North Korea’s Naegohyang secured its first-ever Asian Women’s Champions League title Tuesday night as it defeated Japan’s Tokyo Verdy Beleza 1-0 in the tournament, which was held in their homeland.
The controversial occasion, staged in Suwon, marked the first time the North Korean outfit had travelled to South Korea for a competition in the heat of tensions between the countries.
They registered the victory, their first ever Asian Women’s Champions League triumph, just before half time courtesy of their captain Kim Kyong Yong, securing themselves entry to next year’s FIFA Women’s Club Championship.
The Naegohyang players celebrated the famous win by parading their nation’s flag around the ground, an act usually forbidden in South Korea as a result of the strict national security act, unless a competition is subject to specific security regulation issues concerning state matters.
“This is a historical occasion for the club and me,” said winning coach Ri Yu Il, following the final, he also expressed pride in the attitude his players displayed on the pitch.
The game, from the beginning, had political connotations with the South Korean organisers claiming the match would be beneficial “to enhance the relationship between the two Koreas” regardless of their tensions.
The win puts Naegohyang in next year’s FIFA Women’s Club Championship, where they will be pitted against the most elite teams from all other confederations across the world.
