The Korea Football Association (KFA) has begun the final puzzle to complete the division system.
According to the soccer world, KFA is currently pursuing the introduction of a promotion and relegation system between the K League 2, K3 League, and K4 League and K5 League. Already in August, a KFA official briefed on this matter at a workshop for K3 and K4 league workers, and is said to be discussing it with the Korea Professional Football League as well.
Currently, Korean soccer is operated under a ‘division system’ consisting of divisions 1 to 7. There are professional leagues K League 1 and K League 2, semi-professional leagues K3 and K4 leagues, and amateur leagues K5, K6, and K7 leagues. In 2020, the National League was disbanded and the K3 and K4 leagues were launched, completing the current picture.
Although the ‘divisions’ have been divided from Division 1 to Division 7, the ‘promotion system’ has not been completed. Promotion and relegation between K League 2 and K3 League and between K4 League and K5 League are not implemented. Currently, there are separate professional leagues, semi-professional leagues, and amateur leagues.
In order to establish a more perfect division system, KFA began introducing a promotion system that had been delayed for some time. The sketch came out. The goal is to start in 2026. First of all, there will be no relegation, only promotion based on 2025 results. The plan is to postpone relegation until the system is in place. In the case of K League 2, the idea is to postpone relegation until there are 16 teams.
Of course, it is not a final plan. The implementation year of the promotion and relegation system and the detailed implementation plan will be confirmed later through public hearings, etc. after collecting opinions from the federation, all clubs participating in the K League 1 to K4 leagues, and provincial and provincial football associations. However, as KFA President Chung Mong-gyu, who pledged to establish divisions and introduce a promotion system in the past, has a strong will, the speed of progress is expected to accelerate. Kim Jeong-bae, full-time vice president of the association, also emphasized in his inauguration speech in May, “We will contribute to the development of sports knowledge by completing the promotion system between divisions 1 to 7.”
Unlike KFA’s drive, there are many mountains to overcome. There are many voices saying that it is premature to implement a promotion and relegation system between K League 2 and K3 leagues, as even K League 1, the top league, is not yet self-sustaining. In particular, if a K League 2 team is relegated, it could lead to a reduction in support from the local government and parent company for the team, and even to the disbandment of the team. A federation official also said, “I agree with the premise that a promotion system is necessary to complete the division system. It is a path we must take someday. However, in light of our current situation, how will we provide support for promoted teams right now, and is it appropriate to operate multiple teams in the same region? “We need to think about things like that,” he said.
온라인바카라Teams in the K3 league and K5 league are also lukewarm. In the end, it’s a money issue. In the case of the K3 League, there are quite a few teams that have not even completed the incorporation process, but it is not easy to immediately meet the club license requirements for K League 2. There are more than one obstacle starting from the playground. Considering the current internal reactions, there may be a situation where a promotion system is implemented and promotions are refused, like Goyang Kookmin Bank and Ulsan Mipo Dockyard in the past.
KFA plans to finalize the future plan after going through an opinion collection process that continues until this year. Once the final draft is completed, we plan to begin completing the promotion system in earnest by submitting it to the board of directors.