Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
Related Articles
Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President, has applauded North Korea for emerging as champions of the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup Indonesia 2024 on Sunday evening.
A 1-0 win against Japan at the Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium in Bali secured a record-equalling fourth crown for North Korea at the ninth edition of the tournament, adding to their triumphs from 2007, 2015 and 2017.
Both teams will represent the Continent at the upcoming FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Dominican Republic 2024, set to be played from October 16 to November 3, along with third-place finishers South Korea, who defeated China PR 2-1 in the third-place Playoff earlier in the day to seal the final available berth.
Shaikh Salman said: “This latest achievement by North Korea, which underlines their remarkable dominance in women’s youth football, having also won the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2024 earlier this year, deserves to be applauded.”
“It must also be noted that they have reached the Final in each of their eight participations and Japan were contesting their seventh Final, which indicates the truly commendable and determined developmental efforts of both the North Korea Football Association and Japan Football Association in producing top-class women’s age-group national teams over the years.”
“I offer my sincere congratulations to North Korea, on behalf of the Asian football family, on their landmark victory. Of course, we must also recognise the tireless dedication of all the team’s backroom and technical staff members, which has reaped incredible consistency.”
“All three of our teams – North Korea, Japan and South Korea – are poised to shine in the Dominican Republic and I wish them the very best in their quest to add to the four world titles that Asian teams have won.”
The AFC President also reserved praise for the Football Association of Indonesia, who served as hosts of the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup for the first time.
“This edition of the competition has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience, not just for our participating teams, but also for all our valued stakeholders and credit has to go to the Football Association of Indonesia and the Local Organising Committee, who have staged a memorable edition amidst the beautiful backdrop of Bali,” Shaikh Salman said.
“The AFC is determined to develop and strengthen the women’s game, as part of our Vision to make football the number one sport in the Continent and bringing our top-tier competitions to as many different territories as possible underlines our commitment towards it.”
Sunday’s victory meant that North Korea joined Japan as record four-time winners of the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup. They swept to glory with a perfect record from five matches, scoring a tournament-leading 24 goals while not conceding a single time.
