Historic Women’s Football Match in Korea

A historic semi-final match in the Asian Women’s Champions League between a North Korean women’s team and a local South Korean club will take place on Wednesday, May 20. According to the South Korean Football Federation, all tickets for this match were sold out in just half a day.

Approximately 7,000 tickets for the game, which will be held in Suwon, about 35 kilometers south of Seoul, between the North Korean women’s team Naegohyang FC and the South Korean team Suwon FC, were sold within twelve hours of their release on Tuesday. A South Korean federation official disclosed this information to the media.

This match will mark the first visit to the South since 2018 by a sports team from North Korea, a reclusive country with nuclear weapons. The two Koreas officially remain at war, as the conflict from 1950-1953 ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Both Teams to Stay in the Same Hotel

As the Champions League is a club competition, national flags and anthems will not be used during the match, local media reported. There will also be no North Korean supporters present, as North Koreans are generally not allowed to travel to the South.

South Korean national security law prohibits owning or displaying a North Korean flag or playing its national anthem in public. South Koreans also need to obtain approval from the Unification Ministry before contacting any North Korean individual. However, with the North Korean team’s visit being authorized, as reported by a government official to AFP, it will not be illegal for South Koreans to greet their opponents.

The Naegohyang team is scheduled to arrive in South Korea on Sunday via a flight from Beijing. The players and staff will stay at a hotel in Suwon, where the Suwon FC team will also be based. However, meal areas and itineraries for the different teams will be separate, as reported by local press.

The winners of this match will face either the Australian Melbourne City or the Japanese Tokyo Verdy Beleza in the final, also in South Korea, on May 23.