AFC strips North Korea of hosting historic match

In late December 2023, the AFC agreed to let North Korea host its first international football match in nearly five years by allowing the North Korean Football Federation to host the match between the North Korean women's football team and the Japanese women's football team in the 2024 Paris Olympics qualifiers on February 24, 2024.

The first leg of the North Korean women's team's match against Japan will be moved to Saudi Arabia. (Photo: Getty).

However, yesterday (February 19, 2024), the AFC decided to strip North Korea of the hosting rights, citing the country’s lack of preparation for the important match. The Asian Football Confederation has agreed to move the match to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and keep the original date of February 24.

The change just days before the match took place, forcing the Japanese and North Korean women's football teams to travel far in the next few days until the second leg match takes place in Japan on February 28.

Thus, the DPRK has not been able to host an international match after organizing the match between the North Korea men's team and the South Korea national team in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in 2019.

In March 2024, the North Korean men's team will play the 2026 World Cup qualifiers at home against Japan, but it is unclear whether this match will be held on North Korean soil or not.

Source: https://vov.vn/the-thao/afc-tuoc-quyen-dang-cai-tran-dau-lich-su-cua-trieu-tien-post1077843.vov