Behind North Korea's Naegohyang women's football club's rise to the top of Asia, another controversy remained. Political messages surrounding the joint cheering squad and accusations of biased cheering continued in the final, heating the atmosphere inside and outside the stadium.
Naegohyang beat Japan's Tokyo Verdy Beleza 1-0 in the 2025-2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League (AWCL) final held at Suwon Sports Complex on the 23rd to claim the championship. It was the first Asian women's club competition victory for a North Korean club.
After the match, the Naegohyang squad paraded around the pitch holding up the North Korean national flag as part of the victory ceremony. Coach Ri Yu-il shed tears and the players embraced one another to share their joy. They continued group photographs holding the national flag even after the awards ceremony.
But the joint cheering squad controversy flared again at that match.
A roughly 1,200-strong inter-Korean women's football joint cheering squad supported Naegohyang in the final, following their appearance at the semifinal against Suwon FC Women. The joint cheering squad was formed by about 200 civic groups including the Council of Civil Groups for Inter-Korean Cooperation (Bukminhoe), the National Coalition for Reconciliation and Cooperation (Minwhahoe), and the Hankyoreh Unification Culture Foundation.
At the semifinal, the joint cheering squad said they would support both Suwon FC Women and Naegohyang, but on site the support for the North Korean team was overwhelmingly greater, sparking major accusations of biased cheering.
In the final, with the opponent being a Japanese club, the joint cheering squad in effect focused its support on Naegohyang. Then an unexpected scene appeared during the match.
On one side of the cheering group a banner appeared reading "Lift the 5∙24 measures" along with wording that said "Economic unification for peace, a future that opens a united Korean Peninsula together."
Eventually the banner was later removed by security personnel.
The 5∙24 measures are sanctions announced by the government after the 2010 Cheonan sinking incident. They include suspension of inter-Korean trade excluding the Kaesong Industrial Complex, prohibition of North Korean vessels operating in territorial waters, and restrictions on investment in North Korea.
On site there were also accusations of poor management. The joint cheering squad set up a separate booth at a nearby children's baseball field to distribute tickets and food and beverages and put up a banner stating "AFC preapproved cheering items only allowed." However, a banner containing political wording was actually brought into the stadium.
The controversy did not end there.
A video of defector YouTuber Kim Seo-a being stopped while waving the Taegeukgi during the semifinal resurfaced. In the video an official said "The Taegeukgi is not allowed," and spectators strongly protested saying, "Why can't we hold the Taegeukgi in the Republic of Korea?"
Meanwhile, the Naegohyang squad held up the North Korean national flag for commemorative photos after the match ended.
Accommodation issues were also controversial. Suwon FC Women had originally been scheduled to use the same hotel as Naegohyang but reportedly received a sudden request to change accommodations. As a result, criticism arose that the home team did not receive normal home treatment.
The remarks of Chung Dong-young, Minister of the Ministry of Unification, added to the matter. Minister Chung said immediately after Naegohyang advanced to the final, "If possible, I hope they win," and another controversy erupted among soccer fans.
With public opinion already sour over the joint cheering squad's biased support and the Taegeukgi being barred, criticism grew even stronger when the government ministry's minister publicly mentioned the North Korean team's possible victory.
In the end, this AWCL became a tournament that left not only the historic victory of a North Korean club but also complex controversies surrounding sports and politics and inter-Korean relations.
[OSEN]