'Home game advantage?' Suwon FC Wimin ultimately changes accommodation, ensuring complete separation of routes from North Korea's Naegok Women's Football Club

*This content was translated by AI.

In the fierce world of competition where huge prize money and the honor of becoming Asian champions are at stake, Suwon FC Wimin faces the unfortunate situation of being unable to fully enjoy the home-field advantage. Following disputes over accommodation allocation, Suwon FC Wimin has ultimately decided to move its lodging, ensuring a complete separation of routes from the North Korean club, Naegok Women's Football Club.

According to a comprehensive report by StarNews, Suwon FC Wimin, which was originally scheduled to share the A Hotel in Suwon with the Naegok club, will not use the same accommodation. The original plan to minimize contact by dividing floors without moving the hotel has been overturned.

Instead, Suwon FC Wimin will use the B Hotel in Suwon. Tokyo Verdy Beleza (Japan), which was originally scheduled to use the B Hotel in downtown Suwon, had already secured lodging near Pangyo. Consequently, vacancies arose at the Suwon B Hotel, and it was concluded that Suwon FC Wimin would occupy this space. Accordingly, the 39th-member Naegok player delegation, arriving in Suwon after training in Beijing, China, on the 17th, will exclusively use the A Hotel in Suwon.

For the Suwon FC Wimin team, which is hosting the tournament at home, this relocation of accommodation is likely to significantly dampen morale. Despite this being a decisive match for the inaugural championship of the AFC Women's Champions League (AWCL) between professional clubs rather than a national team competition, an ironic situation has unfolded where the home team, Suwon FC Wimin, must pack its bags and yield accommodation to the visiting North Korean club.

Suwon FC Wimin's loss of home-field advantage extends beyond accommodation. At the single-match AFC AWCL semi-final to be held at 7 p.m. on the 20th at Suwon Sports Complex, Suwon FC Wimin, which should receive one-sided support from home fans, is expected to face an unusual scene of being marginalized even at home. This is because a joint support group of approximately 3,000 people, organized by a private group with the support of about 300 million won from the Ministry of Unification's inter-Korean cooperation fund, has been assigned to the seats directly opposite the main stand.

Despite this being a match between professional teams rather than a national competition, the emergence of the unprecedented 'domestic away support group' that cheers for both the home and away teams regardless of the outcome has triggered criticism and cynical reactions among fans, arguing that political logic is taking precedence over the intrinsic values of sports.

Match operations are also proceeding in a manner completely different from usual, far removed from the convenience of the home team. To accommodate a media contingent of over 120 people, the Suwon Sports Complex has established a separate external press conference venue and expanded press seats to the second floor. VIP routes are strictly separated, and the variable seating, which served as a symbol for Suwon FC supporters and maximized the home-field advantage, will not be sold for this match at all.

The AWCL, established this year, is a tournament with a prize money of 1 million dollars (approximately 1.5 billion won) for the winner alone, a huge sum that could alter the landscape for teams in the following season. Suwon FC Wimin, which defeated China's Wuhan Jiangda 4-0 in the quarterfinals and is challenging for the first-ever final appearance by a Korean club and the inaugural championship, continues to face an unfortunate journey where it cannot fully enjoy the home-field advantage due to these alien regulations and the joint support group emerging both inside and outside the stadium.

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*This content was translated by AI.