United Koreans in Japan 2018 Home (#6- MIN-CHOL) Jersey/Shirt

This is an Adidas United Koreans in Japan official football team 2018 home jersey featuring the number of star defender Son Min-chol.

The United Koreans in Japan official football team represents the Korean population living in Japan, who are often referred to as Zainichi Koreans. The team includes players holding passports from North Korea, South Korea and Japan. The team, run by the United Korean Football Association in Japan (UKFAJ), joined ConIFA in 2015, and played its first matches at the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup. The team grew out of the local football club for Koreans in Japan, FC Korea, which formed in 1961 and currently plays in the Kanto Soccer League. FC Korea initially maintained links with Chongryon, the pro-North Korea organization of Koreans in Japan, however they severed formal links in 2002 after adopting a pan-Korean identity in order to also attract players affiliated with South Korea. The team most recently competed at the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup, where they appointed former North Korean international An Yong-hak as player-manager, with the team finishing in 11^th place overall.

Son Min-chol is one of the highest-profile footballers to have played for the United Koreans in Japan, with the now-retired centre-back having had a prolific club career in several top leagues throughout Asia. He was born in Kyoto, Japan to parents of Korean heritage and made his senior debut for F.C. Ryūkyū in Japan’s 4^th tier in 2009. He then joined FC Korea in the Kanto Soccer League in 2010 before having spells with Indian I-League clubs Shillong Laong (2012-15) and Mumbai FC (2015-16). In 2017, Min-chol had a brief stint with Thai 2^nd tier club Songkhla United F.C and later that year he joined Hong Kong Premier League club Lee Man. Min-chol made his debut for the United Koreans in Japan team at the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup and also represented North Korea at youth level internationally, having played for the U23 national team in the qualifiers for the 2008 Olympics.