Did it collapse? No! The spark of revival of soccer, the first champion of the top competition, ended a long slump and gave hope

May 26, 2025

Did it collapse? No! The spark of revival of soccer, the first champion of the top competition, ended a long slump and gave hope
AFP Yonhap News



Did it collapse? No! The spark of revival of soccer, the first champion of the top competition, ended a long slump and gave hope
AFP Yonhap News
The spark of hope in Chinese soccer has appeared. China's Wuhan Zhang Da has reached the top of Asia.

Wuhan Zhangda won the 2024-2025 Women's Asian Football Confederation Champions League final against Melbourne City in Australia at Wuhan Sports Center Stadium on the 24th (Korea time) by winning the penalty shootout 5-4.

The women's ACL inherited the women's club championship, which was held a total of four times from 2019 to 2023, and began as a formal tournament with the name 'AFC Women's Club Championship' for the first time this season. In Korea, Incheon Hyundai Steel played in the WK League, but lost to Melbourne in the semifinals and failed to advance to the final. With this victory, Wuhan will become the first winner of the tournament.




Did it collapse? No! The spark of revival of soccer, the first champion of the top competition, ended a long slump and gave hope
AFP Yonhap News
Wuhan beat Urawa Red Diamond Ladies in the quarterfinals and Ho Chi Minh City Women FC in the semifinals to reach the final at this tournament. It was a fierce battle with Melbourne City, which won the second and third rounds of the tournament, the quarterfinals, and the semifinal match against Incheon Hyundai Steel. Melbourne City scored the first goal but conceded a penalty just before the end of the second half, eventually losing the penalty shootout.

In Wuhan, Korean national team captain Kim Hye-ri also started and played for about 120 minutes. Wuhan laughed at the end as a bold choice to replace the goalkeeper in the shootout resulted in Melbourne's fifth and sixth kickers being blocked. Along with the prize money, she also confirmed her participation in the 2026 Women's Football Club World Cup.

China's Sohu said `Wuhan Zhang Da left her footprints on the women's ACL.'Wuhan also participated in the Women's Club World Cup with the trophy, ending a long slump in Chinese soccer and giving a glimmer of hope' praised Wuhan's achievements.




Meanwhile, unlike women's soccer, both Shanghai Haigang and Shanghai Shenhua, the Chinese teams that reached the round of 16 in this season's men's ACLE, were eliminated.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.