The North Korea national football team formed at the end of the second world war in 1945. The team became a full member of the Asian Football Confederation in 1954 and joined FIFA in 1958.
North Korea were previously the reigning unofficial football world champion, after taking the title from Japan in 2011. This lasted until January 2013, when the team lost to Sweden.
The North Korea national football team is something of a minor legend in world cup terms. The team first entered the 1966 world cup, hosted in England. The little-fancied team caused a major upset by qualifying from the group stage for the quarter-finals.