SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Shin Sang-woo’s South Korea squad needs to overcome off-field obstacles to win the Women’s Asian Cup for the first time. North Korea is seeking to regain former soccer glories after recent youth triumphs.

South Korea’s players in January threatened to boycott the March 1-21 tournament in Australia, citing poor treatment compared with the men’s squad, particularly regarding transportation and accommodation.

“This incident has hurt our players, but I hope they won’t be too hurt,” head coach Shin said last month as the team departed for Australia on, according to the Korea Football Association, a business-class flight. “As coach, I will take responsibility and work hard to ensure both the process and the results are successful.”

The players also resolved during the pre-tournament training camp to concentrate on the competition.

“I have had discussions with the association and the national team regarding improving treatment, and we will continue to communicate,” said Ji So-yun, a midfielder who has made over 170 appearances for the national team. “Right now, I want to focus solely on the Asian Cup. This is a very important time for our team. If the opportunity arises, I hope we can have a conversation later.”

South Korea will open against Iran on Monday and also has Group A games against Philippines and Australia. The South Koreans are aiming to go one better than in 2022, when they lost the final to China 3-2 after leading 2-0.

The trophy is not the only prize on offer in Australia. The six best performing teams will also qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

“Our goal this time is clearly to win the title, since we only finished as runners-up at the last tournament,” Shin said. “We will definitely (want to) go through three stages: finishing first in our group, reaching the semifinals to secure a World Cup berth, and then climbing to the top in the final.”

North Korea won the last of its three Women’s Asian Cup titles in 2008 but has not participated in the tournament since 2010, when it lost in the final.

The team was barred from the 2014 edition, failed to qualify in 2018 — losing out to South Korea — and withdrew from 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the lack of exposure at the highest level, North Korea, grouped with China, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan in Australia, has had increasing success at youth level, becoming women’s world champion at both the Under-17 and Under-20 level.

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