Jump to content
  • entries
    35,857
  • comments
    14
  • views
    405,045

No Fans, No Media & No Goals: North & South Korea's Historic Football Match Couldn't Be Any Weirder


ADMIN

73 views

The world of sports is not new to rivalries between participating nations. The political standoffs and cross-border tensions over the years, has placed India and Pakistan at loggerheads. The intense rivalry between the neighbouring countries has also transcended into sports which makes their meetings across sports a scintillating affair. 

Just like India and Pakistan, North and South Korea share a rivalry, whose seeds were sown back in the closing days of the second World War. A struggle for power and control of a devastated Korea saw two antagonistic states, which would later become separate countries of the Republic of Korea and South Korea, emerging with diametrically opposed political, economic and social systems. 

A three-year Korean War ensued, claiming the lives of over three million civilians and soldiers before leaving the two nations devastated. Since then, the two rival nations have been involved in a military standoff with periodic clashes. Owing to their political differences, the two countries have rarely faced off against each other in the world of sports. 

North Vs South Korea: The Strangest FIFA World Cup Qualifier Ever© Twitter

But, despite their fierce rivalry, the two nations, as members of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation, can be drawn against each other in international football competitions - something that pitted them against each other on the pitch recently. 

It's not too rare for the two sides to face off, but almost unheard of to play in North Korea's capital Pyongyang which has hosted the unique clash just once, in 1990. And, the last time the two sides met in a World Cup qualifier, in Seoul 10 years ago, North lost 1-0 before accusing South Korea of poisoning their players' food ahead of the match. 

North Vs South Korea: The Strangest FIFA World Cup Qualifier Ever© Twitter

While sports partly broke the ice after some progress in 2018, the ties between North and South Korea are at a low which probably explains why their clash on recent clash was strange. 

In what turned out to be the weirdest World Cup qualifier in ages, the much-anticipated match was played with no fans, no media and, sadly, no goals. 

â North Korea vs South Korea

â First match in the North in almost three decades

ð Attendance: 0

â½ Result: 0-0https://t.co/Z5ZcoRupdb

— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) October 16, 2019

With popular stars like Son Heung-min (South Korea's No. 7) and Han Kwang Song (North Korea's No. 7), who play for Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus respectively, on display, the entire match was a closed event with no live broadcast, robbing the fans of the two countries the chance to watch their teams in action. And, the fact that North Korea has promised to  provide footage of the match on DVD pretty much sums up the strangest football clash.

North Vs South Korea: The Strangest FIFA World Cup Qualifier Ever© Twitter

"We would need time for technical checks but despite some delays our people will be able to watch the game," a South Korean unification ministry official was quoted as saying by The Guardian on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

If no one is there to watch did it even happen? ð¤

— stephanie (@honesteph) October 15, 2019

Before this match, two earlier qualifiers that had been scheduled for North Korea had to be switched to Shanghai after Pyongyang refused to raise the South's flag or play its anthem in the stadium. While many Korean football fans missed the opportunity of watching their respective teams in action, they'd be hopeful of better luck when North Korean football team travels to South for their away match in June next year. 

While the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice after the intervention of the United Nations, North and South Korea are, technically, still at war as the two countries reached a truce, but are yet to sign a peace treaty - whose effects are quite visibly hampering sports in the two countries.

0 Comments


Recommended Comments

There are no comments to display.

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Add a comment...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...