Choe Yu-ri (; born 16 September 1994) is a South Korean

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

Women's Championship The Women's Super League 2, also known as Barclays Women's Super League 2 for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in England, operated by WSL Football. It is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The div ...

club

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

and the South Korea women's national team.

Early life

Choe started playing football in elementary school, after a coach from the school's football team noticed her ability to run very fast at a school sports day. She is close friends with forward Lee Geum-min, who attended the same high school and college. Together with

Jang Sel-gi Jang Sel-gi (; born 31 May 1994) is a South Korean footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender or midfielder for Gyeongju Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power WFC, Gyeongju KHNP and the South Korea women's national football team ...

, they have been called the '94 line trio', referring to their birth year and close teamwork having trained together with the national team since a young age.

Club career

Military enlistment refusal

In the 2015

WK League The WK League (Hangul: WK리그) is a semi-professional women's football league, run by the Korea Football Association (KFA) and the Korea Women's Football Federation (KWFF), which represents the sport's highest level in South Korea. Icheon D ...

rookie player draft, Choe was selected by Busan Sangmu, a military team requiring all players to join the military and undertake basic training. At first, Choe stated that she would join the team despite reservations about joining the military, in particular the effect that such a career move would have upon her training with the national squad. However, she eventually refused to join the military, considering it an infringement of her freedom to choose a career. According to the rules of the WK League draft at the time, any player who refused to join their drafted team was not permitted to play in the league for two years, and as such Choe was absent from the WK League in 2015. Following the incident, the KWFF revised the rules of the draft with regards to the military team, and held a special draft for Choe to give her a second chance.

WK League

Choe was signed by Daejeon Sportstoto in late 2015, having missed only one season of league football. She played for the side for five years before transferring to

Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels The Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women's Football Club () is a South Korean women's football team based in Incheon. The club was founded in 1993. They are South Korea's most successful club with eleven consecutive WK League titles won from ...

ahead of the 2021 season. At the

2022 WK League The 2022 WK League was the 14th season of the WK League, the top division of women's football in South Korea. The regular season ran from 2 April to 27 October 2022, and the play-offs from 4 to 26 November 2022. The total number of rounds has be ...

Women's Football Awards, the first annual awards ceremony of its type, she was named as the league's forward of the year. During her time with the Red Angels, Choe made 55 appearances, scoring 20 goals and providing six assists.

Birmingham City

Choe transferred to

during the 2023 summer transfer window on a two-year deal with a year option. She scored her first goal for the club in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

tie against

MK Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

in December of the same year.

Style of play

Besides her goal-scoring ability, Choe is known for her speed and stamina. Her high-intensity play has drawn comparisons to South Korean international midfielder Hwang Hee-chan. Since her youth, she played mostly as a midfielder or winger, but started playing in a more attacking role from the 2020 season onwards.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Choe goal.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choe, Yu-ri 1994 births Living people South Korean women's footballers Women's association football forwards South Korea women's under-20 international footballers South Korea women's international footballers Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Footballers at the 2018 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games WK League players Women's Super League 2 players Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC players Birmingham City W.F.C. players South Korean expatriate women's footballers South Korean expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate women's footballers in England 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2022 Asian Games 21st-century South Korean sportswomen Asian Games bronze medalists in football