The number of registered footballers in South Korea has surpassed the 100,000 mark, the sport's national governing body said Monday.

The Korea Football Association said the 100,000th player -- an elementary school student -- was registered in its database last Friday, and there are now more than 100,000 footballers -- including both pro and amateur -- in the country.

The number of registered footballers has more than tripled from a year earlier. Such a rapid hike is due to last year's merger with the Korea Soccer Association of Sport for All, a sports body for people who play football for recreational purposes, the KFA explained. The merger allowed the KSACOSA's players to join the KFA database.

The KFA said 26 percent of the registered footballers are "elite" players, who are professionals or play competitive football with their clubs.

The KFA added only 3.3 percent of the players in its database are woman. By region, those from Gyeonggi Province accounted for 22 percent of the registered players. The average age of the footballers is 34, according to the KFA. (Yonhap)