History

Yangzee was a special football club to aim anti-communism, and was founded by the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) on 29 March 1967, after the North Korea national football team reached the quarter-finals in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Under the then-head of the KCIA Kim Hyong-uk, the club was charged with improving the level of football in South Korea, recruiting the best talent of the time. Participation in the squad took the place of the mandatory military service requirement for Korean nationals, and the players lived and trained at the headquarters of the Intelligence Agency during their time with the team. They also received high salaries and long-term overseas training in return for intensive training. The team dominated the domestic football scene at the time, and in 1969 reached the final of the Asian Club Championship, losing 1–0 to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the final. As Kim's grip on power at the Intelligence Agency slipped away, and interest in the football club waned as relations towards North Korea improved, the team was wound up on 17 March 1970.^[1]^[2]