Olympic Women's Football Qualifier between North Korea and Japan Likely to be Held at Dalian Jinzhou Stadium

According to Japanese media outlet Sponichi, the Japanese women's football team will face North Korea in the first match of the final Asian qualifiers for the Paris Olympics on the 24th. Several sources have indicated that the match will be held at the neutral venue of Dalian Jinzhou Stadium.



Initially, the match was planned to take place at Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang. However, on the 8th of this month, the Japan Football Association suddenly announced a change of venue to be determined. Eight days before the match, the venue was finally confirmed, and the winner of the second match, scheduled for February 28th at Tokyo National Stadium, will secure a spot in the Olympics. According to several sources, the match will ultimately be held in the neutral city of Dalian, China, with Dalian Jinzhou Stadium capable of accommodating thirty thousand spectators.

Apart from Dalian, the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah is also mentioned as a potential host city for the first match. The Japanese women's football team is currently training in Chiba City. As of now, the Japan Football Association has not received formal notification from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Dalian is only a five-hour drive from the border city of Dandong, which is advantageous for North Korea, according to Japanese media. However, Jinzhou Stadium has a natural grass pitch, which could be more favorable for the Japanese team compared to the artificial turf at Kim Il Sung Stadium.