K League
| K League | |
| Full name | Korea Professional Football |
| Association | Korea Football Association |
| First edition | 1983 |
| hierarchy | 1 & 2 league |
| Teams | 22nd |
| master |
FC Seoul ( Classic ) |
| Record champions | Seongnam FC (7 wins) |
| Website | www.kleague.com |
| Qualification for | AFC Champions League |
The K League ( Korea Professional Football League ) is the two-tier professional league in South Korean football .
history
The K League 1 was founded in 1983 as the Korean Super League with five members. The founding members were Hallelujah FC , Yukong Elephants , POSCO Dolphins , Daewoo Royals and Kookmin Bank FC . Hallelujah FC won the first league title.
In 1998, the Korean football league system was reformed and the league was changed to the K League . Since then, the league has grown from five to 16 members. In the meantime, three of the five members (Yukong Elephants, POSCO Dolphins and Daewoo Royals) have been renamed and two members (Hallelujah FC and Kookmin Bank FC) have resigned from the league.
In 2013 the league was reformed again. This time the first division was renamed K League Classic and a second division was established. Originally, the second division should have the name of the first division, but since this was heavily criticized, it was given the name K League Challenge . Data and statistics from the period up to 2012 can be found under K League Classic .
In 2018, the K League announced that it would rename the K League Classic to K League 1 and the K League Challenge to K League 2.
structure
The K League consists of the first division, the K League 1 , and the K League 2 . Under it is the semi-professional league Korea National League , which was founded in 2003. However, it does not belong to the K League. This includes the K3 League , which also does not belong to the K League. There is only promotion and relegation between the first two leagues. You can only join or leave the other two leagues.
- First division - K League 1 - 12 teams
- Second division - K League 2 - 10 teams
Franchises
Members of the K-League
The names marked in bold are the current club names, the names in italics are dissolved clubs. The following teams belong to the K League:
| society | owner | comment |
|---|---|---|
| POSCO FC (1973–1983)
POSCO Dolphins (1983–1984) |
POSCO | Founded as a semi-professional club in April 1973, converted into a professional club in 1984 |
| Hallelujah FC (1983–1985) | Shindongah Group , now dissolved | Established on December 20, 1980 |
| Yukong Elephants (1983-1995)
Puchon Yukong (1996-September 1997) |
SK Energy | Founded on December 17th, 1982 |
| Saehan Motors FC (1979–1980)
Daewoo FC (1980–1983) |
founded by the Daewoo Groups (1983–1999) Hyundai Development Company (2000-) |
Founded on November 22, 1979 and has since been dissolved. Re-established as a professional club on December 3, 1983 |
| Kookmin Bank FC (1983-1984) | Kookmin Bank | Was active as a semi-professional club in the league |
| Hyundai Horang-i (1984-1990)
Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i (1996–1998) |
founded by Hyundai Motors Company (1984–1997) taken over by Hyundai Heavy Industries (1998-) |
Established on December 6, 1983 |
| Lucky Gold Star Hwangso (1984–1990)
LG Cheetahs (1991–1995) |
LG Group (1984-2004) GS Group (June 2006-) |
Established on December 22, 1983 |
| Hanil Bank FC (1984–1986) | Hanil Bank | Was active as a semi-professional club in the league |
| Ilhwa Chunma (1989–1995) Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma (1996–1999) |
Tongil Group (1989–2013) As of 2014, Seongnam City owns the association |
Founded on March 18, 1989 |
| Chonbuk Buffalo (1994) | Founded in 1993, dissolved at the end of 1994 | |
| Chonbuk Dinos (1995-1996) Chonbuk Hyundai Dinos (1997–1999) |
founded by Hyundai Motors Company (1995-May 1999) taken over by Hyundai Motor Group (May 1999-) |
Established on December 12, 1994 |
| Chunnam Dragons (1995-2013) Jeonnam Dragons (2014-) |
POSCO | Established on December 16, 1994 |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings (1996-) | Founded by Samsung Electronics (1996-March 2014) taken over by Cheil Worldwide (April 2014-) |
Founded on December 15, 1995 |
| Taejeon Citizen (1997-2002) Daejeon Citizen (2003-) |
Founded by Dong Ah Group (1997-2005) Acquired by Daejeon City Council (2006-) |
Founded on March 12, 1997 |
| Daegu FC (2003-) | Founded by Daegu City (2003-) | Founded on March 19, 2003 |
| Incheon United (2004-) | Founded by the City of Incheon (2004-) | Founded on March 1st, 2004 |
| Gyeongnam FC (2006-) | Founded by Gyeongnam City and Gyeongsangnam-dos Government (2006-) | Founded on January 17th, 2006 |
| Gangwon FC (2009-) | Founded by the Gangwon-do government (2009-) | Established on December 18, 2008 |
| Gwangju FC (2011-) | Founded by Gwangjus City Council (2011-) | Established on December 16, 2010 |
| Sangmu FC (1985)
Gwangju Sangmu (2003-2010) |
Founded by the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Group (1985) Under the Gwangju City Administration (2003-2010) again under the administration of the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Group and the City of Sangju (2011-) |
founded as a semi-professional club on January 11, 1984, joined the K League in 1985. Re- founded as Gwangju Sangmu on February 26, 2011. Re- founded as Sangju Sangmu on January 4, 2013 |
| Police FC (2013)
Ansan Police FC (2014-2015) |
Founded by the Korean National Police University (2013) taken over by the city of Ansan (2014–2016) taken over by the city of Asan and the Korean National Police University (2017-) |
Founded as a semi-professional club on March 29, 1996, later transferred to a professional club and joined the K League Challenge in 2013 . Founded on March 16, 2014 as Ansan Mugunghwa FC |
| Goyang Zaicro FC (2013-2016) | Founded as a semi-professional club in 1999, converted into a professional club and joined the K League Challenge in 2013, converted into an amateur club in 2016 - dissolved at the end of 2016 |
|
| Chungju Hummel FC (2013-2016) | Bumblebee Korea | Founded as a semi-professional club on December 9, 1999, converted into professional club and K League Challenge joined in 2013, dissolved at the end of 2016 |
| Suwon FC (2013-) | Under the administration of Suwon City (2013-) | Founded on March 15, 2003 as a semi-professional club, converted into a professional club in 2013 and joined the K League Challenge |
| Bucheon FC 1995 (2013-) | Under the administration of the city of Bucheon (2013-) | Founded on December 1st, 2007 as an amateur club and converted into a professional club in 2013, as well as joining the K League Challenge |
| FC Anyang (2013-) | Under the administration of Anyang City (2013-) | Founded on February 2, 2013 and joining the K League Challenge |
| Seoul E-Land FC (2015-) | E-Land Group (2015-) | Founded on August 22, 2014 and joined the K league Challenge in 2015 |
| Ansan Greeners FC (2017-) | Under the administration of Ansan City (2017-) | Founded on November 16, 2016 and joined K League Challenge in 2017 |
| Asan Mugunghwa FC (2017-) | Under the administration of Asan City (2017-) | Founded on January 11, 2017 as Asan Mugunghwa FC |
Future franchises
Several new franchises are planned for the K League by 2033, which are as follows:
League sponsors
The following table shows who sponsored the K-League and when.
| From | To | sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 1993 | No sponsor |
| 1994 | 1995 | Hite |
| 1996 | 1997 | Rapido |
| 1998 | - | Hyundai |
| 1999 | - | Buy Korea |
| 2000 | - | Samsung DigiTall |
| 2001 | - | POSCO |
| 2002 | 2008 | Samsung thump |
| 2009 | - | No sponsor |
| 2010 | - | Hyundai Motor Company Sonata |
| 2011 | 2016 | Hyundai Oilbank |
| Since 2017 | - | Hana Bank |
See also
Web links
supporting documents
- K League: Information about the clubs