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Middlesbrough Ladies set to tour North Korea
Source: Agencies |
September 14, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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MIDDLESBROUGH Ladies will become the first British football team to visit North Korea, strengthening the town's long-standing relationship with the isolated Asian country that dates back 44 years.
A group of 14 players and three coaching staff, led by manager Marrie Wieczorek, will fly in to Pyongyang on Saturday for a four-night stay in the North Korean capital. The team will play two matches and hold coaching sessions for local children.
The origins of the links between North Korea and the town in northeast England chart back to the World Cup in 1966, when Middlesbrough hosted the country's three group games. The players received a warm welcome from the locals, who adopted North Korea as their second team, and a special bond has existed between the two places ever since.
Surviving members of the 1966 squad, who returned to Britain to visit Middlesbrough in October 2002, will meet the ladies team during the tour, which was arranged following an invitation by the British Embassy in Pyongyang.
"I know North Korea is shrouded in mystery for many people in the UK but I get the impression that the Koreans will be wonderful hosts," said Wieczorek, a former England international.
"The trip is very much about friendship and is evidence of football's power to break down cultural barriers."
North Korea played in this year's World Cup in South Africa.
"Everyone is so excited about the trip," Wieczorek said. "It's such a fantastic opportunity for all of us to visit a country that we could never have imagined getting to see."
A group of 14 players and three coaching staff, led by manager Marrie Wieczorek, will fly in to Pyongyang on Saturday for a four-night stay in the North Korean capital. The team will play two matches and hold coaching sessions for local children.
The origins of the links between North Korea and the town in northeast England chart back to the World Cup in 1966, when Middlesbrough hosted the country's three group games. The players received a warm welcome from the locals, who adopted North Korea as their second team, and a special bond has existed between the two places ever since.
Surviving members of the 1966 squad, who returned to Britain to visit Middlesbrough in October 2002, will meet the ladies team during the tour, which was arranged following an invitation by the British Embassy in Pyongyang.
"I know North Korea is shrouded in mystery for many people in the UK but I get the impression that the Koreans will be wonderful hosts," said Wieczorek, a former England international.
"The trip is very much about friendship and is evidence of football's power to break down cultural barriers."
North Korea played in this year's World Cup in South Africa.
"Everyone is so excited about the trip," Wieczorek said. "It's such a fantastic opportunity for all of us to visit a country that we could never have imagined getting to see."
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