Social Inequities in Youth Soccer
Project Description
This project examines how social inequalities are produced and sustained within contemporary soccer in Korea, with a focus on both youth development and elite sport pathways. Drawing on studies of private coaching in youth football and the experiences of elite female players, the research explores how access and opportunity are shaped by broader social structures, including class, gendered hierarchies, and the commercialization of sport. By analyzing how resources and outcomes are unevenly distributed, the project seeks to understand how soccer both reflects and reproduces inequality, while identifying possibilities for more equitable forms of participation and development.
Project Information
Project Lead: Alex Gang
Research Team:
- Kyuhyun Choi (Seoul National University, Korea)
- Jin Park (Illinois State University)
- Ju Young Lee (The Citadel – Military College of South Carolina)
- Paul Kimbrough
Partner(s): K-League
Period: 2023 – 2025
Project Goals
- Mapping Inequality in Youth Development: To examine how the rise of private coaching reshapes youth soccer by creating uneven access to training, reinforcing class based advantages, and redefining pathways to success.
- Scrutinizing Elite Pathways and Value: To analyze how elite players’ experiences, including international achievements such as FIFA World Cup participation, translate unevenly into career opportunities, recognition, and long-term stability.
- Revealing Structural Mechanisms: To identify how institutional arrangements, market dynamics, and cultural expectations interact to reproduce inequality across both youth and elite levels of the game.