WK League News

Hwacheon KSPO win National Sports Festival

Hwacheon KSPO beat Mungyeong Sangmu 1-0 in the final of the women’s football tournament at the 106th National Sports Festival in Busan on Thursday. The win takes the club a step closer to achieving the first ‘domestic treble’ in Korean women’s football history after lifting the trophy at the National Women’s Football Championship earlier this year. WK League regular season champions KSPO will face either Seoul City or Incheon Hyundai in the two-legged championship final next month.

Read more: Hwacheon KSPO victorious at National Sports Festival in Busan

National team players threaten boycott over business class flights

It has been reported this week that members of South Korea’s national women’s football team have written to the Korea Football Association (KFA) requesting business class seats when travelling for A matches. At present, the KFA purchases business class tickets for the men’s national team when they travel, but the women’s squad have to sit in economy. At least ten squad members are said to have signed the letter to the KFA, threatening to boycott A matches if their requests are not accommodated.

The news has been met with mixed responses from Korean football fans, with some considering it to be a question of gender equality, while others view the situation from a purely economic point of view, citing a lack of sponsorship and public interest in women’s football. The KFA is not the first football association to grapple with this same issue, and surely won’t be the last. The Japan Football Association drew media attention in 2012 when Japan’s women’s team complained that they, reigning World Cup champions at the time, had to fly to the London Olympics in economy while the men’s team sat in business class. After winning the silver medal in London, the team were upgraded for the flight back to Japan.

South Korea’s hopes fading at U-17 Women’s World Cup

South Korea’s youth players are preparing for their final group stage match at the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco, but their hopes of progressing to the knockout stage are slim after a 5-0 defeat to Spain. The team picked up a point in their opening match against Cote d’Ivoire but title hopefuls Spain proved tough opponents, going 2-0 up within 45 minutes and scoring another three in the second half.

With this victory Spain have now secured a place in the knockout competition but with qualification for the second-placed team in the group and for the better performing third-placed teams, South Korea’s progression hopes are not extinguished yet. They face Colombia in their final group stage match this evening (Saturday).

Meanwhile, defending champions North Korea secured their place in the round of 16 following a 5-0 win against the Netherlands.

FC White Bears and KH Lions go head-to-head in Women’s University Football Club League final

The final of the 2025 Let’s Play Women’s University Football Club League is set to take place this Sunday, 26th November at the YMCA International Youth Culture Centre in Goyang. Defending champions FC White Bears will seek to defend their title against 2023 champions KH Lions in the match, which kicks off at 14:00. KH Lions are based at Kyunghee University, while FC White Bears’ players come from a number of different universities.

The league was established in 2022, with fourteen university football clubs from across the country taking part. University football clubs (축구 클럽) compete separately from the elite football academies (축구부) found at some colleges. The Football Club League is an amateur tournament for students who play football as a hobby rather than a potential career. Teams in the Let’s Play league are only allowed to register a maximum of two players who have experience playing at an elite level in high school or college.

Kickitaka Football Festival takes place in Seoul

Korea Football Association (KFA) initiative ‘Kickitaka FC’ is marking the end of its 2025 season with the ‘Kickitaka Girls’ Football Festival’, taking place today (Saturday) at Hyochang Stadium in Seoul. Over the course of the year, over 500 girls have taken part in the first season of the project, funded by Nike. Kickitaka FC has provided equipment and training for girls in 22 schools in Seoul and the greater capital area, as well as supporting educators with an interest in football coaching.

Today’s event at Hyochang Stadium will feature a league competition as well as skills sessions with retired Korea international Jeon Gaeul and Park Jian, an actress who appears in hit women’s futsal TV show ‘Kick a Goal’.