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Suwon to host South vs. North Korea match in Asian women's club football tournament

Published: 30 Mar. 2026, 18:11

The Korean women's football team celebrates during a group stage game against Iran at the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup in Australia on March 2. [YONHAP]

A satellite city of Seoul will host a women's football match that pits clubs from South Korea against those from North Korea in May.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced on Monday that Suwon, Gyeonggi, will host the semifinals and the final of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League at Suwon Stadium on May 20 and 23.

In one of the semifinal matches, Suwon FC Women are scheduled to take on the North Korean side Naegohyang Women's FC at 7 p.m. on May 20.

The other side of the bracket will see Melbourne City FC of Australia against Tokyo Verdy Beleza of Japan at 2 p.m. on May 20.

The final is scheduled to kick off at Suwon Stadium at 2 p.m. on May 23.

According to the KFA, South Korea and China had both submitted their applications to the AFC to host the semifinals and final in January. A country must have its club reach at least the semifinals to be eligible to host these matches, and South Korea won the rights when Suwon FC Women knocked off the Chinese club Wuhan Jiangda Women's FC in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

It wasn't immediately clear if Naegohyang would cross the border to play the knockout match in South Korea.

“At this juncture, it's premature to say with any certainty that Naegohyang will visit South Korea,” a KFA representative said. “We will have discussions with the AFC and the South Korean Ministry of Unification.”

In 2005 and 2013, the North Korean women's national team traveled to South Korea to compete in the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Women's Football Championship.

South Korea also hosted the EAFF competition in 2019 and 2025, but North Korea withdrew on both occasions.

Yonhap