The 2013 Hwaebul Cup was the inaugural edition of the Hwaebul Cup (홰불, Torch) football competition celebrating North Korea's Youth Day. The competition was held between 15 and 28 August 2013, with all matches played at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in P'yŏngyang. The competition was arranged in two phases, a group stage followed by a single-elimination play-off semi-finals, and a single-game final.[1]
Round and dates
Round
Match date
Number of fixtures
Teams
New entries this round
Group stage
15–24 August 2013
25
11 → 4
11
Semi-finals
26 August 2013
2
4 → 2
none
Final
28 August 2013
1
2 → 1
none
Group stage
Eleven teams took part in the group stage, drawn into two groups, with five teams in Group A and six in Group B.[1]
The semi-final matches were both held on the same day, probably 26 August 2013.[1] The result of the Sŏnbong–Hwaebul match is unknown; in the other match, April 25 defeated Amrokkang 3–1 on penalties after finishing level at 2–2 after extra time.[1]
The final was held on 28 August 2013 at Kim Il-sung Stadium. The score was even at 2–2 after extra time, and Sŏnbong won 6–5 on penalties. However, a few days after the match, Sŏnbong was deemed to have fielded an ineligible player,[2] and April 25 were awarded the victory.[1] In addition to being stripped of the title, Sŏnbong were suspended from all competitions for six months.[2]
