*This content was translated by AI.
The Korea Football Association is challenging to host a domestic stage that will determine the strongest Asian women's soccer club.
The Korea Football Association said in a press release on the 26th that it submitted a letter of intent to host the 2025-2026 Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League (AWCL) semifinals and finals to AFC on the 23rd.
The bid is intended to arouse interest in women's soccer and increase the international competitiveness of the WK League. Just as the men's AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) will be played in Saudi Arabia from the quarterfinals to the finals, the women's Champions League will also have semi-finals and finals at a single venue. The semifinals are scheduled for May 20 and the final for May 23.
However, the conditions for selecting the venue are strict. The AFC selects the venue for the Association of Member States to which the semi-finalists belong. Even if the association submitted a letter of intent, Suwon FC Women, who participated as representatives of the K League, will lose their hosting status if they fail to reach the semifinals.
In the end, it is up to Suwon FC Women's toes to hold the event. Suwon FC Women, who participated in this tournament as the 2024 WK League winner, passed the group stage and settled in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals will be played in a single match at the home of the top team in the group stage on March 29. Suwon FC Women will go on an expedition to China and face Wuhan Zhang Da.
The opponent is not easy. Wuhan is a powerhouse who won the tournament for the first time last season. Defender Kim Hye-ri, who played a major role in Wuhan when she won last season, is currently wearing Suwon FC Women's uniform.
This season, Suwon FC Women strengthened their power by recruiting key national team resources such as Ji So-yeon and Kim Hye-ri.
If Suwon FC Women beat Wuhan to advance to the semifinals and host the event in Korea, there is a possibility of an interesting face-off. On the other side of the quarterfinals, North Korea's women's soccer team is located. If my hometown women's soccer team beats Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) to reach the semifinals, an inter-Korean club competition may take place in South Korea.
The Korea Football Association has experience in hosting its first pilot tournament in Yongin, the forerunner of the AFC Women's Champions League in 2019. If the bid is confirmed, the Asian Women's Soccer Festival will be held again in Korea for the first time in seven years.
A total of 19 clubs are competing in the AFC Women's Champions League, which was officially launched this season. In the quarterfinals on March 28 and 29, in addition to the match between Suwon FC Women and Wuhan, Melbourne City (Australia) and PFC Nasaf (Uzbank), Tokyo Verdi (Japan) and Stallion Laguna (Philippines), and Naehometown Women's Football Team-Ho Chi Minh City will clash for the semifinals.
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*This content was translated by AI.
