South Korea's home team was thoroughly ignored. In contrast, the North Korean team effectively lifted the championship trophy amid what felt like a home-game atmosphere. And what appeared during that process were the North Korean flag, North Korean cheering slogans, and even banners demanding the "lifting of the May 24 measures" that have been maintained since the Cheonan sinking.
The 2025-2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) women's Champions League (AWCL) held at Suwon Sports Complex left behind more political issues than a women's soccer festival. What the AFC feared occurred among the "joint cheering group" that received public funds.
Naegohyang women's football team of North Korea beat Tokyo Verdy Beleza of Japan 1-0 in the AWCL final at Suwon Sports Complex on the 23rd and won the championship. The winner's prize alone is $1 million (about 150 million won).
Their performance on the field was strong. Led by Kim Kyung-yeong's winning goal, Naegohyang rose to the top with consecutive victories from the semifinal against Suwon FC Women to the final. The problem was the atmosphere inside and outside the stadium.
From the semifinal, Suwon Sports Complex was already close to being a "North Korea home stadium." The cheering group gathered under the name "inter-Korean joint cheering group" said they would cheer for both teams, but the atmosphere at the scene was completely different.
It was quiet during Suwon FC Women's attacking plays. By contrast, cheers erupted during Naegohyang's attacks. There were even criticisms that there were cheers when Ji So-yeon's penalty kick was missed. This is why people point out that it was effectively not a joint cheering group but the "Naegohyang cheering group" or "North Korean cheering group."
What is more absurd is that the Ministry of Unification even provided support in operating this cheering group. The Ministry of Unification supported cheering materials within the scope of about 300 million won from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund. As a result, it became difficult to avoid criticism that public funds were used to create a cheering atmosphere for the North Korean team rather than South Korea's home team.
Park Gil-young, manager of Suwon FC Women, also openly expressed his upset. Right after the semifinal he said, "Suwon FC is a South Korean team, but Naegohyang cheers kept coming," and could not hide his disappointment.
There was even controversy over blocking the Taegeukgi. A video was released showing spectators holding Taegeukgi being restrained by on-site staff. In response to "You can't have the Taegeukgi," spectators replied, "Why can't we hold the Taegeukgi in Korea?" and "So should we bring the North Korean flag?" which spread widely.
The North Korean flag actually appeared without any problem.
The Naegohyang squad unfurled a large North Korean flag and paraded around the pitch immediately after their semifinal victory and right after winning the final. When the joint cheering group saw the North Korean flag, they responded with louder cheers and applause. In the middle of Suwon, South Korea, a strange scene unfolded with a North Korean flag ceremony and North Korean cheering slogans.
After Kim Jong-un defined inter-Korean relations as "two hostile states" in 2023, Naegohyang players effectively received one-sided cheers and displayed the North Korean flag on foreign soil.
The controversy did not end there. At the final, some members of the joint cheering group waved banners reading "Lift the May 24 measures" and "Economic unification for peace, a united Korean Peninsula, opening the future together," and were restrained by on-site staff.
The May 24 measures are sanctions against the North announced by the Lee Myung-bak administration after the 2010 Cheonan sinking. They were a symbolic measure that effectively halted inter-Korean trade and exchanges to hold North Korea accountable for the military provocation. With the names of the 46 navy personnel who died in the Cheonan incident still present in Korean society, a call to lift the measures appeared at a cheering event for the North Korean team.
Ultimately, an angry reaction erupted saying, "Isn't this even ignoring the Cheonan sinking?"
FIFA suspended Park Jong-woo for two A matches over his "Dokdo is our land" celebration at the 2012 London Olympics, citing a political message. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has also applied strict standards on political messages, even fining Incheon United over a "2025 APEC Incheon bid" banner.
In fact, the AFC was reportedly concerned about expanded political interpretation ahead of this tournament. According to the Korea Football Association, the AFC recently delivered a message that this tournament should proceed as a purely sporting event.
The reality was the exact opposite. South Korea's home team had to be cautious amid controversy over reverse discrimination. The joint cheering group effectively went all-in on cheering for the North Korean team. The North Korean flag circled the stadium. There were even calls to lift the May 24 measures that have been maintained since the Cheonan sinking.
For many domestic soccer fans, this Suwon AWCL is likely to be remembered not as a "soccer tournament" but as an event that left only the bewildering question, "Just how far is this allowed in South Korea?"
[OSEN]