Fresh reports reveal that North Korea’s Kim Jong-un has banned North Korean football fans from watching Tottenham Hotspur and two other Premier League teams.
The Premier League’s wide reach
The Premier League is one of the most-watched leagues in the world. In fact, it is broadcast in 189 countries to 900 million homes, with a following of 1.87 billion people (PL Official).
Amongst the clubs closely followed, is Tottenham Hotspur who have over 180 million around the world following the team’s progress.
Despite Tottenham’s struggles this season, fans still tune in to watch their favourite players, with Heung-min Son being one of the standout attractions.
Kim Jong-un bans North Korean football fans from watching Tottenham Hotspur
According to recent reports from the Stimson Center’s 38 North project—relayed by The Mirror—fans in North Korea are unable to watch Tottenham Hotspur matches.
The North Korean government reportedly does not broadcast games involving teams with players from old rivals South Korea.
As a result, struggling Spurs and their captain, Heung-min Son, are never featured on North Korea’s equivalent of Match of the Day. Last year’s broadcasts also excluded Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Hwang Hee-chan and Brentford’s Kim Ji-soo.
Their reports state that games are aired on state-run KCTV with a four-month delay, meaning matches from August were only shown in January.
How matches in North Korea are being aired
While these reports are interesting, Martyn Williams has now shared why the research has been carried out, stating “There wasn’t really any intention to the research except that we thought it was interesting. We just saw a lot of football on KCTV. It’s the main international sport they broadcast.”
Their report also stated that in 2023, KCTV broadcasted footage from the Premier League, World Cup, and Champions League, however, matches were condensed from 90 minutes to 60 minutes which was likely in violation of copyright laws.