SEOUL, May 04 (AJP) - The Korea Football Association confirmed Monday that North Korean women's soccer club Naegohyang (meaning "my hometown" in Korean) will visit Suwon, south of Seoul, for the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League finals. The visit marks the first time a North Korean athletic delegation has entered South Korea in eight years.
According to South Korea's football governing body, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) informed South Korean officials of the North Korean team's participation on May 1. The move ends a long hiatus in cross-border sports exchange following a period of active cooperation in 2018 that included unified teams and joint athletic entries.
Naegohyang qualified for the tournament finals after winning the 2023~2024 North Korean top-flight league title. The team will face Suwon FC Women in a semi-final match scheduled for May 20 at Suwon Sports Complex.
The visiting delegation includes 39 individuals, consisting of 27 players and 12 staff members, according to the Ministry of Unification. Naegohyang is a corporate-style club founded in Pyongyang in 2012 and receives sponsorship from a consumer goods company.
The squad is led by Ri Yu-il, who previously served as head coach for the North Korean national women's team. The team demonstrated a dominant performance in the qualifying rounds, scoring 23 goals without conceding.
Naegohyang advanced through the group stage with two wins and one loss, including a 3-0 victory over Suwon FC. They secured a place in the final four by defeating Ho Chi Minh 3-0 in the quarter-final round.
The Korea Football Association won the bid to host the tournament finals in January after Suwon FC successfully advanced to the knockout stages. The winner of the semi-final match will face either Melbourne City or Tokyo Verdy in the championship match on May 23.
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