AFC Cup 2017: Bengaluru FC set to face North Korea's April 25 Sports Club
What’s the story?
Bengaluru FC have been drawn against 4.25 SC of North Korea in the Inter Zonal playoffs of the AFC Cup 2017. The Federation Cup champions qualified for the stage after winning the South Zone group and now face a two-legged tie against the team from Pyongyang as they look to better their runners-up finish in 2016.
The draw was made at Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday in Asian Football Confederation President Dato Windsor’s presence.
4.25 SC qualified to the Inter Zonal playoffs after winning the East Zone group, which consisted of Kigwancha SC (DPR Korea) and Erchim SC of Mongolia. It is worth noting that they scored a total of 14 goals in four matches in the group, winning two and drawing two.
In case you didn’t know...
April 25 Sports Club, also known as 4.25 or April Twenty-Five, are a prominent team from North Korea, the most successful club in the DPR Korea League. They have won their top division league 15 times and produced some memorable performance in the erstwhile Asian Club Championship (now re-branded as AFC Champions League), reaching the semi-finals in 1990-91.
The Pyongyang-based club is run by the North Korean Army and is appearing on the continent for the first time since 1992 due to the country not fulfilling many of the criteria set by the continental body. The club's name of April 25 comes from Military Foundation Day.
The heart of the matter
Bengaluru FC will face a tough challenge as they seek to repeat their feat of participating in the AFC Cup final which they did in 2016 as well. The winner of this fixture will progress to the Inter-Zone Playoff Final to be also played over two legs. The winner of that match-up will reach the AFC Cup final where they will play the winner of the West Asian Zonal Final to be played between defending champions Al-Quwa-Al-Jawiya (Iraq) and Al-Wahda (Syria).
What’s next?
The first leg of the tie will be held in Bengaluru on 23rd August while the return leg in Pyongyang at the Yanggakdo Stadium, will be on 13th September.
Author’s take
Bengaluru FC will be looking to win the AFC Cup after just missing out last year, and become the first Indian club to win the competition. The Bengaluru side will be the favourites going into the tie, however, the away leg at Pyongyang might prove to be a challenge where a hostile and intimidating environment might affect the team.