South Korea’s national women’s soccer team forward Choi Yoo-ri will join Birmingham City in the English Women’s Soccer Championship next season.
According to a source familiar with the women’s soccer market, Choi Yuri’s transfer surged ahead of the English women’s soccer transfer window closing on Friday.
Birmingham City Women, a “traditional women’s soccer club,” wanted Choi Yuri. Birmingham City, a founding member of the Women’s Super League (WSL), has been working tirelessly to return to the WSL after being relegated to the second tier Championship in the 2021-2022 season. However, after a poor start to the season, with one draw and two defeats in their first three games, and a drop to 11th place, they have been actively recruiting for an ace before the transfer window closes. After officially announcing the signing of ‘veteran’ Cho So-hyun on July 15, the team is also close to signing ‘1994-born attacker’ Choi Yuri. With their skill and grit, the Korean aces look set to help Birmingham City on their promotion mission.
Thanks to the dedicated collaboration of a group of people who share a common desire to advance women’s soccer, a deal was struck at the last minute before the transfer window closed. Incheon Hyundai Steel, whose contract with Choi Yoo-ri expires at the end of the season, made a quick decision to secure the player’s future ahead of the championship game in November, and the club’s administrators moved quickly after the decision to terminate her contract. Choi’s transfer was fast-tracked when a Korean Football Association (KFA) administrator returned to work late after work and issued an International Transfer Consent (ITC). Choi will become the sixth South Korean player to play in the English Women’s Football League, joining Ji So-yeon, Cho So-hyun, Lee Geum-min, Jeon Ga-eul, and Park Ye-eun.
Choi Yoo-ri is an unconventional player with an unstoppable bad-boy mentality behind her pretty face. She famously refused to play in the 2015 WK League rookie draft after being ordered to do so. Her decision to forgo disciplinary action for the freedom to choose her career led to a groundbreaking change in the league. In 2016, the league switched to a separate recruitment process instead of a draft. Choi played for Sportoto from 2016 to 2020, then moved to the “absolute number one” Incheon Hyundai Steel for the 2021 season, where she earned her wings in the strongest team. She was strong in big games. In her first year with the club, she was named MVP after scoring the game-winning goal in the championship second leg against Gyeongju Hansuwon, and last season she was named WK League Offensive Player of the Year after scoring 10 goals to lead Hyundai to a 10th consecutive title. A teammate of Lee Kum-min and Jang Seul-ki, the women’s national team’s central ’94 line,’ Choi Yoo-ri has speed, activity and ‘game-changing’ ability. She is an all-round attacker who can play up front or as a winger. After making her A-League debut at the 2014 Cyprus Cup against Switzerland (1-1 draw) as a 20-year-old, she scored her debut goal against Thailand (5-0) in the group stage of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and has nine goals in 51 A-League matches. After starring at her first Women’s World Cup in Australia-New Zealand last summer, she decided to move to England to pursue her dream of playing on a bigger stage. Choi is currently training with Paju NFC as they aim to win a fourth consecutive medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games. 먹튀검증
Meanwhile, on the same day, English club Birmingham City Wimmin officially announced the signing of ‘veteran’ Cho So-hyun through their website. ‘Birmingham City Women are delighted to announce the signing of Cho So-hyun,’ the club said, ‘signing South Korea women’s national soccer team member Cho So-hyun on a one-year contract with a one-year option.