The Korea Rugby Association announced, "The matches against UAE and Hong Kong as part of the '2025 Asia Rugby Emirates Championship (Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship, hereinafter AREMC)' featuring South Korea will be held at the Incheon Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium."
AREMC is the highest level national competition in Asia organized by the Asia Rugby Confederation, and the winning team of this tournament will qualify for the finals of the 'Rugby World Cup' to be held in Australia in 2027. In 2025, a total of four countries, including South Korea, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, and UAE, will participate, and the rankings will be determined in a full league format.
This match against UAE and Hong Kong is organized by the Korea Rugby Association with financial support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.
South Korea, on June 13, achieved victory against Sri Lanka in an away game with a score of 38-34, earning 5 points and currently shares first place with Hong Kong. The remaining two matches are scheduled for June 21 at 3 p.m. against UAE and July 5 at 3 p.m. against Hong Kong, both to be held at the Incheon Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium.
In particular, South Korea has won a total of five times (in 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990, and 2002), standing at the top of Asia, and this time aims to challenge for both victory and a World Cup qualifying ticket, leveraging the home advantage.
The Rugby World Cup is considered one of the top three sporting events in the world along with the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympics, boasting an audience comparable to FIFA. The '2023 Rugby World Cup' held in Paris, France last year drew 2.4 million spectators, and the cumulative TV viewership reached 1 billion. It is reported that starting from the '2027 Rugby World Cup', the number of World Cup spots allocated to Asia will be expanded from the existing 0.5 to 1.5.
Meanwhile, this home game will be broadcast live through the Korea Rugby Association SOOP channel.
Kim Young-bok, president of the Korea Rugby Association, said, "As we are playing two matches at home, please watch as we strive to achieve good results amidst the passionate support of rugby fans," adding, "The enthusiastic support from fans and junior rugby players greatly motivates the national team, so I ask for much encouragement."
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