North Korean Fans Banned From Watching Tottenham and Two Other Premier League Clubs

North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un has banned the country from watching three Premier League clubs, a new report has found. The dictator has long ensured that much of the programmes shown on television across the nation are propaganda-led. However, sport offers a rare break from state-controlled messaging, while also given fans an insight into the sporting cultures of different regions.

Despite that, Jong-Un has still made sure that some of his political policies impact the viewing of Premier League football in the country, with that being the reason why the three teams will not be broadcast.

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Tottenham One of Three Teams Banned From North Korean TV’s

Brentford and Wolves are also prohibited from being seen

According to discoveries made by the Washington-based Stimson Center’s 38 North project, as per The Mirror, Tottenham, Wolves and Brentford are the three Premier League clubs to be prohibited from North Korean television screens. This is due to the fact that each club has one South Korean player in their ranks, and with political tension between the two states still high, North Korea does not wish to promote players from there.

The most famous of these names is, of course, Son Heung-min, who is arguably the greatest Asian player in Premier League history. The Tottenham and South Korea captain has made 324 appearances in the English top flight, scoring 126 goals and adding another 69 assists.

As for the other two outfits, Molineux is the home of striker Hwang Hee-chan, who had one of the most impressive rises of any player during the 2023/24 campaign. Meanwhile, Brentford also boasts 20-year-old Kim Ji-soo, who made his Premier League debut for the club this season.

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Interestingly, the report states North Korea does not have any rights to show Premier League action and is infringing on copyright laws in order to do so. It is also claimed that the matches are shown four months behind schedule, with the start of the season being broadcast in January. Furthermore, games are cut down to 60 minutes as opposed to 90, and are shown on the KCTV channel right before the 5pm news. It is estimated that 26 million people tune in every week and that football is the main international sport broadcast in the region.

All statistics courtesy of the Premier League – accurate as of 15/02/2025.