North Korea’s Naegohyang Women’s FC arrived in Beijing, China, ahead of its scheduled trip to South Korea for the AFC Women’s Champions League semifinal against Suwon FC Women, the Inter-Korean Sports Exchange Association said Tuesday.
The association said the North Korean club arrived in Beijing by air earlier in the day.
According to the association, the team will stay at a training facility near Beijing from Wednesday to Saturday for training and tactical preparations, before arriving in South Korea through Incheon International Airport on Sunday.
Naegohyang is visiting South Korea to compete in the 2025-26 AFC Women’s Champions League final-stage tournament, with all matches to be held at Suwon Sports Complex in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.
The Pyongyang-based club will face Suwon FC Women in the semifinals on May 20, in a rare inter-Korean football match. The winner will advance to the final on May 23.
The visit will mark the first time a North Korean sports delegation has traveled to South Korea since the International Table Tennis Federation World Tour Grand Finals held in Incheon in December 2018.
It will also be the first visit by a North Korean women’s football team to South Korea since the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.
The Inter-Korean Sports Exchange Association said it plans to organize a cheering squad of about 100 people for the match between Suwon FC Women and Naegohyang.
seungku99@heraldcorp.com
