TheSouth Korean football league systemcontains two professional leagues, two semi-professional leagues, and various amateur leagues forKoreanfootballclubs.
| Country | South Korea |
|---|---|
| Sport | Association football |
| Promotion and relegation | Partial (for men) No (for women) |
| National system | |
| Federation | Korea Football Association |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Top division |
|
| Second division | K League 2 |
| Cup competition | Korean FA Cup |
| Association football in South Korea | |
The highest level of football in South Korea is theK League 1,which was founded in 1983.K League 2was founded in 2013 and is currently a second division. Below the level of the professional leagues are the semi-professionalK3 League,which was founded in2007and refounded in 2020, and theK4 League,which was founded in 2020, and serve as the third division and fourth division, respectively.
There was no avenue for progression between any of the leagues until 2012, when theK League 2was founded.
The highest level of women's football in South Korea is theWK League,which was founded in 2009.
System by period
editKorean National Semi-Professional Football Leaguewas asemi-professionalfootball league betweencorporate teamsinSouth Koreafrom 1964 to 2002. In 1983, with the establishment ofK Leaguewhich is a professional league, the Semi-professional League became the second tier and remained so until it was replaced by theKorea National Leaguein 2003. The third tierK3 Leaguewas founded as an amateur league in 2007, and became the fourth tier afterK League 2,the second division of the professional league, was founded in 2013. In 2017, the K3 League was divided into two divisions, the K3 League Advanced and the K3 League Basic.[1]They were relaunched as semi-professional leagues with new names,K3 LeagueandK4 League,in 2020. The National League was merged into the K3 League.[2]
Promotion and relegation takes place within each of three classes (professional, semi-professional and amateur) but at present there is no promotion and relegation between classes. The KFA has announced plans to unify the league system with promotion and relegation between all seven leagues starting from the 2027 season.[3]
| Professional leagues (K League) |
| Semi-professional leagues |
| Amateur leagues |
| Year | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4 | Tier 5 | Tier 6 | Tier 7 | Tier 8 and under |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964–1982 | Semi-professional League | |||||||
| 1983 | K League[a] | Korean League Division 1 | Korean League Division 2[4] | |||||
| 1984–2002 | K League[a] | Semi-professional League[5] | ||||||
| 2003–2006 | K League | National League | ||||||
| 2007–2012 | K League | National League | K3 League (amateur) | |||||
| 2013–2016 | K League 1[b] | K League 2[c] | National League | K3 League (amateur) | ||||
| 2017–2019 | K League 1[b] | K League 2[c] | National League | K3 League Advanced | K3 League Basic | Under construction | ||
| 2020–present | K League 1 | K League 2 | K3 League | K4 League | K5 League | K6 League | K7 League | Regional competitions |
- ^abNamed "Super League" from 1983 to 1985, "Football Festival" in 1986, "Korean Professional Football League" from 1987 to 1993, "Korean League" from 1994 to 1995, "Professional Football League" from 1996 to 1997, "K League" since 1998.
- ^abNamed "K League Classic" from 2013 to 2017, "K League 1" since 2018.
- ^abNamed "K League Challenge" from 2013 to 2017, "K League 2" since 2018.
Current system
editOutside this league structure, there are university, reserve and youth level competitions. University clubs'U-Leagueand reserve teams'R Leagueare operating independently from the league system. Relegation from K League 2 to K3 League and K4 League to K5 League from 2027 have been introduced.
| Level | Division | Class |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | K League 1 12 clubs ↓ 1 relegation spot + 2 relegation playoff spot |
Professional |
| 2 | K League 2 14 clubs ↑ 1 promotion spot + 2 promotion playoff spot No relegation | |
| 3 | K3 League 15 clubs No promotion ↓ 2 relegation spots + 1 relegation playoff spot |
Semi-professional |
| 4 | K4 League 13 clubs ↑ 2 promotion spots + 1 promotion playoff spot No relegation | |
| 5 | K5 League 84 clubs / 13 regions No promotion ↓ 13 relegation spot |
Amateur |
| 6 | K6 League 192 clubs / 31 regions ↑ 13 promotion spot ↓ 31 relegation spot | |
| 7 | K7 League 1223 clubs / 187 regions ↑ 31 promotion spot ↓ relegation spot | |
| 8 and under | Regional competitions ↑ promotion spot |
Qualification for cups
editDomestic cups
editAllK League,K3 LeagueandK4 Leaguesides qualify for theKorean FA Cuptournament. The top eleven sides from theK5 Leaguegained qualification to the 2020 season's FA Cup tournament. TheKorean League Cupcompetition was open to K League teams only, whilst sides from the National League could compete in theNational League Championship,but both were abolished.[when?]
Continental competition
editAt present, four South Korean sides qualify automatically for theAFC Champions League.Three top teams fromK League 1automatically gains entry to theAFC Champions League.TheKorean FA Cupwinners also qualify for theAFC Champions Leagueonly. However, if the champions ofKorean FA Cupare not members of K League, the fourth placed team of theK League 1receive the entry spot.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Park, Joo-seong (23 December 2015)."아마추어리그, 디비전 시스템 추진...2020년까지 4부 리그 확대"[Amateur league introduced division system... Fourth division to be expanded by 2020].InterFootball(in Korean).Retrieved22 April2024.
- ^"Breaking: K3 and K4 League Teams Confirmed".K League United.19 December 2019.Retrieved22 April2024.
- ^Paik, Ji-hwan (28 March 2024)."K League to unify promotion-relegation system across all 7 leagues".Korea JoongAng Daily.Retrieved22 April2024.
- ^Thật nghiệp 축구도 운영은 프로처럼… 본거지제도 채택.Naver.com(in Korean). Dong-A Ilbo. 15 December 1982.Retrieved27 August2021.
- ^Thật nghiệp 축구 코리 안리그 1.2 bộ chế 1년만에 다시통합┈변덕 hành chính.Naver.com(in Korean). Kyunghyang. 16 November 1983.Retrieved27 August2021.
External links
edit- K League(in Korean)
- K5 K6 K7- KFA(in English)
- Korea National League(in Korean)
- Challengers League(in Korean)
- ROKfootball(in English)