Ji So-yun (, ; born 21 February 1991) is a South Korean professional

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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Seattle Reign FC Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...

of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

and the South Korea national team.

Club career

Ji started her career in Japan, playing for

Nadeshiko League The , commonly known as the , is a women's association football league in Japan. The Nadeshiko League consists of two divisions that correspond to the second and third levels of the Japanese women's football pyramid respectively. Teams are pro ...

champions

INAC Kobe Leonessa INAC Kobe(INAC神戸レオネッサ, Ainakku-Kōbe Reonessa) is a professional Japanese women's soccer, football club from Kobe, founded in 2001. INAC stands for International Athletic Club, while Leonessa means Lioness in Italian language, Ita ...

between 2011 and 2013. In November 2013, Ji was subject to a

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies * ...

bid from English club Chelsea. She agreed to a two-year contract in January 2014. When the transfer was officially confirmed later that month, Chelsea manager

Emma Hayes Emma Carol Hayes (born 18 October 1976) is an English professional football manager who is the head coach of the United States women's national team. She was previously manager of Chelsea Women from 2012 to 2024, winning seven Women's Super ...

said of Ji: "She is one of the best midfielders in the world and our fans will love her." In one of her final matches for the Japanese club, Ji scored against her soon-to-be new club, Chelsea, in the International Women's Club Championship final. Ji was named Players' Player of the Year after her first season in England, as Chelsea narrowly missed out on the FA WSL 1 title on the last day of the season. She was named

PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Women's Players' Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is voted to have been the best of the year in Women's football in England, English women's football. The award has been prese ...

in April 2015 and was also named in the PFA WSL Team of the Year. In the 2015 FA Women's Cup final, staged at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

for the first time, Ji scored the only goal of the match to win the cup for Chelsea. In October 2015 she also scored in Chelsea's 4–0 win over

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

which secured the club's first FA WSL 1 title and a league and cup

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

. Ji made her 100th appearance for Chelsea in a 1–1 draw against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

on 1 April 2018 in the middle of the 2017–18 season. She once again contributed to her club's double, as well as advance to the semi-finals of the

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. ...

in that season. On 29 August 2020, Ji led Chelsea to a 2–0 win over

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

by performing the role of the key playmaker in the

Women's FA Community Shield The Women's FA Community Shield was an association football competition in England. It was a national super cup, and the equivalent of the FA Community Shield in male football. It was the first competitive match of the football season. The match ...

, held for the first time since 2008. She was named the Player of the Match by

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, which broadcast the match. At the end of 2020, she was on the list of eleven nominees for

The Best FIFA Women's Player The Best FIFA Women's Player is a football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, since 2016, to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous calendar year. From 2001 to 2015, the award was known ...

award alongside her teammates Pernille Harder and

Sam Kerr Samantha May Kerr (born 10 September 1993) is an Australian professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Women's Super League club Chelsea F.C. Women, Chelsea, and the Australia ...

. In the light of her performances for Chelsea over the years and the instrumental role she played in Chelsea's 2020–21 FA WSL winning team,

Suzanne Wrack Suzanne Wrack is a British journalist and writer at ''The Guardian''. She is the author of ''A Woman's Game: The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Women's Football'' and wrote ''You have the Power'' with England women's national football team capta ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' claimed that Ji was the best foreign player in the history of WSL. Chelsea won all domestic cups in addition to the league title during the season, achieving a quadruple. After spending eight years with Chelsea, Ji left the club following the 2021–22 season. She made over 200 appearances and scored 68 goals in all competitions, and won six league titles, four FA Cups, two league cups, and one Community Shield. On 24 May 2022, Ji returned to her homeland and joined

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 ...

side

Suwon FC Suwon FC (; Hanja: 水原 FC) is a South Korean professional football club based in Suwon, that competes in the K League 1, the South Korea's top professional league. They play their home games at Suwon Stadium. History Early years: semi-profes ...

, her first spell with a South Korean club. On her WK League debut on 18 August 2022, she scored a brace in a 3–0 victory against Boeun Sangmu. She had helped Suwon advance to the final at the 2023 WK League, and scored two goals in a 3–1 first leg win over Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels. Despite her effort, her club lost 7–5 on aggregate after the second leg. On 24 January 2024, the

club

announced that they had signed Ji on a two-year contract through the 2025 season.

International career

Ji represented South Korea at senior level before appearing at youth level. In October 2006, she made her senior team debut while playing at the

2006 Peace Queen Cup The 2006 Peace Queen Cup was first edition of Peace Queen Cup. It was held from 28 October to 4 November 2006 in South Korea. Venues Group stage Group A ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Group B ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Fin ...

. On 30 November 2006, she became the youngest goalscorer () for the South Korean senior team after scoring two goals against

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

at the

2006 Asian Games The 2006 Asian Games (), officially known as the XV Asiad or 15th Asian Games (, and commonly known as Doha 2006 (), were an Asian multi-sport event held in Doha, Qatar, from December 1 to 15, 2006, with 424 events in 39 sports featured in the ga ...

. Ji played for the South Korea under-17s at the 2007 AFC U-16 Women's Championship and the

2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the first women's football edition of the U-17 World Cup. It was held in New Zealand from 28 October to 16 November 2008. North Korea won the first edition, extending their grip of women's youth footbal ...

. She scored two goals in four matches at the U-17 World Cup. Ji participated in the

2009 Summer Universiade The 2009 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXV Summer Universiade, was celebrated in Belgrade, Serbia from July 1 to 12, 2009. The event has also been organised by a range of co-host cities mostly in Vojvodina (Serbian Autonomous Provin ...

when attending Hanyang Women's University. She won a gold medal and the Most Valuable Player award at the tournament. While Ji was part of the national under-20 team, South Korea finished second at the

2009 AFC U-19 Women's Championship The AFC U-19 Women's Championship 2009 was the fifth edition of the AFC U-19 Women's Championship. It was held from 1 to 12 August in Wuhan, China. The top 3 teams qualified for the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. Qualification Qualified ...

and third at the

2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 5th edition of the tournament. It was held in Germany, who also hosted the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup a year later, from 13 July to 1 August 2010. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all si ...

. She showed her goal scoring ability at both tournaments, becoming the top goalscorer at the AFC U-19 Championship and the second top goalscorer at the U-20 World Cup, ultimately winning the Silver Ball and the Silver Shoe awards at the U-20 World Cup. On 13 June 2015, Ji scored her first World Cup goal with a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in a

Group E Group E may refer to: * E-Group: E-Groups are unique architectural complexes found among a number of ancient Maya settlements * Group E (vase painting), a group of Attic vase painters of the black-figure style, active between 560 and 540 BC. * On ...

match against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

at the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...

. After finishing as runners-up in Group E, South Korea reached the World Cup knockout stages for the first time. Ahead of the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup final, Ji had scored four goals in the competition, including a crucial goal in a 1–0 win over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the quarter-finals. She also scored a penalty that gave South Korea a 2–0 lead at half-time in the final against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. South Korea came close to winning their first major women's football title, but the final ended in a 3–2 defeat after conceding three goals in the second half. Ji is the all-time top scorer of the South Korea women's national team with 72 goals.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

INAC Kobe Leonessa *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Empress's Cup , since 2018 renamed "Empress's Cup JFA Japan Women's Football Championship" () or The JFA Empress's Cup (from 2024 onwards), is a Japanese Women's football competition. As an elimination tournament, it can be considered the female counterpart to t ...

Nadeshiko League Cup The Nadeshiko League Cup (Japanese: なでしこリーグカップ) is a cup competition for women's football clubs in Japan. The competition began as the L.League Cup in 1996 and it was abolished after the 1999 edition. It reappeared on the occa ...

* International Women's Club Championship:

Chelsea *

Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 *

Women's FA Cup The Women's FA Challenge Cup is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup, and now Women's FA Cup (currently known as the Adobe Women's FA Cup for sponso ...

: 2014–15, 2017–18, 2020–21, 2021–22 *

FA Women's League Cup The Women's League Cup, also known as the Subway Women's League Cup due to sponsorship reasons, is a league cup competition in English women's association football. The competition was originally open to the eight teams in the FA WSL, but since t ...

: 2019–20, 2020–21 *

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

runner-up: 2020–21 South Korea U20 *

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament, organized by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), for national teams of women under the age of 20. The tournament is held biennially. ...

third place:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

AFC U-19 Women's Championship The AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup is an association football tournament for women's national teams under the age of 20, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is organised by the Asian Football Confederation every two years, and serve ...

runner-up:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

South Korea Universiade *

Summer Universiade The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

South Korea *

AFC Women's Asian Cup The AFC Women's Asian Cup (formerly known as the AFC Women's Championship) is a quadrennial competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the oldest women's international football ...

runner-up:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

bronze medal:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Individual * Summer Universiade Most Valuable Player: 2009 * FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Silver Ball: 2010 * FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Silver Shoe: 2010 * AFC U-19 Women's Championship top goalscorer: 2009 * Asian Games top goalscorer: 2010 *

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

Asian Women's Team of All Time: 2021 * Korean FA Women's Player of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024 *

Midfielder of the Year:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

* WK League top assist provider: 2023 * Nadeshiko League Best XI: 2012, 2013 * FA Women's Players' Player of the Year:

: 2014–15 * PFA Women's Super League Team of the Year: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20 * Women's Super League Player of the Year by London Football Awards: 2015

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ji, So-yun 1991 births Living people So-yun Footballers from Seoul Women's association football midfielders South Korean women's footballers South Korea women's youth international footballers South Korea women's under-20 international footballers South Korea women's international footballers INAC Kobe Leonessa players Chelsea F.C. Women players Suwon FC Women players Seattle Reign FC players Nadeshiko League players Women's Super League players WK League players National Women's Soccer League players South Korean expatriate women's footballers Expatriate women's footballers in Japan Expatriate women's footballers in England Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Japan South Korean expatriate sportspeople in England South Korean expatriate sportspeople in the United States Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Footballers at the 2018 Asian Games 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games FIFA Women's Century Club FISU World University Games gold medalists for South Korea Summer World University Games medalists in football 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Medalists at the 2009 Summer Universiade 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2022 Asian Games 21st-century South Korean sportswomen