appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Agence France-Presse

Tickets in South Korea for a rare match against a visiting North Korean team sold out within half a day, Seoul’s football association said on Friday.
All 7,087 general admission tickets for the game on May 20 between home side Suwon FC Women and Naegohyang Women’s FC were snapped up within about 12 hours of going on sale on Tuesday, an official from the Korea Football Association said.
The two sides meet in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asian Champions League in the city of Suwon, about 20 miles (35km) south of Seoul.
It will be the first time that a sports team from isolated and nuclear-armed North Korea has played in the neighbouring South since 2018.
The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
As the Champions League is a club competition, national flags and anthems will not be used during the match, local reports said.
There will be no away supporters because North Koreans are generally not allowed into the South.
Seoul’s unification ministry said it will provide 300 million won (US$200,000) to support South Korean civic groups planning to cheer both teams at the match.
The Naegohyang squad are set to arrive in South Korea on Sunday by air from Beijing.
The winner of the semi-final will advance to the final of Asia’s top women’s club competition in Suwon on May 23, against either Australia’s Melbourne City or Japan’s Tokyo Verdy Beleza.
North Korea are traditionally strong in women’s football, especially at youth level, where they have won multiple World Cups in recent years.


Beyond bamboo: Vietnam’s To Lam mounts a diplomacy offensive

Tickets for rare North v South football clash in Korea sell out in 12 hours

Why stability must come before denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula

Tea at the Forbidden City: how SCMP covered 2017 Xi-Trump meeting

North Korea

Suwon FC and Naegohyang FC will face each other in South Korea in the AFC Women’s Champions League. Photo: YouTube/The AFC hub

Pitch perfect diplomacy? North Korean footballers head to South Korea

South Korea’s Suwon FC Women and North Korea’s Naegohyang Women’s FC walk onto the pitch ahead of their Asian Football Confederation Women’s Champions League group stage match in Myanmar in November. Photo: YouTube/The AFC Hub

North Korea’s shooters arrive in South Korea for the 2018 ISSF World Shooting Championships. Photo: YouTube

The captains of Suwon FC Women and Naegohyang Women’s FC exchange pennants before their AFC Women’s Champions League group stage match in Myanmar in November. Photo: YouTube/The AFC hub

Naegohyang Women’s FC celebrate after scoring the first goal in their 3-0 win over Suwon FC Women in the AFC Women’s Champions League group stage match in Myanmar in November. Photo: YouTube/The AFC Hub

China’s marathon boom masks failings of elite competitive performance, expert says

Applications for this year’s Shanghai Marathon have surpassed last year’s total less than halfway through the registration period. Photo: Getty Images

Official believes that marathons are now more cultural tourism projects. Photo: Getty Images

Japan’s Akira Akasaki finished the marathon at the Paris Olympics in a sub-2:10 time. Photo: Getty Images

Sport

Football

The two sides meet in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asian Champions League in the city of Suwon; national flags and anthems will not be used


The two sides meet in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asian Champions League in the city of Suwon; national flags and anthems will not be used.


Tickets for rare North v South football clash in Korea sell out in 12 hours

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The two sides meet in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asian Champions League in the city of Suwon; national flags and anthems will not be used

The two sides meet in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asian Champions League in the city of Suwon; national flags and anthems will not be used