 | |
| Organising body | DPR Korea Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1960; 65 years ago (1960) (original) 2017; 8 years ago (2017) (current form) |
| Country | North Korea |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of clubs | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | DPR Korea Football League 2 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Hwaebul Cup DPR Korea Championship Mangyongdae Prize Paektusan Prize Pochonbo Torch Prize Osandok Prize |
| International cup | AFC Challenge League |
| Current champions | April 25 (23 titles) (2024–25) |
| Most championships | April 25 (23 titles) |
| Broadcaster(s) | Korean Central Television[1] |
| Current:2024–25 DPR Korea Premier Football League | |
TheDPR Korea Premier Football League (Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국 1부류축구련맹전) is the men's top professional football division of theNorth Korean football league system. The DPR Korea Premier Football League was established in 2017, replacing previous football tournaments held in aknockout format which served as a highest-level football competition in North Korea.
Initially, all sports in the country were on anamateur basis with competitions called Technical Innovation Contests[2] being held several times a year since the 1960s until 2009. Technical Innovation Games typically started in February each year.
In 1977, sport in the country was reformed, creating professional teams with paid players for each sport.[3] Since then, an annual championship, called theNational Championship, also known as theDPR Korea Championships, has been held September through each year.
Several other competitions held together with the National Championship each year include theMan'gyŏndae Prize held since at least 2002 in March through April in honour ofKim Il Sung's birthday,[4] thePaektusan Prize held since at least 2010 in February in honour ofKim Jong Il's birthday,[5] and thePoch'ŏnbo Torch Prize held since 2010 in May through June to mark the anniversary of theBattle of Poch'ŏnbo.[6] TheOsandŏk Prize competition, held in December in honour ofKim Jong Suk, was originally the primary tournament ofNorth Korean ice hockey and other winter sports, but football was added in 2015.[7]Hwaebul Cup was first held in 2013.[8]
In 2010, football's National Championship was renamed Top Class Football League or Highest Class Football League,[9][10] but was still held together with the National Championships of other sports, and the other football competitions of the year. This competition was last held in October 2017, after which it was replaced by the current DPR Korea Premier Football League[nb 1] held in thehome-and-away round-robin style used in most other countries.[16]
As of the2017–18 season, featuring thirteen teams that play a full season of home-and-away matches. The 2018–2019 season started on 1 December 2018 and was scheduled to end October 2019.[16]
Due to the unusual nature of the domestic football competitions, North Korean teams only rarely took part in international club competitions of theAsian Football Confederation. The first time a North Korean club took part in an AFC club competition was the1985–86 Asian Club Championship, whenApril 25 SC took part as the previous season's North Korean champions, though they did not advance from the qualifying round. North Korean teams also took part in the1986,1987,1988–89,1989–90,1990–91 and1991 editions of the Asian Club Championships, with some success; in 1988–89, April 25 finished first in their group in the qualifying round, but did not advance from their group in the semi-final round. The best result of a North Korean club was in the 1990–91 Asian Club Championship, when April 25 reached the semi-finals, losing toLiaoning FC of China; however, April 25 then went on to defeatPelita Jaya ofIndonesia in the third-place match. April 25 represented North Korea in six of the seven seasons in which North Korean teams took part in the Asian Club Championship. The only time a different club took part was in the 1989–90 edition, in which North Korea was represented by Ch'andongja SC; Ch'andongja finished last in their qualifying round group, and did not advance.
After the1991 Asian Club Championship, in which April 25 advanced as far as the group stage, North Korean teams did not compete in any Asian club competitions for over twenty years, whenRimyŏngsu SC were invited to take part in the2014 edition of theAFC President's Cup.[17] Rimyŏngsu performed well, finishing second in their group in the first round. They went undefeated in the second round to top their group and advance to the final, in which they lost 1–2 toHTTU Ashgabat ofTurkmenistan - who had finished first in Rimyŏngsu's group in the first round. However, the 2014 edition proved to be the last time the President's Cup was held.
The 2016 North Korean champions and runners up, April 25 andKigwancha respectively, were invited to take part in the2017 AFC Cup. Both started in the group stage, in the same group; April 25 advanced to the knockout stage, with a +1 goal differential over Kigwancha. April 25 facedBengaluru FC ofIndia, losing 0:3 on aggregate. The 2017 DPRK League champions and runners up are presently taking part in the2018 AFC Cup; as the champions, April 25 will begin play in Group I of thegroup stage.[18] The runners-up,Hwaebul SC, had to first play in the play-off round of thequalifying play-offs.[19] There, they facedErchim FC ofMongolia, winning 7–0 on aggregate to advance to the group stage, where they will play matches against April 25,Hang Yuen F.C. ofTaiwan, andBenfica de Macau. Both teams will travel abroad for away matches, and foreign teams will travel to North Korea; April 25 will use theRungrado 1st of May Stadium as its home field, whilst Hwaebul will useKim Il Sung Stadium as its home venue. As a result of the new league structure, the champions and runners up of the 2017–18 Premier League season will take part in the2019 AFC Cup.
Source:[20]
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18[22] | April 25 | Ryomyong | Kigwancha |
| 2018–19[22][23] | April 25 | Ryomyong[24] | Sŏbaeksu |
| 2019–20 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2020–21[25] | Ryomyong | April 25 | unknown |
| 2021–22[26] | April 25 | Ryomyong | Kigwancha |
| 2022–23[27] | April 25 | Ryomyong | Amnokgang |
| 2023–24[28][29] | Ryomyong | April 25 | Sŏbaeksu |
| 2024–25[30] | April 25 | Sŏbaeksu | Ryomyong |
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Winning seasons | Runners-up seasons | Third place seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 25 | 23 | 4 | 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2024-2025 | 2014, 2016, 2020–21, 2023–24 | ||
| Kigwanch'a | 6 | 1 | 5 | 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2016 | 2011 | 1995, 2006, 2012, 2017–18, 2021–22 |
| P'yŏngyang | 5 | 1991, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009 | ||||
| Amnokgang | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2001, 2006, 2008 | 2007 | 2002, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2022–23 |
| Ryomyong | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2020–21, 2023–24 | 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2022–23 | 2024-2025 |
| Hwaebul | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2014 | 2015, 2017 | 2013 |
| Ch'andongja | 1 | 1989 | ||||
| Rimyŏngsu | 3 | 1 | 1995, 1996, 2002 | 2012 | ||
| Sobaeksu | 3 | 3 | 2010, 2022–23, 2024-2025 | 2011, 2018–19, 2023–24 | ||
| Man'gyŏngbong | 1 | 2013 | ||||
| Kyŏnggong'ŏpsong | 1 | 2007 |
| Season | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 |  An Il-bom | April 25 | 19 |
| 2018–19 | Rim Chol-min | April 25 | 21 |
| 2021–22 | Choe Ju-song | Amnokgang | |
| 2022–23 | Pak Kwang-chon | Ryomyong | 22 |
| 2023–24 | Pak Kwang-chon | Ryomyong | |
| 2024–25 | Pak Kwang-chon | Ryomyong |
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