Football tour media reports

Beijing Celtic FC chase the craic in Pyongyang

Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Friday October 24, 2003
The Guardian

A team of Irish and British footballers will set off for Pyongyang tomorrow to achieve on the pitch what diplomats have failed to do in conference halls: to bring isolated North Korea and the outside world a little closer.
Beijing Celtic will embark on the first amateur football tour of North Korea in what organisers hope will be a groundbreaking trip to promote friendship through the world's favourite sport.
Reflecting the peculiar circumstances of their North Korean hosts - who have been at war for more than 50 years and are now playing a game of nuclear chicken with the US - the expatriate side's itinerary will be very different from that of the average amateur club on tour.
After taking one of only two weekly flights from Beijing to Pyongyang they will be obliged to lay flowers at a giant statue of the country's founding father, the "Eternal General" Kim Il-sung.
The next day they will play a team from the state-run travel company and then take part in a five-a-side friendship tournament with locals and members of the small community of international aid workers and diplomats.
Quite possibly nursing hangovers from Korean beer, the 21 players, who include nine from Ireland and three from Britain, will be whisked off on their final day for an unusual spot of tourism: a trip to the demilitarised zone between North Korea and its southern rival, which was notoriously described by Bill Clinton as "the scariest place on earth".
Beijing Celtic's captain, Peter Goff, said the team were looking forward to the Pyongyang craic. "Our players are truly excited at the prospect of playing football in the DPRK," he said. "It is a culture we know very little about, but football breaks down cultural and linguistic barriers."
Football is the most popular game in North Korea, which made a big impact at the 1966 World Cup with a giant-killing run which included a victory over Italy. The tour organiser, Nick Bonner, has made a documentary about the survivors of the 1966 team and the enthusiastic welcome they received when they made a trip back to their host city, Middlesbrough.
He said he hoped that more teams, including amateur sides from the north-east of England, would follow in the studmarks of Beijing Celtic.
"It is as neutral as you can get. We are just doing it for the humanity of it all," he said.
· China confirmed yesterday that the deputy leader of its ruling Communist party, Wu Bangguo, is to visit Pyongyang next week.
Wu would be the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit North Korea since an August 2001 trip by Jiang Zemin, then China's president.
Beijing is eager to launch a new round of six-country talks aimed at halting North Korea's suspected nuclear weapons development.

North Koreans agree to play ball.

IRISH TIMES (Ireland) 1st November 2003

The mainly Irish Beijing Celtic football team may have lost a football match
in Pyongyang, but they scored a major diplomatic coup, writes Peter Goff

Kim Chol-su can bend it like Beckham, but he has never heard of the English
football star. Names like Roy Keane and Ronaldo are also new to the
27-year-old North Korean who can slice through a defence without breaking a
sweat.

But Kim got his first taste of international competition last week when the
Beijing Celtic football team made history by becoming the first amateur club
to play in North Korea, one of the most inaccessible countries in the world.
Celtic's players, who are all based in China, are mostly Irish, with the
remainder coming from England, Belgium, Sweden, Canada and China itself. It
was a small, but important, step forward in North Korea's relations with the
outside world at a time when tensions in the region are running high.

"Football is the platform but it's about so much more than that," says J.B.
Terrins, a Celtic player from Armagh. "This country has been so isolated for
so long. A large element was just about showing these ordinary young guys
that foreigners are not necessarily hostile; that we can easily get on well
together." The tour to Pyongyang was inspired by the award-winning film, The
Game of Their Lives, a documentary that reveals the human side of the
incredible performance by the North Korean 1966 World Cup team that beat
Italy and reached the quarter-finals in one of the greatest shocks in
football history.

"After we saw that film we were intrigued," says Will Fingleton, one of the
tour organisers. "We could see how passionate they were about football and
we really wanted to go and play them." Nick Bonner, an Englishman who
produced the film and runs Koryo Tours, a travel company that specialises in
trips to North Korea, explains: "It had never been done before. It was a
batty but beautiful idea. We told the North Korean authorities it was about
'craic' - and explained what that was - and about friendship and
understanding."

North Korea is still technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War and in
the current political climate is a country bracing for an invasion.
Pyongyang, the capital, is a city of three million people but its empty
boulevards, lined with communist-style architecture, are eerily quiet.
Female traffic police, providing rare splashes of colour with sky-blue
uniforms and white batons, direct the few cars that rumble along the bumpy
roads. Terrins describes Pyongyang as "by far the most surreal place I have
ever been. It's like entering a time warp." There are no advertisements, and
at night the few lights that do shine illuminate revolutionary slogans,
giant memorials to the leaders, and anti-US posters that show a fist
crushing an American military helmet or an "imperialist aggressor" impaled
on a bayonet.

Reverence for "Great Leader" Kim Il-sung, North Korea's first leader, is
quasi-religious and he retains the position of eternal president, despite
the fact he died in 1994. The country, which is often hit by famine in the
rural areas, is now run by his son, Kim Jong-il. The North Korean lieutenant
colonel who led the players on a tour seemed not to notice the tense
atmosphere; he was more interested in talking about football and he clearly
did not think the visitors would be up to much.

"Most of you guys are old and fat," he says with a rumbling laugh. "If you
played our army team I think we'd win about 10-0. I don't think you could
beat a Korean team." But Celtic are feeling confident. "It wouldn't be
diplomatic if we hammered them," is the consensus. And closer to home on the
diplomatic front, Britain's ambassador to North Korea, David Slinn, is
invited to play in Celtic's central defence.

After a few minutes into the game it becomes evident Celtic's pre-match
confidence is misguided and by the time Kim Chol-su and crew get into their
stride the away team find themselves a goal down. Chances are squandered at
both ends but the home side is always looking the more comfortable, and 10
minutes from the end Kim waltzes through the penalty box and drives the ball
into the roof of the net, giving them an unassailable 2-0 lead. "Oh, well
thrown, lads," comes Bonner's sarcastic appreciation.

In the bar afterwards music becomes the parlance and Enda Brogan from Mayo
lets fly with Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World, as the non-English
speaking Koreans smile and stamp their feet. The tune is answered by Chae
Song-ok, a 25-year-old waitress who plucked on the guitar and sang
hauntingly beautiful versions of Danny Boy and My Way in Korean. Meanwhile,
Kim Mi-hwa, a 21-year-old hotel waitress, dances by the bar and shouts, "We
really like the Irish. They like to sing, drink beer and have fun; they're
just like the Koreans." Simon Cockerell, from Koryo Tours, says: "It was
incredible. The football and music combination built an enormous bridge. The
Koreans loved it and now want to make it an annual event, only bigger, with
more players and spectators in a big stadium."

Red Cross lays on the half-time drinks in North Korea

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH (UK) 2nd November 2003-11-03

William Fingleton reports on the team of amateur footballers who became the first to meet their match in the world's most closed and secretive state

As the Russian-built Tupolev carrying us to North Korea climbed slowly into the air, passengers were handed copies of the Pyongyang Times, the official English-language newspaper at our destination.

The headline, "Bulldozer driver does fairly well", brought home the unsettling reality of what we had embarked on. What was our amateur football team thinking of, almost a year earlier, when we decided to seek a fixture in North Korea?

We had been inspired by a documentary about the North Korean team which, against all the odds, beat Italy to reach the quarter-finals of the 1966 World Cup, becoming national heroes.

But no unofficial team of foreign footballers had ever ventured into North Korea for a friendly tournament. Now, Beijing Celtic, our amateur international XI with players from Ireland, Britain, Sweden, Canada and China, was on its way to the world's most closed and secretive state.

The only other passengers were the Iranian national football squad, en route to an Asian Cup match - one member of George W Bush's "axis of evil" about to take on another.

Entering Pyongyang, the capital, is like stepping back in time. Despite its population of two million, the streets are almost empty - no shoppers, no traffic jams. People go to work, then straight home. There are no billboards, no gaudy shop fronts, no flashing neon lights. It is an anti-globalisation protester's dream. The silence is unimaginable in any other capital city, least of all in Asia.

The guides who were always with us escorted our team to a dusty training pitch in the shadow of the Yangkado stadium. There, we expected to meet equally amateur opponents - staff from the country's state-owned travel industry, we had been told.

Instead, we faced a serious-looking side of fit mostly 18-year-olds. "Are you sure they all work for the tour company?" we asked our guide. "Oh yes," he replied. "They're all drivers."

We looked at our own driver - a 50-year-old chain-smoker. Why wasn't he in the team, we wondered.

Not that this was ever going to be an ordinary event. Half-time drinks were laid on by the Red Cross; we laid on all the kit worn by both teams. We'd also laid on red and yellow cards for the referee, though he allowed numerous handballs to go unpunished.

In the end, in front of a small crowd of North Koreans and foreigners, our opponents made up for in skill what they lacked in height and beat us 2-0. Later, we combined with the team which had just beaten us and with other North Koreans, foreign aid workers and diplomats - including Britain's ambassador, David Slinn - for an eight-a-side tournament. As rivalry gave way to camaraderie, we noticed that our hosts had broken into smiles - and at that moment felt that we had overcome the cultural and social barriers.

Later that evening an electrical storm plunged the hotel into darkness. By candlelight we huddled around a table, playing a guitar and flute we had brought and serenading our hosts with everything from Neil Young's Rocking In The Free World to Danny Boy.

The North Koreans are keen to repeat the fixture next year, with more teams. Not that our visit changed the world: on the flight back to Beijing, the Pyongyang Times headline screamed: "Septuagenarian still good at singing". We look forward to singing to the North Koreans again soon.

Football helps bridge the great divide.

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (Hong Kong) 2nd November 2003, by Peter Goff and Doug Nairne.

Kim Chol-su can bend it like Beckham, but he has never heard of the English
football star. Names like Roy Keane and Ronaldo are also new to the
27-year-old North Korean who can slice through a defence without breaking a
sweat.

But Kim got his first taste of international competition last week when the
Beijing Celtic football team made history by becoming the first overseas
amateur club to play in North Korea.

Celtic's players, who are all based in China, are mostly Irish, with the
rest coming from England, Belgium, Sweden, Canada and China itself. Two of
the players are from Hong Kong.

It was a small, but important step forward in North Korea's relations with
the outside world at a time when tensions are rising in the region.

"Football is the platform but it's about so much more than that," said
Celtic player J.B. Terrins.

"This country has been so isolated for so long. A large element was just
about showing these ordinary young guys that foreigners are not necessarily
hostile; that we can easily get on well together."

The tour to Pyongyang was inspired by the award-winning film The Game of
Their Lives, a documentary about the incredible performance of the North
Korean team in the 1966 World Cup.

They defeated Italy and reached the quarter finals of the tournament in one
of the greatest shocks in football history.

"After we saw that film we were intrigued," said Will Fingleton, one of the
tour organisers.

"We could see how passionate they were about football and we really wanted
to go to play them," he said.

Nick Bonner, an Englishman who produced the film and runs Koryo Tours, a
travel company which specialises in trips to North Korea, said: "It had
never been done before. It was a batty but beautiful idea. We told the North
Korean authorities it was about friendship and understanding."

Travel to North Korea is a sensitive issue at the best of times, and being
ambassadors of sport and of China put additional pressure on Celtic team
members to make sure the trip went well.

After a few minutes into the game it became evident that Celtic's pre-match
decision to take it easy on the North Korean side was misguided and by the
time Kim and crew got into their stride the away team was a goal down.

Chances were squandered at both ends but the home side was always looking
the more comfortable.

Ten minutes from the end, Kim waltzed through the penalty box and drove the
ball into the roof of the net, giving his side an unassailable 2-0 lead.

"Oh, well thrown, lads," came Mr Bonner's tongue in cheek response.

Before kick-off the Koreans were standoffish and a touch sullen. Afterwards
they had transformed into a happy bunch of grinning and hugging mates.

Following a break for some local spicy fare and a beer, there was a
seven-a-side tournament with Koreans and foreigners evenly mixed across the
teams.

The final went into extra time, then penalties, and then to sudden death
penalties, with - true to form - a Korean slotting home the winner, to the
delight of the local crowd.

In the bar afterwards music became the parlance and Celtic player Enda
Brogan let fly with Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World, as the
non-English speaking Koreans smiled and stamped their feet.

The tune was answered by Chae Song-ok, a 25-year-old waitress, who plucked
on the guitar and sang hauntingly beautiful versions of Danny Boy and My Way
in Korean.

Simon Cockerell, from Koryo Tours, said the trip, which had been sponsored
by courier DHL, was superb in that it allowed normal North Koreans to
interact with foreigners for the first time.

"It was incredible. The football and music combination built an enormous
bridge. The Koreans loved it and now want to make it an annual event, only
bigger, with more players and spectators in a big stadium."

Back in Beijing, with its gridlocked traffic, flashing neon lights and
swarms of people on noisy polluted streets, Terrins said he felt like he had
landed in a different galaxy.

"You feel a bit shell-shocked, in some ways disturbed," he said.

"And you think of those great people you met. We told them we'd never forget
them. Hopefully they won't forget us."

Beijing Celtic are now planning their next trip: a match in Kabul,
Afghanistan.