Football in Seoul

FC Seoul

Seoul E-Land

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Location map of professional football clubs in Seoul

Football is one of the most popular sports, both in terms of participants and spectators, in Seoul. It hosted several of South Korea's leading football clubs and has the biggest football stadium in the country, the Seoul World Cup Stadium.

History

In June 1882, although the crew from HMS Flying Fish of the Royal Navy introduced the football in Port of Incheon, Regularized football introduction was the time of adoption of football as physical education course at National Seoul Foreign Language School in 1904 and the first official match in Korea was the game between Korea Sports Club and Korea YMCA at Seoul Dongdaemun Stadium in 1905.

In 1902, establishment of football team at Paichai Academy in Seoul (currently Paichai High School FC), There was a footballing boom throughout the Korea. that saw many football clubs and school teams formed by the 1910s. Also in Seoul, many famous football clubs like Bulgyo Cheongnyeonhoe (불교청년회, Buddhist Youth Club), Geongang Gurakbu (건강구락부, Health Club) and Joseon Football Club (조선축구단) were founded between the 1910s and 1920s, and they usually had a rivalry against football clubs in Pyongyang, the second biggest city in Korea. In 1933 Kyungsung FC, named according to Seoul's alternate name, was formed and it was the only Korean club which won the Emperor's Cup in Japan.

Clubs

Current clubs

• Men's football

Tier	League	Club	Home stadium	Period
Top	K League 1	FC Seoul	Dongdaemun Stadium Seoul World Cup Stadium	1990–1995 2004–present
2nd	K League 2	Seoul E-Land FC	Seoul Olympic Stadium Mokdong Stadium	2015–2022 2022–present
4th	K4 League	Seoul Nowon United	Seoul Olympic Stadium Hyochang Stadium Nowon Madeul Stadium	2007–2009, 2012 2009–2010 2011–present
		Seoul Jungnang FC	Jungnang Public Ground	2012–present

• Women's football

Tier	League	Club	Home stadium	Period
Top	WK League	Seoul WFC	Hyochang Stadium Seoul Sports Complex Auxiliary Stadium Mokdong Stadium Seoul World Cup Auxiliary Stadium	2009–2019 2015–2022 2020–2021 2022–present

Defunct clubs

The board of K League forced Ilhwa Chunma, LG Cheetahs and Yukong Elephants out of the city in 1996 due to the K League's decentralization policy.

Club	Home stadium	Period
Kyungsung FC	Seoul Stadium	1933–1953
Seoul FC	Mokdong Stadium	1973–2003
Yukong Elephants	Dongdaemun Stadium	1983
		1984–1986
Ilhwa Chunma	Dongdaemun Stadium	1989–1995
Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso LG Cheetahs	Dongdaemun Stadium	1990–1995
Yukong Elephants	Dongdaemun Stadium	1991–1995
Seoul Pabal FC	Eunpyeong-gu-rip Stadium	2007–2008
Nowon Hummel FC	Madeul Stadium	2008–2009
Seoul FC Martyrs	Gangbuk Public Stadium	2009–2015

Honours

Only counting the seasons, in which the franchises were based in Seoul.

Domestic

• League titles

Tier	League	Club	Champions	Runners-up
Top	K League 1	FC Seoul	4 (1990, 2010, 2012, 2016)	2 (1993, 2008)
		Ilhwa Chunma	3 (1993, 1994, 1995)	1 (1992)
		Yukong Elephants	0	1 (1994)
2nd	National Semi-Professional Football League	Seoul FC	5 (1978 Spring, 1980 Spring, 1985 Autumn, 1988 Spring, 1989 Autumn)	1 (1978 Autumn)
3rd	K3 League	Seoul Nowon United	1 (2007)	0

• League Cup

Club	Winners	Runners-up
FC Seoul	2 (2006, 2010)	3 (1992, 1994, 2007)
Ilhwa Chunma	1 (1992)	1 (1994)

• FA Cup

Club	Winners	Runners-up
FC Seoul	1 (2015)	3 (2014, 2016, 2022)

• National Football Championship

Club	Winners	Runners-up
Seoul FC	3 (1980, 1982, 1986)	0

International

• AFC Champions League

Club	Winners	Runners-up
Ilhwa Chunma	1 (1995)	0
FC Seoul	0	1 (2013)

Women's domestic

Tier	League	Club	Winners	Runners-up
Top	WK League	Seoul WFC	0	1 (2013)

Seoul derbies

The Seoul derbies started in 1990, with competing three football clubs: Ilhwa Chunma, LG Cheetahs and Yukong Elephants also participated in 1991. This derby was called Dongdaemun derby and first derby proper in K League. Many Korean football fans called Dongdaemun Derby because three clubs used Dongdaemun Stadium as their home together. The highlight match of the derbies was the K League 28-round match between Ilhwa Chunma and Yukong Elephants at Dongdaemun Stadium on 9 November 1994. This match was also famous for both teams' great goalkeepers: Valeri Sarychev of Ilhwa Chunma and Aleksandr Podshivalov of Yukong Elephants from Lev Yashin Club. Yukong Elephants beat Ilhwa Chunma 2–0 in this round, and took the derby with a one-point difference. The Seoul derbies stopped in 1995, due to the board of K League forcing the three original clubs out of the city in 1996.

Seoul Dongdaemun derby

Dongdaemun derby was contested between Ilhwa Chunma and LG Cheetahs,^[1] Yukong Elephants and Ilhwa Chunma,^[2] and LG Cheetahs and Yukong Elephants^[3] at Dongdaemun Stadium.

This derby was put to an end in 1996, due to K League's decentralization policy which relocated the three clubs.^[4]

Ilhwa Chunma vs LG Cheetahs (1990–1995)

Competition	Matches	Ilhwa Chunma wins	Draws	LG Cheetahs wins	Ilhwa Chunma goals	LG Cheetahs goals
K League	35	12	12	11	47	44
League Cup	5	2	1	2	5	6
Total	40	14	13	13	52	50

Ilhwa Chunma vs Yukong Elephants (1991–1995)

Competition	Matches	Ilhwa Chunma wins	Draws	Yukong Elephants wins	Ilhwa Chunma goals	Yukong Elephants goals
K League	29	13	13	3	36	25
League Cup	5	2	2	1	5	4
Total	34	15	15	4	41	29

LG Cheetahs vs Yukong Elephants (1991–1995)

Competition	Matches	LG Cheetahs wins	Draws	Yukong Elephants wins	LG Cheetahs goals	Yukong Elephants goals
K League	29	9	11	9	32	34
League Cup	5	2	1	2	8	5
Total	34	11	12	11	40	39

FC Seoul vs Seoul E-Land FC

Seoul E-Land FC was founded in April 2014. They play their home games at the Seoul Olympic Stadium in South Seoul (Gangnam). FC Seoul is based in North Seoul (Mapo) and play at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.

The first meeting between the two clubs occurred on 14 April 2021, in the third round of the Korean FA Cup. Seoul E-Land FC won 1–0 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.^[5]

Derbies with clubs not based in Seoul

Super Match

Main article: Super Match

Gyeongin derby

FC Seoul vs Incheon United

• As of 15 September 2019
• Penalty shoot-out results are counted as a drawn match.

Competition	Played	Seoul wins	Draws	Incheon wins	Seoul goals	Incheon goals
K League 1	41	19	13	9	71	42
League Cup	8	2	4	2	7	6
FA Cup	3	2	0	1	7	5
Total	52	23	17	12	85	53

Stadiums

• Seoul World Cup Stadium
• Seoul Olympic Stadium
• Mokdong Stadium
• Hyochang Stadium
• Dongdaemun Stadium

Administration

Seoul is the location of the headquarters of the Korea Football Association.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Football in South Korea

References

1. "서울 연고지 일화-LG 자존심 대결" (in Korean). JoongAng Ilbo. 24 November 1992.
2. 프로축구 일화, 유공 우승 향방 가를 최종 혈전 (in Korean). JoongAng Ilbo. 8 November 1994.
3. "신라이벌 탐방(2)-LG 치타스 vs 유공 코끼리" (in Korean). JoongAng Ilbo. 24 March 1996.
4. "일화 유공 LG, 내년에 서울연고 없어 Dongdaemun". Monthly Football. December 1995. Archived from the original on 2019-08-11. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
5. "2부 이랜드 '일곱 살 생일잔치' 축포". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). 14 April 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2023.

External links

• Official website of the Seoul Football Association (in Korean)