Tickets for an exceptional match featuring a North Korean women’s team against a local South Korean club were completely sold out within half a day, the South Korean federation told AFP on Friday.
Around 7,000 tickets for the May 20 match between the North Korean women’s team Naegohyang FC and the South Korean team Suwon FC were sold out in just twelve hours after going on sale on Tuesday, according to a spokesman for the South Korean football federation.
The two teams will meet in the semi-finals of the Asian Women’s Champions League in the city of Suwon, about 35 kilometers south of Seoul.
This will mark the first visit to the South since 2018 by a North Korean sports team from the reclusive country with nuclear weapons.
The two Koreas remain officially at war, as the 1950-1953 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. Since the Champions League is a club competition, national flags and anthems will not be used during the match, according to local media.
There will also be no North Korean supporters, as North Koreans are generally not allowed to travel to the South.
The Naegohyang team is expected to arrive in South Korea on Sunday via a flight from Beijing.
The winners will face either the Australians from Melbourne City or the Japanese team Tokyo Verdy Beleza in the final, also in South Korea, on May 23.
North Korean national teams have been among the best in the continent, winning several international trophies in recent years, which have been widely praised through state propaganda.
