News round up: Transfers, National Championship, Korea U15s, Asian Cup draw

Final flurry of activity as summer transfer window comes to a close

It’s been a busy transfer window for Korean women’s football, with new faces joining the WK League, familiar faces returning to the league after spending time elsewhere, and young Korean talents signing new contracts overseas. As the window draws to a close, Suwon FC today officially announced the return of Cho Sohyun. Also joining Suwon is Song Jiyoon, a forward who previously played for Changnyeong WFC before a spell at Australian second-tier side North Lakes United FC. This is welcome news to Suwon fans as they look ahead to their AWCL campaign, which begins later this year, especially with the departure of Kang Chaerim, who is expected to finalise a contract with a team in Montreal any day now. Elsewhere in the WK League, 23-year-old defender Lee Yesol has made a move from Gyeongju KHNP to Changnyeong WFC. As for Korean players overseas, Park Soojeong became the first Korean player to sign a contract with AC Milan, and Shin Nayoung is continuing her USL Super League journey in new surroundings, with a move from Lexington SC to Brooklyn FC.

National Women’s Football Championship begins in Changnyeong

The National Women’s Football Championship begins today, with teams from across the country competing in five age categories in one of the biggest annual events in Korean women’s football. The event is taking place at Changnyeong Sports Park, the home ground of WK League side Changnyeong WFC. All eight WK League teams are participating in the senior division of the championship, which begins with a group stage before progressing to a knockout competition. All matches will be streamed on YouTube via iTOP21sports. Last year’s edition of the tournament drew criticism from the Korean Professional Footballers’ Association (KPFA) and the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) after a number of players contacted the KPFA with complaints about the inadequate playing conditions and facilities. Hopefully these criticisms and concerns have been considered in the preparations for this year’s tournament.

With mountains and a cloudy sky in the background, a football match takes place on a muddy football pitch with other football pitches visible nearby. — The poor condition of grass pitches was one of many concerns raised following last year’s National Women’s Football Championship.

Korean U15 team ‘Queens United’ through to final of Nike Premier Cup in Portland, USA

A Korean U15 girls’ team named ‘Queens United’ has progressed to the final of the Nike Premier Cup in Portland, USA. The tournament is being hosted at Nike’s Portland campus as part of the city’s “Epicenter Week”, a series of women’s sports events. An invitation to the event was formally presented to Hyundai Chungeun Middle School when they lifted the trophy at last month’s Queen’s Cup. Korea’s representative team is formed of six players from that team, along with four players from Queen’s Cup runners-up Pohang Hangdo Middle School, and three each from the other semi-finalists (Yesung Girls’ Middle School and Jinju Girls’ Middle School), hence the moniker ‘Queens United’. In the group stage, the girls beat teams from Brazil and Germany before a Cho An hat-trick in the quarter finals helped secure a 4-0 win over Australia’s Football Victoria. In the semi-final, the Queens faced San Diego Surf, the only team to have beaten them in the group stage, this time winning 1-0 to take them into the final.

Proud families look on as Hyundai Chungeun Middle School coach Kim Kwangseok lifts the trophy at last month’s Queen’s Cup. He is currently in Portland with the Queens United U15 team, which also features six players from Hyundai Chungeun.

2026 Asian Cup draw finalised

The draw for next year’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup was finalised this week. The tournament takes place in Australia next March, and Korea will face the hosts in the group stage. Joining them in Group A are Iran and the Philippines. Three-time champions North Korea return to the tournament for the first time in sixteen years, facing off against nine-time (and defending) champions China in Group B along with Bangladesh and Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, Japan, Vietnam, India and Chinese Taipei were drawn in Group C. At the draw, Korean striker Jeon Yukyeong expressed excitement for the match against Australia, with manager Shin Sangwoo stating that experience against the host team in friendlies earlier this year will be valuable to his squad’s preparations. Topping the group is not a totally unfeasible aim for Korea’s women, but they will need to step up their game to challenge the Matildas, especially with the support of a home crowd.

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