는 그녀들) as marketing ambassadors. The partnership between the federation and these popular celebs is another indication of the KWFF’s real ambition to further promote and develop women’s football in Korea in the next few years.

Kick a Goal, sometimes also called Shooting Stars in English media began airing on SBS TV in 2021. It features female singers, actors, comedians, athletes and TV personalities competing in a five-a-side football tournament, coached by well-known retired footballers. The show has been an absolute hit, becoming one of Korea’s most watched television programmes and even earning a nod at the prestigious Baeksang Arts Awards in 2022.

Kick a Goal has been credited with sparking a huge boom in interest in football and futsal among women in Korea. Since the show began airing, the KFA has seen a significant increase in the number of female players and women’s futsal teams registered.

Stars from Kick a Goal also took part in this year’s K-Win Cup, an annual amateur women’s futsal tournament organised by the men’s professional league K League. The celebrity team’s participation raised the media profile of the tournament, bringing public attention to the lively amateur women’s futsal and football scene.

The four personalities named as KWFF ambassadors are Hwang Heejung, Kim Seunghye, Park Jihye, and Yubin. Hwang, the older sister of Premier League striker Hwang Heechan, plays for ‘FC National Team Family’ on the show and also represents BtheHC Sports Management. Comedian Kim plays as a defender for ‘FC Gavengers’, while sports broadcaster, Arsenal fan, and qualified referee Park is captain of ‘FC Anaconda’ (some of the team names do feature wordplay that is only really effective in Korean). Yubin, perhaps best known as a member of K-pop outfit Wonder Girls, plays alongside other singers for ‘FC Top Girl’. Yubin has also trained as a referee since first appearing on Kick a Goal.

As KWFF ambassadors, the quartet will appear at events and promote women’s football via social media. Earlier this year, retired footballers Jeon Gaeul and Kim Youngkwang became the KWFF’s first marketing ambassadors following internal restructuring at the federation. They have since been actively involved in promoting KWFF tournaments and initiatives via social media, as well as making appearances at some matches and events. Upon their appointment, KWFF chairman Yang Myungseok said that the new ambassadors are “not just names” but “messengers” who will communicate the “fun and value” of women’s football to more people.