North Korean women crowned Asian club champions in South
SUWON, South Korea: The first North Korean sports team to visit the South in eight years crowned their trip by winning the Asian Women’s Champions League, beating Japan’s Tokyo Verdy Beleza 1-0 in Saturday’s final. Naegohyang Women’s FC lifted the trophy thanks to captain Kim Kyong Yong’s goal just before half-time in the South Korean city of Suwon. Women’s football is one of North Korea’s strongest international sports, with their national sides regularly competing at the highest levels in Asia and globally. Naegohyang’s win means they will appear in next year’s FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, which will feature teams from around the world. Naegohyang, who were founded in 2012 and whose name means “My Hometown” in Korean, beat Suwon FC Women 2-1 in the semifinals at the same Suwon stadium earlier this week in a rare North-South match-up. The North Koreans edged Tokyo in a final that featured plenty of hard tackles but was played in a fair spirit. The players hugged each other at the final whistle and coach Ri Yu Il sat on the bench and wept with joy. Interest in Naegohyang’s visit to the South has been intense, and 7,087 general admission tickets for their semifinal against Suwon sold out within hours. Tickets for the final were still available shortly before kick-off and swathes of empty seats could be seen in the stadium. There were no official Naegohyang supporters because North Koreans are generally not allowed into the South, and the two countries have technically remained at war since 1950. South Korean spectators, wearing sunglasses and caps under the sunny weather, beat traditional Korean drums while cheering for Naegohyang. Around 3,000 spectators from civic groups backed by Seoul’s unification ministry were