Rare South Korea-North Korea football match sells out in 12 hours

A rare visit by a North Korean football club to South Korea has triggered a rush for seats, with tickets disappearing in less than half a day, according to Seoul’s football association.

All 7,087 general admission tickets for the 20 May meeting between Suwon FC Women and Naegohyang Women’s FC were gone roughly 12 hours after sales opened on Tuesday, a Korea Football Association official said.

Suwon FC players celebrate a goal at the AFC Women’s Champions League quarter final in China

The teams will face off in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asian Champions League in Suwon, a city about 35 kilometres south of Seoul.

The match will mark the first appearance by a sports team from the isolated, nuclear-armed North in the South since 2018.

Because the Champions League is a club tournament, national flags and anthems will not feature during the game, local reports said.

There will also be no travelling support from the North, as North Koreans are generally barred from entering the South.

Seoul’s unification ministry said it will provide 300 million won ($200,000) to back South Korean civic groups preparing to cheer on both sides at the match.

The Naegohyang squad is due to arrive in South Korea on Sunday on a flight from Beijing.

The semi-final winner will move on to the final of Asia’s premier women’s club competition in Suwon on 23 May, where either Australia’s Melbourne City or Japan’s Tokyo Verdy Beleza await.

North Korea has long been a force in women’s football, particularly at youth level, winning multiple World Cups in recent years.