WK League News

The draw for the group stage of the 2025-2026 AFC Women’s Champions’ League took place at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday following the completion of the preliminary stages in August.

The WK League’s Suwon FC were drawn in Group C along with Tokyo Verdy Beleza (Japan), Naegohyang WFC (DPR Korea), and ISPE WFC (Myanmar). Group C’s matches will be held from 9-15 November in Myanmar, with teams competing for a place in the quarter finals next March.

Suwon qualified for the AWCL as 2024 WK League champions. It will the team’s first outing in the competition, which didn’t exist when Suwon won their first WK League title in 2010. At that time, the WK League champions went up against the champions of Japan’s Nadeshiko League in the Korea-Japan Women’s League Championship match. The AWCL is only in its second iteration, having last year replaced the AFC Women’s Club Championship, itself only established in 2019.

The defending champions are having a disappointing league season, currently in seventh place with 22 points from 23 matches. Suwon will be hoping their summer signings can help them make an impact in their AWCL debut. To advance to the quarter finals, the team need to finish first or second in the group, or avoid being the worst third-placed team — there are twelve teams in total in the group stage so only four will be cut before the knockout competition begins.

Suwon face tough competition as they seek to avoid being one of those four. They will face 2024-25 WE League champions Tokyo Verdy Beleza, the most decorated team in Japan’s first division, and the team that beat Suwon in the 2011 Korea-Japan Women’s League Championship match. Tokyo Verdy have started the current league season positively and teams from the fully professionalised WE League tend to be among the toughest opponents in continental competition.

Also in Group C are DPR Korea’s Naegohyang WFC, their participation in the preliminary stages marking the country’s first appearance at an AFC tournament. Naegohyang qualified as champions of the 2024-25 DPR Korea Women’s Premier League. While it’s harder to find information about the team and its players compared to those from other more open countries, we do know that North Korea has long been a powerhouse of women’s football, and as of last year, Naegohyang was home to eight members of the country’s national team. The club scored 23 goals across their three preliminary stage matches without conceding any. National pride will also be on the line when the line when Naegohyang and Suwon FC square up in November.

Completing the group are hosts ISPE WFC of Mandalay, Myanmar. ISPE qualified for the AWCL as champions of the 2024 Myanmar Women League. ISPE also won their preliminary stage group convincingly, netting 20 goals and conceding only one along the way. By reaching the group stage ISPE have already outperformed Myanmar’s Myawady F.C., who lost all three of their preliminary stage matches in the 2024-25 AWCL. ISPE are the underdogs in this group, facing three teams from the traditionally higher-performing women’s footballing nations of the region, but with a home crowd on their side, they’ll be determined to ruffle some feathers.

If Suwon FC do make it out of this tricky group, they will progress to the quarter finals, set to be held in March of next year. The quarter finals are played as one-legged fixtures hosted by the group winners (and best second-placed team), so a strong performance in the group stage is important to secure a home advantage in the first round of the knockout competition. The semi-final and final will be held at a centralised venue in May 2026.

The WK League was represented in last year’s AWCL by 2023 league champions Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels, who made it as far as the semi finals, where their hopes were dashed by Melbourne City. The trophy was eventually lifted by Chinese side Wuhan Jiangda, home of former Red Angel and Korea national team veteran Kim Hyeri.

2025-2026 AFC Women’s Champions League

Group A: Melbourne City FC (Australia), Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC (Vietnam),  Stallion Laguna FC (Philippines), Lion City Sailors FC (Singapore)
Group B: Wuhan Jiangda WFC (China), Bam Khatoon FC (Iran), East Bengal FC (India), PFC Nasaf (Uzbekistan)
Group C: Suwon FC Women (Korea Republic), Tokyo Verdy Beleza (Japan), Naegohyang Women’s FC (DPR Korea), ISPE WFC (Myanmar)

(Host teams in bold)