World Cup fever hits DPRK

Football fans from DPRK are enjoying the World Cup as the government provided free TV coverage of the sports event and also issued commemorative postal stamps of World Cup

Football Enjoys Public Concern in DPRK Pyongyang, January 29 (KCNA) -- Interest in the football of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is growing at home and abroad with the approach of the final preliminaries of the Asian region for the 2006 World Cup. Follows the interview of Ri Hi Yon, vice-director of a department of the Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission of the DPRK, with KCNA: Question: Would you elaborate on the prospects of development of football in the country? Answer: The government has paid deep attention to developing football in a perspective way. In particular, elementary technical education and physical training are being intensified among young people with special interest and talent in football in accordance with the developing trend of football. The main point here is to find and introduce new training methods suitable to the physical conditions of Koreans. A systematic football education and training are given to a lot of children and youths through junior sports schools in all provinces and extra-curricular sports education networks. The selected footballers are allowed to participate in national and international tournaments to accumulate experience. The DPRK junior footballers placed second in the Asian Junior Football Championships (below 17) held in Japan in September last, thus being qualified for the 11th World Junior Football Championships to be held this year. Special attention is paid to boosting the technical qualifications of football coaches which are the key to successful matches. Short training courses for football coaches have been held every year in close contact with international organizations including the AFC and FIFA. Seven rounds of courses were held in Pyongyang last year. Question: How many footballers are there approximately in the country? Answer: The number has steadily increased with public interest and enthusiasm in football ever growing. There are thousands of adult players and more than 100,000 juniors. Question: Can you explain about the titles of national football tournaments and their organization? Answer: There are annual national tournaments such as Paektusan Cup Sports Contest, Mangyongdae Cup Sports Contest and DPRK Championships, home-and-home matches and tournaments involving provinces, factories and universities. Matches are held in the form of league or group league matches. From this year, we are going to introduce yearly match system under which the standing of each team is decided according to its yearly results. Question: Can you tell me about the treatment of the players who have distinguished themselves in national and international matches? Answer: Various titles including People's Athlete, Merited Athlete and Master of Sports are conferred upon players according to their merits. Even after their retirement, they are provided with the same living conditions as they received during their career. The government gives them a colossal sum of monetary prize, modern dwelling houses and luxurious cars to footballers according to their merits. Question: Can you elaborate on overseas tournaments in which the DPRK footballers will take part this year? Answer: We plan to send our players to the Second East Asian Football Championship and the Fourth East Asian Games to be held in March and October this year respectively. And the women's football team is to participate in the international football tournament for Varna Cup to be held in Bulgaria in April. Question: How do you think about the match with the Japanese team to be held on February 9? Answer: Our footballers started training from the first of December last year. They are in high spirits. I believe that our players will certainly win the match.
Visit http://www.freewebs.com/dprk

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• DPRK
• north
• korea
• fifa
• world
• cup
• 2006
• germany
• football
• soccer
• BBC

[fidafi]

North Korea should be proud of themselves too. They are the first asian country to reach the quarter finals before their neighbouring south did it in 2002 till the semis.

[dongsoola2]

I hope people in US are as happy as North Koreans.

The other day, I got a phone call from this crazy guy who keep calling me moron.

Apparently he is in severe mental condition. So many people in US are in serious mental condition. Everybody know this.

[maxswixx]

@dongsoola2 im sure they're a lot happier and less hungry

[muffles12]

@ontariojaguars9 they need come to american where land of freedom cause we got two disney park

[ontariojaguars9]

It's sad how the north korean people have to suffer.

[MusicEqualsMemories]

Congratulations on your feeble performance at the World Cup. 0-3 a sterling record for incompetence. 1-12 goals another stunning achievement in the annuals of ineptitude. Yet the Kim Jong IL bowls nothing but perfect games and shoots 15 under par golf games. Now if he'd just feed his people maybe they too can performed sporting miracles like the dear leader.

[Sousleek]

DPRK sucks

[yorubablk3]

@Tihbialdunav there IS no equivalent comparison with that beaten,assimilated & white imperially redeployed 'eastern Europe' & the victorius,socialist & free DPRK.You know that & that is why you are here..spaming up this thread with lies,distortions & slanders againts the Korean revelution & the state that revelution produced.

[yorubablk3]

@Tihbialdunav And now reorganized to neatly fit into & under the over arching US/British/Israeli world order of unified global capitalist expansionary & predatory white power to extend,defend & consolidate euro hegemony in the face of the inevitable rise of the none white powers like China & India & to counter the restlessness of the Islamic world & the horror of the possible lost of African & Latin American resources?That eastern Europe?

[yorubablk3]

@Tihbialdunav:As for eastern europe,that region of former vestiges of the 19th century royal conglomerates of Czarist Russia, the Hohenzollern German Reich & Austria-Hungarian domination?That fell to the reorganizing default of the victorious USA & its co & appendage powers of England & Israel in the wake of the both defeats of Italian,German attempts at hegemony & the post WW2 attempted socialist reconstruction by the Soviet Union ?

[yorubablk3]

@Tihbialdunav NKS have MANY freedoms,of those the most important are the freedom to build & maintain a social,cultural & political system that is reflective & protective of their right to exist as as a free & unassimilated people,not under the auspices or control or direction of US or European global conglomerate control.And the freedom to control their own lives,destiny & natural resources in the part of korea that is under the legal administration of the Workers party of korea.

[yorubablk3]

@Tihbialdunav And yes,it IS 'wrong to let them(people) starve to death'.So again you AGREE with me!-Stop the global capitalist system from using food & access to to it as a political weapon againts people who disagree with it & wish to have the freedom to not be consumed by or dominated by it.Stop the global war by the white Rich againts the global poor of all colors.