WK League News

Suwon FC will progress to the quarter finals of the AFC Women’s Champions League after securing their position as one of the better-performing third-placed teams regardless of results elsewhere. The 2024 WK League champions have had mixed results in the group stage, but their performance in Myanmar has been enough to see them through to the knockout tournament, set to begin in March next year.

Suwon started their first continental campaign strong, with a decisive 5-0 win over hosts ISPE WFC that sent them to the top of Group C. It was a different story in their second match against Naegohyang WFC, a clash with historical significance as the first time women’s football teams from North and South Korea have met in a club competition. After a goalless first half, Naegohyang managed to score three after the break, and goalkeeper Kim Kyong-rim denied Suwon one of their better chances to launch a comeback with a crucial double save. On Saturday, Suwon faced 2024-25 WE League champions and Group C leaders Tokyo Verdy Beleza in their final group stage match. Both teams created ample attacking opportunities but both failed to capitalise and the match ended as a 0-0 draw. The result was enough to see Tokyo through to the quarter finals as Group C winner.

Meanwhile, Naegohyang recorded another 3-0 win, this time against ISPE, putting them in second place as the Group C tournament drew to a close. Naegohyang are thus guaranteed a place in the quarter finals, but they will have to wait for results in other groups to find out whether they will be seeded or not. All three group winners and the best-performing second-placed teams will be seeded and host their respective quarter final matches. The other group runners-up and the better performing third-placed teams will be unseeded, and play their quarter final fixtures away from home.

Group B matches begin today (17th November) in Wuhan, China, while Group A is well underway in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City. However, regardless of results in the other groups, as of yesterday Suwon are now guaranteed to progress to the knockout competition. In Group A, both Lion City Sailors and Stallion Laguna are yet to gain any points after two matches, meaning whichever of them finishes in third place within the group cannot pass Suwon FC in the ranking of third-placed teams. Even if the third-placed team in yet-to-play Group B overtakes Suwon’s points total, the WK League side cannot drop out of the qualifying spots.

As an unseeded team heading into the knockout tournament, Suwon FC will be heading to the home ground of one of the four seeded teams in the quarter finals. Tokyo Verdy Beleza are thus far the only team confirmed to be in a seeded position. As for the question of whether Suwon’s squad could be headed north for another inter-Korean showdown, yes — there is a remote possibility of being drawn against Naegohyang in the next round. At the moment Ho Chi Minh City sit above Naegohyang in the ranking of second-placed teams, but they could switch places if Ho Chi Minh City lose their final group match with a goal difference of two or more. The final positions will also depend on what happens in Group B over the next few days. Only the top ranking second-placed team will be in the seeded pot for the quarter finals, with the draw set to take place in January.

Quarter final matches will take place at the home grounds of the four seeded teams in March 2026. The semi finals and final will be hosted in a central location in May. The 2025-26 competition is only the second iteration of the AWCL. In the 2024-25 tournament, the WK League’s Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels made it as far as the semi-finals, where their hopes of continental glory ended in heartbreak thanks to an injury time winner from Melbourne City’s Shelby McMahon. Melbourne suffered an eleventh hour upset of their own in the final, when Wuhan Jiangda’s Wang Shuang scored from the penalty spot in injury time to take the match into extra time. The title was eventually decided by a penalty shootout, with Wuhan lifting the trophy. South Korea international Kim Hyeri was part of the victorious Wuhan Jiangda squad.