South Korean youth soccer lacks fields, matches, coaches say

South Korean youth soccer faces significant hurdles, with players struggling to find adequate fields and sufficient match experience, according to discussions at a recent hearing organized by the K Football Innovation Committee. The committee gathered input from approximately 100 participants, including players, parents, and coaches, to address the development of youth soccer.

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Children don't have fields to play in and there aren't enough games.

A recurring theme was the scarcity of fields where children can play freely. Coaches noted that while many youth teams operate under school systems, they often function like private businesses, facing restrictions on field usage and high costs for renting external facilities. One coach from Seoul suggested implementing a system that prioritizes youth players for field access during peak afternoon hours, similar to practices in Japan where local governments collaborate to ensure public sports facilities are available for young athletes.

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The most important task preceding the improvement of Korean football culture is the expansion of the base for youth soccer, and especially, there must be many fields where children can play soccer to their heart's content.

The lack of competitive matches was another major concern. A middle school coach pointed out that older students might only get about 10 games per year, a number unchanged from 30 years ago. This limited game time creates significant "downtime" for young players. Furthermore, the scheduling of tournaments during extreme weather conditions, such as heatwaves and cold snaps, was criticized, although some improvements, like shifting the Hwarangdaegi tournament for elementary students to late August/early September, have been made.

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The number of games is not large for elementary, middle, and high school students. We need to reduce the players' downtime.

Financial constraints and systemic issues also plague youth soccer. One official from the Ulsan Football Association noted that while the number of teams has tripled, budgets have shrunk by a third, forcing players to rely on expensive private lessons. This situation risks excluding children from lower-income families. The need for the Korea Football Association to research and disseminate age-appropriate training and technical programs was emphasized. Additionally, persistent issues of physical abuse by coaches, despite disciplinary actions, were highlighted as a major obstacle to the sport's progress, with one parent strongly urging for immediate change.

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If we don't change this now, we won't be able to change it again.