FA Cup semifinals rescheduled after postponement due to Jamboree concert, typhoon

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors players celebrate their 4-0 victory over Gwangju FC in the Korean FA Cup quarterfinal match at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla on June 28. [YONHAP]

The Korean FA Cup semifinals have been rescheduled to Nov. 1 after they were postponed due to a World Scout Jamboree turmoil and Typhoon Khanun last week.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ clash with Incheon United and Jeju United’s match against the Pohang Steelers in the semifinals were originally set to be played Wednesday last week.

The former was to take place at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla, but organizers of the Jamboree had selected the stadium as the venue for the K-pop concert that would act as a closing ceremony, forcing the Korea Football Association (KFA) to change the fixture schedule.

The organizers, however, later changed the venue to Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul due to the typhoon approaching North Jeolla at the time.

By the time they announced the change, Incheon United players had already left Jeonju, where they were training. The KFA then decided not to reverse its call to postpone the semifinal match.

Jeju’s match against the Steelers at Jeju World Cup Stadium in Jeju was canceled due to the typhoon on Wednesday last week, and the KFA said then it will soon announce a new schedule.

Both single-match semifinal games will take place at their original venues, while the home-and-away format final will now be a single-match game on Nov. 4 with the venue yet to be decided.

The KFA said the four teams settled for the dates in November after an online meeting Monday. The main reason behind the call is that K League players have a busy schedule in August and September in the league, and some of them even have national team duty during that period.

This year’s FA Cup is a chance for Jenobuk to defend their title in style, as a victory will allow them to become the first-ever team to win six FA Cup trophies. Jeonbuk, with five FA Cup titles, share the record with the Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]