South Korea’s women’s national team has issued an ultimatum to the national association. The players criticize unfair differences compared to the men.
Due to “discriminatory conditions” from the association, South Korea’s women’s national football team has threatened a boycott ahead of the upcoming Asian Championship. This is based on documents from last year, which were only published on Tuesday.
Accordingly, in a letter dated September 26, 2025, to the Korea Football Association (KFA), the players criticized poor conditions during international matches and training camps. The statement says that the female footballers have to endure “clear and undeniable differences” compared to the men’s teams.
Problematic comparisons include long bus journeys and economy class flights, and the women’s team has to stay in “inappropriate” accommodations located far from the training grounds. Furthermore, they are forced to cover costs such as airport transfers and training equipment themselves.
“For many years, national players have silently endured poor and unreasonable conditions, driven solely by their pride as ‘national representatives’,” the letter states. The KFA was expected to respond by October 17, 2025, otherwise, they would “suspend participation in all training related to the 2026 Asian Cup”.
A spokesman for the association told the AFP news agency that they are examining “gradual improvements” and discussing solutions internally. The Asian Championship will take place from March 1 to 21 in Australia. South Korea will face the hosts, Iran, and the Philippines in the preliminary round.