The Korea Football Association (KFA) has requested a change in its home stadium ahead of next month’s A-match home game.
KFA said on the 24th, “The association has decided to request the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to change the venue of the home game against Iraq in the fourth round of the third qualifying round for the North-China World Cup on the 15th of next month from Seoul World Cup Stadium to Mir Stadium in Yongin.”
KFA conducted on-site inspection of the 안전놀이터 Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 23rd. According to the results of checking the condition of the lawn, even if various measures such as lawn care are mobilized as much as possible, there is a limit to improving the condition of the stadium’s lawn by the World Cup qualifying match on the 15th of next month, so they asked for a change in their home stadium.
The grass condition at the Seoul World Cup Stadium was serious. In the first match of the final qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup between the South Korean national soccer team and Palestine at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 5th, South Korean players played their home games on the fine lawn.
In the end, Korea ended the match with a 0-0 draw with Palestine. After the match, Son Heung-min, the “captain” of the Korean national team, pointed out the grass condition at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. “Even the players with good technology had a hard time handling the ball,” Son said. “I hope the home stadium will be improved.”
After the A-match in September, it was easy to find grassy places in the match between FC Seoul and Daejeon Hana Citizen on the 14th held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. To make matters worse, on days when there is no game, events such as concerts overlapped, raising concerns about the state of the grass.
The KFA made the decision when the home game was about three weeks away. “To change the venue of the home game against Iraq from the originally scheduled Seoul World Cup Stadium to Yongin Mir Stadium, we will submit an official letter requesting the change of the venue of the home game to AFC as soon as details are confirmed,” the KFA said.
Yongin Mir Stadium is currently used as a home stadium by Suwon Samsung, a member of the K League 2. It is also the place where the women’s national soccer team A match will be held. Suwon has been using it since August after the Suwon World Cup Stadium began extensive grass repair work during the 2024 season.
KFA explained, “Since the grass issue became controversial in the match against Palestine earlier this month, we have been closely reviewing alternative stadiums along with the possibility of improving the grass at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.” In the case of Yongin Mir Stadium, the association officials conducted another on-site inspection on the afternoon of the 23rd, and although there was damage due to Suwon’s home game a day ago, the grass is relatively good, and considering the two scheduled K League 2 games in the future, it is believed that the current weather will allow some lawn recovery and management.”
AFC is also expected to accept the request to change its home stadium after conducting an on-site inspection. “The association has been reviewing a two-track plan to change the stadium at the same time as checking how much it is possible to improve the grass at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, judging that the grass condition against Palestine affected the national team’s performance earlier this month,” a KFA official said. “The AFC is expected to conduct an on-site inspection soon and we will have to wait for the results of the approval review.”
