The East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup), held in Korea for the first time in 6 years, is expected to take place in Yongin and Suwon.

A representative from the Korea Football Association (KFA) noted on the 23rd in a currency with OSEN that "The men's matches of the East Asian Cup are being prepared to be held in Yongin. The detailed schedule has not been finalized yet, so it cannot be said to be confirmed, but the matches are expected to take place at Yongin Mir Stadium."

The women's matches will be held in Suwon, which is close to Yongin. Although Suwon World Cup Stadium is used by the K League 2's Suwon Samsung, unlike Yongin Mir Stadium, it is known that discussions with local authorities have already been conducted. The organizing committee has also completed site inspections of the two stadiums.

Since the East Asian Cup features both men's and women's schedules being held simultaneously, when the East Asian Cup was held in Busan in 2019, it was divided between Busan Asiad Stadium and Geoduk Stadium. This time, geographically close Suwon and Yongin were chosen. The national team played against Jordan at Suwon World Cup Stadium last month in the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.

A KFA representative explained, "As we need to hold the tournament in the same region as much as possible, we pursued two stadiums. It was not just a grass issue but also a matter of location, venue availability, and stadium utilization, among other considerations." He added, "Although the schedule has not been finalized yet, if there are no major changes, the tournament will be held in Yongin and Suwon."

The East Asian Cup is a tournament in which four countries from each gender compete in a round-robin format to determine the top football nation in East Asia. Both men's and women's divisions will see Korea and Japan, as well as China, go straight to the finals, with the last team determined through preliminaries.

For this tournament, Hong Kong has secured a ticket in the men's division, while Taiwan has done so in the women's division. Initially, North Korea had a spot in the women's division, but after deciding not to participate, Taiwan joined. The tournament is scheduled to run from July 7 to 16.

"The defending champion" is Japan. Japan lifted the championship trophy at the last tournament held in their country in 2022. Korea, the country with the most titles (5), aims to reclaim the title after 6 years since their last victory in 2019. In the women's division, Japan boasts the most wins with 4, while Korea won once in 2005.

For the Korean national team led by coach Hong Myung-bo to return to the top, they must overcome their "arch-rival" Japan. He experienced a 1-2 loss to Japan in the East Asian Cup held in Korea when he took charge of the national team for the first time in 2013. Twelve years later, Hong's team is seeking revenge against Japan.

[Photo] Korea Football Association, provided by the Korea Professional Football League.

[OSEN]