Hwaebul Sports Club is a professional football club from Pochon, North Korea, founded in 2013.[2] It is the sports club of the Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist Youth League[3] and is based at the 5,000 capacity Hwaebul Stadium. The club plays in the DPR Korea Premier Football League.
 | |||
| Full name | Hwaebul Sports Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2013[1] | ||
| Ground | Hwaebul Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 5,000 | ||
| Owner | Kim Jong-min | ||
| Manager | Il Mun-ho | ||
| League | DPR Korea Premier Football League | ||
|
| |||
| Hwaebul | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 홰불 체육단 |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | Hwaebul cheyukdan |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hwaepul ch'eyuktan |
History
editThe team was given its name by Kim Jong-un when it was founded, in the hopes that the club would be a guiding light for football in North Korea, as "Hwaebul" means "torch" in Korean.[2] Despite its newness, the club has already achieved considerable success, finishing third in their inaugural season,[4] winning the Highest Class Football League in the second season, along with securing several wins in the Paektusan Prize, the Poch'ŏnbo Torch Prize, and other competitions.[2]
The club made its competitive debut in the 2013 competition of the Poch'ŏnbo Torch Prize,[3] in which forward Kim Yong-gwang was top scorer with twelve goals, seven scored in the first round and five in the second round.[5]
After having finished second in the Highest Class in 2017, Hwaebul are currently taking part in their first continental competition, the 2018 AFC Cup.[6] They defeated Erchim FC of Mongolia with a 7–0 aggregate score in the qualifying play-offs,[7][8] and have advanced to the group stage, where they will play matches against April 25 of North Korea, Hang Yuen of Taiwan, and Benfica of Macau to try to qualify for the knockout stage.[6]
Managers
edit
Jo In-chol (first)- Il Mun-ho (current)
Continental record
edit| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | AFC Cup | Qualifying play-off round |  Erchim
|
3–0 | 4–0 | 7–0 | 
|
| Group I |  April 25
|
0–2 | 0–1 | 3rd | 
| ||
 Benfica de Macau
|
2–3 | 0–3 | |||||
 Hang Yuen
|
6–1 | 1–0 |
Achievements
editDomestic
edit- Hwaebul Cup: 2
- Paektusan Prize: 1
- Champions: 2016
References
edit- ^ Grimm, Justin (6 January 2018). "AFC Cup Preview: Erchim FC versus Hwaebul SC". Mongolian Football Central. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ^ a b c "High-profile Hwaeppul Football Team". Naenara. 29 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Hwaebul Team, Football Champion of DPRK – North Korea Aggregator". nkaggregator.com. KCNA. 3 December 2014. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
- ^ 축구강팀으로 등장한 홰불팀. The Choson Sinbo (in Korean). 27 January 2014.
- ^ 남자 홰불팀, 2련승으로 종합순위 1위／보천보홰불상체육경기대회 1급축구경기. The Choson Sinbo (in Korean). 12 July 2013.
- ^ a b "AFC Cup – AFC". AFC.
- ^ "Play-offs: Results & Reports". AFC. 13 February 2018.
- ^ "Play-off East: Hwaepul SC 3–0 FC Erchim". AFC. 20 February 2018.
External links
edit- Team's profile – Soccerway.com