 |
|
| Countries |  South Korea |
|---|---|
| Confederation | AFC |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Number of teams | 15 |
| Relegation to | National League (No relegation) |
| Domestic cup(s) | K-League Cup FA Cup |
| International cup(s) | AFC Champions League Pan-Pacific Championship |
| Current champions | Suwon Samsung Bluewings (2008) |
| Most championships | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (7) |
| Website | Official |
 K-League 2009 |
|
| K-League | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
The Korea Professional Football League (K-League) is a South Korea's professional football league, At the top of the South korean football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 15 clubs at the moment.
Contents |
Establishment
The K-League was founded in 1983 as the Korean Super League, with five member clubs. The initial five clubs were Hallelujah FC, Yukong FC - Professional Football Clubs and POSCO FC, Daewoo FC, Kookmin Bank FC - Semi-Professional Football Clubs. Hallelujah FC won the inaugural title, finishing one point ahead of Daewoo to lift the crown.
In 1998, Korea's football league was reformed and renamed the K-League. Since its creation, the league has expanded from an initial five to fourteen teams. Of the five inaugural clubs, only Daewoo, POSCO and Yukong Kokkiri remain in the K-League; Kookmin Bank FC dropped out of the league at the end of 1984, and Hallelujah followed the season after.
Structure
At present the K-League is the only professional league in Korea, the K-League, and it contains fourteen member clubs.
Below the level of the K-League there is the National League, a closed semi-professional/amateur league with fourteen clubs, established in 2003. The third level of football in Korea is the K3 League.
There is, at present, no official system of promotion and relegation between any of the three leagues, however since 2006 the champions of the National League have been eligible for promotion to the K-League provided they meet certain criteria. Goyang Kookmin Bank and Ulsan Mipo Dockyard, National League champions in 2006 and 2007 respectively, both rejected the opportunity to move up to the K-League.
The league summary
The K-League season typically begins around March/April and runs to late November each year. The number of games, clubs and the systems used have varied through the years, but for 2009 the league will operate with a full stage regular season followed by a top six championship playoff system.
The fifteen member clubs play each other twice in the regular season giving a total of 28 matches. The top six sides at the end of the regular season will enter the championship playoffs. In the first two matches, the third-placed team will face the sixth-placed team and the fourth-placed team will face the fifth-placed team, with the two winners then playing off for the right to face the second-placed team. The winner of that match will then progress to the two-legged championship playoff final where the first-placed side lie in wait, with the overall winner of the home and away series being crowned champions for 2007.
The K-League champions gain entry to the AFC Champions League the following season.
A number of the member clubs are owned by major Korean Chaebols, and the club names reflect that fact. Clubs have adopted local city names in an effort to integrate themselves more with the local communities; for example, Daewoo evolved over the years into Daewoo Royals, Busan Daewoo Royals, Busan I'cons and latterly Busan I'Park.
Although a number of K-League clubs have relocated in the past, the Lucky Goldstar (LG) corporation caused a huge controversy at the end of 2003 when they made the decision to uproot their Anyang LG Cheetahs FC from the Seoul satellite city of Anyang and move into the empty Seoul World Cup stadium, becoming FC Seoul. Then following the 2005 season SK announced it was moving the Bucheon SK FC to the island of Jeju, where they became Jeju United FC.
In 2009 season, Gangwon FC (Head Coach: Choi Sun-Ho, former Ulsan Hyundai Mipo Chosun head coach) joined as the 15th club of K-League. Therefore K-League had one more club in every Province in Korea.
This is the first time in Korean domestic professional sports history.
Many Korean football fans expect that K-League will be most national popular professional sport in the near future
Members for 2009 season
As of 2009 Seaon, K-League Clubs By Province
| Province (Population) | City / Area (Population) | Clubs |
|---|---|---|
| Capital Region (24,200,705) | Seoul (10,207,304) Incheon (2,693,123) Suwon (1,068,033) Seongnam (941,889) |
FC Seoul Incheon United FC Suwon Samsung Bluewings Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma |
| Gyeongsang Region (13,056,617) | Busan (3,562,642) Daegu (2,493,192) Ulsan (1,112,579) Gyeongnam (3,224,676) Pohang (508,382) |
Busan I'Park Daegu FC Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i Gyeongnam FC Pohang Steelers |
| Jeolla Region (5,757,649) | Gwangju (1,423,519) Jeonnam (1,918,310) Jeonbuk (1,855,171) |
Gwangju Sangmu FC Chunnam Dragons Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Chungcheong Region (5,020,305) | Daejeon (1,481,516) | Daejeon Citizen |
| Gangwon Region (1,507,799) | Gangwon (1,507,799) | Gangwon FC |
| Jeju Region (560,649) | Jeju (560,649) | Jeju United FC |
- * Population - 2009 census
The following 15 clubs will compete in the K-League during the 2009 season.
- K-League official principles of statistics is that final club succeeds to predecessor club's history & records.
| Crest | Club | City / Area | Home Stadium(s) | Joined | Owner(s) / Sponsor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Pohang Steelers 포항 스틸러스 |
Pohang | Steelyard Stadium (18,960 seats) |
|
Owner : Pohang Steelworks in POSCO |
 |
Jeju United FC 제주 유나이티드 FC |
Jeju | Jeju World Cup Stadium (35,657 seats) |
|
Owner : SK Energy in SK Group |
 |
Busan I'Park 부산 아이파크 |
Busan | Asiad Main Stadium (53,769 seats) |
1983 ~ | Owner : Hyundai Development Company |
 |
Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i 울산 현대 호랑이 |
Ulsan | Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium (44,474 seats) |
|
Owner : Hyundai Heavy Industries |
 |
FC Seoul FC 서울 |
Seoul | Seoul World Cup Stadium (68,476 seats) |
|
Owner : GS Group |
 |
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 성남 일화 천마 |
Seongnam | Tancheon Sports Complex (16,146 seats) |
|
Owner : Ilhwa inTongil Group |
 |
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 전북 현대 모터스 |
Jeonbuk | Jeonju World Cup Stadium (42,477 seats) |
|
Owner : Hyundai Motor Company |
 |
Chunnam Dragons 전남 드래곤즈 |
Jeonnam | GwangYang Stadium (13,496 seats) |
|
Owner : Gwangyang Steelworks in POSCO |
 |
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 수원 삼성 블루윙즈 |
Suwon | Suwon World Cup Stadium (43,959 seats) |
|
Owner : Samsung Electronics in Samsung Group |
 |
Daejeon Citizen 대전 시티즌 |
Daejeon | Daejeon World Cup Stadium (40,535 seats) |
|
Owners : Government of Daejeon, Citizen Stockholder Sponsors : Kyeryong Construction Construction Co.,Ltd, Hanwha Group |
 |
Daegu FC 대구 FC |
Daegu | Daegu World Cup Stadium (66,422 seats) |
|
Owners : Government of Daegu, Citizen Stockholder Sponsors : Doosan Group, Daegu Bank |
 |
Gwangju Sangmu FC 광주 상무 |
Gwangju | Gwangju World Cup Stadium (40,245 seats) |
1985 |
Owners : Government of Gwangju, Ministry of National Defence Sponsors : Kumho Asiana Group, Gwangju Bank |
 |
Incheon United FC 인천 유나이티드 FC |
Incheon | Incheon World Cup Stadium (50,256 seats) |
|
Owners : Government of Incheon, Citizen Stockholder Sponsors : Daewoo E&C, Shinhan Bank, GM Daewoo |
 |
Gyeongnam FC 경남 FC |
Gyeongnam | Changwon Civil Stadium (27,085 seats) |
|
Owners : Government of Gyeongsangnam-do, Citizen Stockholder Sponsors : STX Corporation, Gyeongnam Bank |
 |
Gangwon FC 강원 FC |
Gangwon | Gangneung Stadium (22,333 seats) Chuncheon Songam Stadium (25,000 seats) |
|
Owners : Government of Gangwon-do, Citizen Stockholder Sponsors : High1 Resort, NongHyup |
- *Horang-i means tiger, Chunma means Pegasus, Jeonnam = Chunnam
K-League History
Previous Winners
K-League Champions
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma are the most successful team in terms of championship victories, having lifted the title on no less than seven occasions.
The roll-call of champions is as follows (present-date names included where teams have changed names previously):
- K-League official principles of statistics is that final club succeeds to predecessor club's history & records.
- Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (Ilhwa Chunma) : (7) - (1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006)
- Busan I'Park (Daewoo Royals, Busan Daewoo Royals) : (4) - (1984, 1987, 1991, 1997)
- Pohang Steelers (POSCO Atoms) : (4) - (1986, 1988, 1992, 2007)
- Suwon Samsung Bluewings : (4) - (1998, 1999, 2004, 2008)
- FC Seoul (Lucky Goldstar Hwangso, Anyang LG Cheetahs) : (3) - (1985, 1990, 2000)
- Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i : (2) - (1996, 2005)
- Jeju United FC (Yukong Kokkiri) : (1) - (1989)
- Hallelujah FC : (1) - (1983)
- *Chunma means pegasus, Hwangso means bull, Horang-i means tiger, Kokkiri means elephant
Titles By Season
Titles By Club
- K-League official principles of statistics is that final club succeeds to predecessor club's history & records.
| Club | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (Ilhwa Chunma) |
7 (1993,1994,1995,2001,2002,2003, 2006) | 2 (1992,2007) |
| Pohang Steelers (POSCO Atoms, Pohang Atoms) |
4 (1986,1988,1992,2007) | 4 (1985,1987,1995,2004) |
| Busan I'Park (Daewoo Royals, Busan Daewoo Royals) |
4 (1984,1987,1991,1997) | 3 (1983,1990,1999) |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 4 (1998,1999,2004,2008) | 2 (1996,2006) |
| FC Seoul (Lucky Goldstar Hwangso, LG Cheetahs, Anyang LG Cheetahs) |
3 (1985,1990,2000) | 5 (1986,1989,1993,2001,2008) |
| Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i (Hyundai Horang-i) |
2 (1996,2005) | 5 (1988,1991,1998,2002,2003) |
| Jeju United FC (Yukong Kokkiri, Bucheon SK) |
1 (1989) | 3 (1984,1994,2000) |
| Hallelujah FC | 1 (1983) | 0 |
| Chunnam Dragons | 0 | 1 (1997) |
| Incheon United FC | 0 | 1 (2005) |
Titles By City / Area
- Since 1987 season : K-League began home and away matches system in 1987.
| City / Area | Titles | Clubs |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Daewoo Royals (1987) |
|
|
|
Yukong Kokkiri (1989) |
|
|
|
Lucky Goldstar Hwangso (1990) / Ilhwa Chunma (1993,1994,1995) |
|
|
|
Suwon Samsung Bluewings (1998,1999,2004,2008) |
|
|
|
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (2001,2002,2003,2006) |
|
|
|
POSCO Atoms (1988,1992), Pohang Steelers (2007) |
|
|
|
Daewoo Royals (1991), Busan Daewoo Royals (1997) |
|
|
|
Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i (1996,2005) |
|
|
|
Anyang LG Cheetahs (2000) |
Titles By Province
- Since 1987 season : K-League began home and away matches system in 1987.
| Province | Titles | City / Area | Clubs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region |
|
(1) Incheon+Gyeonggi (4) Seoul (4) Suwon (4) Seongnam (1) Anyang |
Yukong Kokkiri (1989) Lucky Goldstar Hwangso (1990) / Ilhwa Chunma (1993,1994,1995) Suwon Samsung Bluewings (1998,1999,2004,2008) Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (2001,2002,2003,2006) Anyang LG Cheetahs (2000) |
| Gyeongsang Region |
|
(1) Busan+Gyeongnam (3) Pohang (2) Busan (2) Ulsan |
Daewoo Royals (1987) POSCO Atoms (1988,1992), Pohang Steelers (2007) Daewoo Royals (1991), Busan Daewoo Royals (1997) Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i (1996,2005) |
| Jeolla Region |
|
||
| Chungcheong Region |
|
||
| Gangwon Region |
|
||
| Jeju Region |
|
- *Kokkiri means elephant, Hwangso means bull, Horang-i means tiger, Chunma means pegasus
K-League Sponsors
| Name | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| None | 1983 | 1985 |
| None | 1986 | 1986 |
| None | 1987 | 1992 |
| Hite |
1993 | 1995 |
| Rapido |
1996 | 1997 |
| Hyundai |
1998 | - |
| Buy Korea |
1999 | - |
| Samsung |
2000 | - |
| POSCO |
2001 | - |
| Samsung |
2002 | 2008 |
| None | 2009 | - |
All-time K-League Clubs
There have been a total of 19 member clubs in the history of the K-League - those clubs are listed below with their current names (where applicable):
- K-League official principles of statistics is that final club succeeds to predecessor club's history & records.
| Club (Duration) | Owner(s) | Sponsor(s) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| POSCO Dolphins (1983~1984) POSCO Atoms (1985-1994) Pohang Atoms (1995-1996) Pohang Steelers (1997-present) |
Pohang Steelworks in POSCO | Semi-Professional Football Club converted to Professional Football Club in 1984 | |
| Hallelujah FC (1983-1985) | defunct Shindongah Group | 1st Professional Football Club | |
| Yukong Kokkiri (1983-1995) Bucheon Yukong (1996) Bucheon SK (1997-2005) Jeju United FC (2006-present) |
SK Energy[1] in SK Group | 2nd Professional Football Club | |
| Daewoo Royals (1983-1995) Busan Daewoo Royals (1996-1999) Busan I'cons (2000-2004) Busan I'Park (2005-present) |
defunct Daewoo Group (1983-1999) Hyundai Development (2000-present) |
3rd Professional Football Club | |
| Kookmin Bank FC (1983-1984) | Kookmin Bank | Played as Semi-Professional Football Club | |
| Hyundai Horang-i (1984-1995) Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i (1996-present) |
Hyundai Heavy Industries | 4th Professional Football Club | |
| Lucky Goldstar Hwangso (1984-1990) LG Cheetahs (1991-1995) Anyang LG Cheetahs (1996-2003) FC Seoul (2004-present) |
LG Group (1984-2004) GS Group[2] (2004~present) |
5th Professional Football Club | |
| Hanil Bank FC (1984-1986) | Hanil Bank[3] | Played as Semi-Professional Football Club | |
| Sangmu FC (1985) | Ministry of National Defence | Played as Semi-Professional Football Club | |
| Ilhwa Chunma (1989-1995) Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma (1996-1999) Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (2000-present) |
Ilhwa in Tongil Group | 6th Professional Football Club | |
| Jeonbuk Buffalo (1994) Jeonbuk Dinos (1995-1996) Jeonbuk Hyundai Dinos (1997-1999) Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (2000-present) |
Hyundai Motor Company (1995-present) | Bobaesoju (1994) | 7th Professional Football Club |
| Chunnam Dragons (1995-present) | Gwangyang Steelworks in POSCO | 8th Professional Football Club | |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings (1996-present) | Samsung Electronics in Samsung Group | 9th Professional Football Club | |
| Daejeon Citizen (1997-present) | Government of Daejeon Citizen Stockholder |
Kyeryong Construction Hanwha Group |
10th Professional Football Club |
| Daegu FC (2003-present) | Government of Daegu Citizen Stockholder |
Doosan Group Daegu Bank |
11th Professional Football Club |
| Gwangju Sangmu FC (2003-present) | Government of Gwangju Ministry of National Defence |
Kumho Asiana Group Gwangju Bank |
12th Professional Football Club |
| Incheon United FC (2004-present) | Government of Incheon Citizen Stockholder |
Daewoo E&C Shinhan Bank GM Daewoo |
13th Professional Football Club |
| Gyeongnam FC (2006-present) | Government of Gyeongsangnam-do Citizen Stockholder |
STX Corporation Gyeongnam Bank |
14th Professional Football Club |
| Gangwon FC (2009-present) | Government of Gangwon-do Citizen Stockholder |
High1 Resort Nong Hyup |
15th Professional Football Club |
[1]: Yokong renamed to SK Energy
[2]: GS Group is separated from LG Group
[3]: Hanil Bank is merged by Woori Bank
Note: Kokkiri means elephant, Horang-i means tiger, Hwangso means bull, Chunma means pegasus
Franchise relocations in K-League
- Since 1987 season : K-League began home and away matches system in 1987.
| Club | Joined | Original City / Area | Relocated City / Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pohang Steelers |
|
Daegu+Gyeongbuk (1987) | Pohang (1988-present) |
| Jeju United FC |
|
Incheon+Gyeonggi (1987) | Seoul (1991) -> Bucheon / Mok-dong, Seoul (1996)[1] -> Bucheon (2001) -> Jeju (2006-present) |
| Busan I'Park |
|
Busan+Gyeongnam (1987) | Busan (1989-present) |
| Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i |
|
Gangwon (1987) | Ulsan (1990-present) |
| FC Seoul |
|
Chungcheong (1987) | Seoul (1990) -> Anyang (1996) -> Seoul (2004-present) |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma |
|
Seoul | Cheonan (1996) -> Seongnam (2000-present) |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
|
Jeonbuk | N/A |
| Chunnam Dragons |
|
Jeonnam | N/A |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
|
Suwon | N/A |
| Daejeon Citizen |
|
Daejeon | N/A |
| Daegu FC |
|
Daegu | N/A |
| Gwangju Sangmu FC |
|
Gwangju | N/A |
| Incheon United FC |
|
Incheon | N/A |
| Gyeongnam FC |
|
Gyeongnam | N/A |
| Gangwon FC |
|
Gangwon | N/A |
[1] Actually Bucheon SK held all home matches at Mok-dong Stadium in Seoul until 2000.
Because Bucheon Stadium was under construction.
K-League Awards
See also
- K-League 2009
- K-League Cup
- Korean FA Cup
- Korean Super Cup
- AFC Champions League
- Korea National League
- K3 League
- K-League All-Stars Soccer
- List of football clubs in South Korea
- List of South Korean footballers
- List of Korea-related topics
- Sports league attendances
External links
- Official K-League website (Korean)
- ROKfootball.com website (English)
- Footcoreen.com website (French)
- Regular K-League news and player profiles (English)
Open source encyclopedia content modification information:
This page was last modified on 4 July 2009 at 07:20.
Authorship and Review
Open source encyclopedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Content is sourced directly from Wikipedia and is authored by an open community of volunteers. It is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "K-League", which is available in its original form here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=K-League
All material adapted used from Wikipedia is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Wikipedia® itself is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.