WK League News

The 2024/25 Asian Women’s Champions League (AWCL) is the first iteration of the tournament in its current format. The tournament is organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and replaces the AFC Women’s Club Championship, which was founded in 2019. Korea’s oldest women’s team, Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels, were runners-up in the 2023 AFC Women’s Club Championship, and qualified for the 2024/25 AWCL as champions of the 2023 WK League.

Eight teams qualified directly for the group stage of the tournament, while thirteen others took part in a preliminary stage, with four of those teams proceeding to the group stage. The group stage was played in October 2024, with each group hosted in one location. The Red Angels beat China’s Wuhan Jiangda and Malaysia’s Sabah, and drew with Abu Dhabi Country Club, to finish top of Group A, securing them not only a spot in the quarter finals, but also hosting privileges. They were drawn against Bam Khatoon F.C., 10-time winners of Iran’s Kowsar Women Football League, who finished second place in Group B with one win, one draw and one loss.

Of course, with the domestic football season running with the calendar year, but the continental season beginning in the late summer, there’s always a mismatch for Korean teams heading to Asia. During the winter break, Incheon have had a managerial change, and a number of player transfers, leaving them with a very different squad to the one that played in the group stage, never mind the one that qualified for the tournament back in 2023. The Red Angels had a disappointing season in 2024, and will not be playing in the AWCL next year as South Korea’s only place in the tournament will be taken by 2024 WK League champions Suwon FC.

Besides changes in their personnel, the timing of this quarter final match was a little awkward for Incheon, coming as it did just one week after the start of the 2025 WK League season. This squad had only played one competitive match together before welcoming Bam Khatoon to the Incheon Asiad Stadium last Saturday evening. Compared to other WK League teams, Incheon’s home matches are reasonably well-attended, but the attendance of 583 sadly pales in comparison to the other four quarter-finals, all of which were watched by over 1500 spectators. As could be expected, the majority of those in the stadium were supporting the home team, but a small number of away fans made their presence felt behind Bam Khatoon’s dugout.

As the match got underway, it soon became clear that this wouldn’t be an easy battle for the Red Angels. Despite a number of early opportunities, Bam’s defence was strong, and they created some chances of their own, particularly as Bam players Zandi and Hamoudi made some impressively fast counter-attacking runs, trying to catch Incheon’s defence off guard. Incheon were lucky not to go 1-0 early in the match as Zandi’s shot bounced off the post, but as the game went on the home team seemed to settle into the game and spend more time attacking. Around halfway through the first half, the home crowd had a moment of joy as Yuka Toriumi found the back of Bam’s net, but the goal was disallowed for a handball.

Incheon began the second half with Haruhi Suzuki and Kim Myeong-jin coming on as substitutes for Oh Yeon-hee and Yuki Toriumi. The home team seemed re-focused after the break, playing more offensively, relentlessly attacking Bam Khatoon’s box with the home crowd looking on. Manager Hur Jeong-jae used substitutions to maintain momentum on the pitch as time went on and players began to tire. Incheon looked increasingly dangerous and had some very near misses, although with the score still standing at 0-0, a sense of unease was starting to build in the stadium. Despite enthusiastic calls from Incheon fans for Bam to replace their goalkeeper, who seemed to be struggling with an injury to her arm, the away team waited until 80 minutes to make their only substitution, bringing Abbaspour on for Hamoudi.

As the game entered the final ten minutes of regular time, a goal felt long overdue, and the home fans were finally rewarded for their patience as Haruhi Suzuki set up the perfect opportunity for youngster Kim Myeong-jin to score her debut goal for the Red Angels, a left-footed shot at close range with only the goalkeeper to beat. It was almost 2-0 as keeper Yazdani made a save mere minutes later, and Bam Khatoon’s chance of victory was getting slimmer with every passing second. A second goal wasn’t to be for Incheon, but that hardly mattered as the referee blew the final whistle after six minutes of added time, sealing the Red Angels’ place in the semi-finals.

It was a hard-fought but deserved win for Incheon Hyundai, who were the better team, but the low scoreline is a fair reflection of Bam Khatoon’s solid defending. Following the match, Bam’s head coach Marziyeh Jafari cited the team’s lack of international experience, injuries within the squad and the absence of a key player as factors in their defeat. Bam did seem to falter later in the game as fatigue set in, with their lone substitution indicative of a lack of depth in their squad. Still, they didn’t make things easy for Incheon, who have their sights set on victory in this tournament.

Elsewhere in the competition, Ho Chi Minh City came back from 3-0 down to record a remarkable 5-4 victory over Abu Dhabi Country Club. Taichung Blue Whale were unable to achieve the same feat as they lost 3-0 to Melbourne City. 2023 AFC Women’s Club Championship title winners, and considered by some to be the favourites in this competition, Urawa Red Diamonds faced Wuhan Jiangda in a match that was still goalless at the end of overtime. In the penalty shoot-out that followed, Wuhan stunned their hosts to win with six penalties to five.

Incheon face Melbourne City in the semi-finals, due to take place on 21 May. If they win, they could meet some familiar faces in the final — former Red Angels Kim Hyeri and Terry Engesha are both now playing for Wuhan Jiangda, who will meet Ho Chi Minh City in their semi-final.