The Korean soccer promotion system, which covers everything from the professional soccer K-League to semi-professional and amateur levels, will be completed from 2027.
The Korea Football Association recently agreed with the Korea Professional Football League to implement a promotion and relegation system between the second division (K League 2) and the third division (K3 League). “The promotion and relegation teams for 2027 will be determined based on the performance of the 2026 season,” he announced on the 28th.
He added, “We decided to simultaneously promote promotion between the 4th division (K4 League) and 5th division (K5 League).”
Currently, in domestic soccer, promotion and relegation systems are implemented only between professionals (K League 1 and K League 2), semi-professionals (K3 and K4 Leagues), and amateurs (K5, K6, K7 Leagues).
The promotion and relegation system between the 1st and 2nd divisions of the professional league has been in effect for more than 10 years, and the promotion and relegation system between the K3 League and K4 League has been introduced since 2021.
The K5~K7 leagues introduced their own promotion and relegation system starting in 2020.
The adult leagues, which are separated into three units, will be combined into one starting in 2027 to realize a full promotion and relegation system. The Football Association said, “The promotion system for all Korean adult soccer, from the first division of professional soccer to the seventh division of amateur soccer, is scheduled to be virtually completed in three years. “For the first time in 44 years since professional soccer was first launched in 1983, a promotion and relegation system has been established,” he said. He continued, “The association and the professional league have continued discussions over the past few years to fully implement the promotion and relegation system. He added, “After both sides narrowed their differences little by little on the implementation of the promotion system between the 2nd and 3rd divisions, which was a key task, an agreement was reached.” However, in order for a K3 League team to be promoted to K League 2, it must win while obtaining a K League club license determined by the Professional Federation. The K-League club license sets the basic conditions that a professional team must meet in several areas, including stadium facilities, staff size of the secretariat, and youth team development. If a K3 League club cannot be promoted because it cannot obtain a K League club license, relegation from K League 2 to K3 League will not occur. The association and the federation decided to further discuss whether there will be a promotion play-off between the lowest ranked team in K League 2 and the top team in the 3rd division, or whether automatic promotion will be achieved based only on the league rankings without a playoff. Promotion and relegation between semi-professional leagues and amateur leagues will also be implemented from 2027. If the 1st and 2nd place teams in the K5 League in the 2026 season satisfy the conditions for obtaining a K4 League club license, they will be promoted to the K4 League next season. However, the relegation of K4 League teams will be temporarily postponed. The Football Association explained, “Relegation has been temporarily put on hold considering the expansion of the number of teams in the K4 League and the difference in environment between the current semi-professional K4 League and the K5 League, where hobbyist players play.” In order to expand the professional soccer market, the Football Association and the Professional Federation have established a 'fast track' policy, such as an exception clause that allows local governments with a population of 500,000 or more or companies within the top 100 domestic companies to directly enter the K-League 2 after 2027 if they directly establish a professional team. It was decided to establish ‘regulations’. In addition, in order to expand and strengthen the foundation of the K4 League, new teams that acquire a K4 club license for the time being after 2027 will be able to directly participate in the K4 League without going through the K5 League. 토토사이트
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