Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC
Football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC (Korean: 인천 현대제철 레드엔젤스 WFC) is a South Korean women's football team based in Incheon. The club was founded in 1993.
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| Full name | Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women's Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Red Angels | ||
| Founded | 1993[1] | ||
| Ground | Incheon Namdong Asiad Rugby Field | ||
| Capacity | 4,968 | ||
| Owner | Hyundai Steel | ||
| Manager | Hur Jeong-jae | ||
| League | WK League | ||
| 2025 | Regular season: 3rd of 8 Playoffs: Semi-final | ||
| Website | redangels | ||
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They are South Korea's most successful club with eleven consecutive WK League titles won from 2013 to 2023.
History
Foundation and early years
In the 1990s, the Hyundai Group established and invested in various sports teams to improve the company's image following its founder Chung Ju-yung's unsuccessful campaign in the 1992 presidential election, as well as to boost employees' morale and loyalty.[2] Hyundai's women's football club was formally established on 3 December 1993, becoming the first women's works football team in South Korea.[3] Byun Byung-joo was appointed as manager and the squad initially consisted of fifteen players, including five former field hockey players.[4] With no other works teams to compete with, they initially played against university and high school teams.[5]
WK League dominance
Hyundai Steel were one of the founding members of the WK League when it was launched in 2009.[6] In the inaugural edition, the club finished the season as runners-up, after losing in the championship final to Daekyo Kangaroos.[7] In the following three seasons, Incheon again faced disappointment on the final day of the season as they made it to the final but lost on aggregate each time.[8]
The Red Angels finally won their first league title in 2013, beating Seoul City 4–2 on aggregate after recording a draw in the first leg of the final.[9] This began an era of WK League dominance for the club, as they went on to win eleven consecutive titles.[10] In 2018, their league title earned them a place in the 2019 AFC Women's Club Championship, a pilot competition for the AFC Women's Champions League.[11] The competition was held in Yongin, South Korea and Incheon finished in third place among four teams in the round-robin tournament.[12]
Following Incheon's 2022 WK League title, they qualified for the 2023 AFC Women's Club Championship, an expanded version of the pilot competition with eight teams from across the region participating. The Red Angels won Group B to advance to the final against Urawa Red Diamonds, ultimately finishing as runners-up.[13]
The winning streak ends
The club's WK League winning streak came to an end in 2024 when Incheon finished in fourth place in the league, failing to qualify for the championship playoff for the first time in league history.[14] Despite disappointing results in the league, as defending champions Incheon were also competing in the 2024–25 AFC Women's Champions League, winning Group A in October 2024.[15][16]
Under new manager Hur Jung-jae, Incheon had a slow start to the 2025 WK League season, with several matches postponed due to their continental fixtures.[17] In the Champions League, the club hosted Bam Khatoon in the quarter-finals in March, beating the Iranian team 1–0.[18] The semi-finals and final took place in Wuhan, China, and Incheon travelled to the final stage of the tournament with high hopes of overall victory.[19] However, their Champions League title hopes were brought to a dramatic end in the semi-final in which they were beaten by Melbourne City, with the only goal of the match scored in second-half injury time.[20] In the domestic league, Incheon finished the season in third place but were absent from the championship final for the second consecutive year as they failed to beat Seoul City in the playoff.[21]
Current squad
- As of 10 April 2026[22]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Backroom staff
Coaching staff
- Manager:
Hur Jeong-jae - Head coach: Kim Eun-jeong
- Goalkeeper coach: Jo Jung-min
- Coach: Kim Chang-hee
Support staff
- Medical trainers: Kim Kyung-mi, Kim Ju-hyun
- Analyst: Lee Ju-han
Source: Official website[23]
Honours
Domestic
- Queen's National Women's Football Championship
- Winners (8): 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
- Runners-up (4): 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001
- President's Cup (Women's Division)
- Winners (5): 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002
- Runners-up (1): 2000
- Korea Expressway Corporation National Women's Football Tournament
- Winners (5): 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
- Runners-up (1): 1997
- National Women's Football Championship
- Winners (7): 2004, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2024
- Runners-up (4): 2002, 2011, 2017, 2022
- Peace Cup National Women's Football Tournament
- Winners (1): 2005[24]
- WK League
International
- AFC Women's Club Championship
- Runners-up (1): 2023
Season-by-season records
Pre-WK League era
| Season | Queen's National Women's Football Championship |
President's Cup |
National Football Championship (Women's division) |
Korea Expressway Corporation National Women's Football Tournament | Korean Women's League | Unification Cup | National Sports Festival | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st ed. | 2nd ed. | |||||||
| 1994 | 3rd | 3rd | [a] | |||||
| 1995 | 2nd | 3rd | ||||||
| 1996 | 2nd[25] | 1st | [b] | 1st | ||||
| 1997 | 2nd[26] | 3rd | 2nd | |||||
| 1998 | 1st[27] | 1st[28] | 1st[28] | 2nd[29] | 1st[29] | |||
| 1999 | 1st[30] | 1st[28] | 1st | 1st[31] | 1st[29] | |||
| 2000 | 1st[32] | 2nd[33] | 1st[33] | 2nd | ||||
| 2001 | 2nd | 1st[34] | 1st | 2nd[35] | 1st[36] | |||
| Season | Queen's National Women's Football Championship |
President's Cup |
National Football Championship (Women's division) |
National Women's Football Championship | Korea Women's Football Championship | Unification Cup | National Sports Festival | |
| Spring | Autumn | |||||||
| 2002 | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st[36] | ||
| 2003 | 1st | [c] | 1st[37] | 1st[38] | 1st[36] | |||
| 2004 | 1st[39] | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd[36] | ||
| 2005 | 1st | 1st[40] | 1st | 1st | Unranked[36] | |||
| 2006 | 1st | 1st[41] | 1st | 1st | 1st | Quarter-finals[36] | ||
| 2007 | 1st | 2nd[42] | Semi-finals[36] | |||||
| 2008 | [d] | 1st | 2nd[43] | 2nd | 2nd | Quarter-finals[36] | ||
WK League era
| Season | WK League | National Women's Football Championship |
National Sports Festival |
Ref. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Pos | Playoffs | ||||
| 2009 | 20 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 25 | 7 | 35 | 2nd | Runners-up | 1st | [44][36] | |
| 2010 | 20 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 32 | 21 | 41 | 1st | Runners-up | Semi-finals | [45][36] | |
| 2011 | 21 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 18 | 41 | 2nd | Runners-up | 2nd | Semi-finals | [46][47][36] |
| 2012 | 21 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 43 | 17 | 50 | 2nd | Runners-up | 1st | 1st | [48][49][36] |
| 2013 | 24 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 44 | 15 | 50 | 1st | Winners | Unranked | Unranked | [50][51][36] |
| 2014 | 24 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 49 | 14 | 53 | 1st | Winners | Unranked | 1st | [50][52][36] |
| 2015 | 24 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 57 | 16 | 61 | 1st | Winners | 1st | Semi-finals | [50][53][36] |
| 2016 | 24 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 55 | 21 | 55 | 1st | Winners | 1st | Semi-finals | [50][54][36] |
| 2017 | 28 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 88 | 18 | 70 | 1st | Winners | 2nd | 1st | [50][55][36] |
| 2018 | 28 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 84 | 21 | 69 | 1st | Winners | Unranked | 1st | [50][56][36] |
| 2019 | 28 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 82 | 19 | 76 | 1st | Winners | Unranked | Semi-finals | [50][57][36] |
| 2020 | 21 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 60 | 11 | 55 | 1st | Winners | Not held[e] | Cancelled[f] | [50] |
| 2021 | 21 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 51 | 14 | 52 | 1st | Winners | 1st | Cancelled[g] | [50][60] |
| 2022 | 21 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 44 | 13 | 52 | 1st | Winners | 2nd | Unranked | [50][61][36] |
| 2023 | 21 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 14 | 42 | 1st | Winners | Semi-finals | 2nd | [50][62][63] |
| 2024 | 28 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 36 | 25 | 47 | 4th | Did not qualify | 1st | 2nd | [64][65][66] |
- Before 2001, the National Sports Festival did not feature a senior women's football tournament.
- The tournament only featured a women's division once, in 1995.
- The President's Cup did not have a women's division after 2002.
- The tournament did not have a senior division after 2007.
- The tournament was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea.
Record in AFC Women's Club Championship
All results list Red Angels's goal tally first.
| Season | Round | Opponents | Result | Placement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Group stage |  Melbourne Victory |
4–0 | Third place |
 Nippon TV Beleza |
0–2 | |||
 Jiangsu Suning |
0–2 | |||
| 2023 | Group stage |  FC Nasaf |
2–0 | First place |
 Bam Khatoon |
2–1 | |||
| Sydney FC |
3–0 | |||
| Final | Urawa Red Diamonds |
1–2 | ||
Managers
| No. | Manager | Period | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Byun Byung-joo |
1993–1995 | [67] |
| 2 | Kim Pyung-seok |
1996–1998 | [68] |
| 3 | An Jong-goan |
1999–2009 | [69] |
| 4 | Lee Moon-seok |
2010–2011 | [70] |
| 5 | Choi In-cheol |
2012–2019 | [71][72] |
| 6 | Jung Sung-chun |
2020–2021 | [73] |
| C | Kim Eun-sook |
2021 | [74] |
| 7 | 2022–2024 | [75] | |
| 8 | Hur Jeong-jae |
2025–present | [76] |