After guiding his North Korean club Naegohyang Women’s FC to the summit of Asian women’s football Saturday, head coach Ri Yu-il thanked the communist regime’s ruling party for its support. Naegohyang defeated Tokyo Verdy Beleza 1-0 in the final of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Champions League at Suwon Stadium in Suwon, 30 kilometers south of Seoul. Naegohyang knocked off the South Korean side Suwon FC Women 2-1 in the semifinals on Wednesday — the first match between women’s football clubs of the two Koreans to take place on South Korean soil — and then their captain Kim Kyong-yong scored the match’s only goal in the 44th minute for the AFC title and US$1 million in prize money. Kim was also named the MVP of the tournament. At the postmatch press conference, Ri said his club wouldn’t have been able to win the AFC title alone. “Naegohyang have been around for only 14 years. And we were able to reach No. 1 in Asia today because of the warm love and support of the party we so respect,” Ri said in reference to the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang. “I think I was abl
