[Official announcement] K League Super Cup revival after 20 years... Approved to join the three clubs and introduced the K2-K3 promotion system

*This content was translated by AI.

The K League will face major changes, such as reviving the Super Cup for the first time in 20 years and introducing a promotion system between the K League 2 and K3 League.

The Korea Professional Football Federation said in a press release on the 16th that it held the first board meeting and regular general meeting in 2026 at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul today and voted on major agendas. At the general meeting, approval for joining a new club, holding a Super Cup, implementing a promotion system, and approving the budget were passed.

The Super Cup, which has been abolished since 2006, has been revived for the first time in 20 years. The Super Cup is a season-opening event match between the K League 1 winner and the Korea Cup winner. This year's tournament will be held at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on February 21, a week before the opening of K League 1. Jeonbuk Hyundai, the winner of last season's K League 1, and Daejeon Hana Citizen, the runner-up, will play a single game.

The promotion system between professional (K League 2) and semi-professional (K3 League) will be implemented in earnest. The promotion will be applied from the 2027 season based on the final performance of the 2026 season. The lowest-ranked team in the K League 2 and the first-ranked team in the K3 League will determine their fate with a single match at the home of the K League 2 team.

However, it is not an unconditional promotion. The K3 League winner must apply for a K League 2 club license to the federation in February and obtain it by June to be eligible to play in the promotion decision. If you don't get a license, the competition will not be held. In addition, a fast-track system will be implemented in which local governments with a population of more than 500,000 or clubs run by Korea's top 200 companies go straight to the professional league without going through K3.

In addition, Gimhae FC, Yongin FC, and Paju Frontier FC have finally been approved for new membership. As a result, the K League 2 will operate under a total of 17 clubs by adding three new teams to the existing clubs in the 2026 season, with a total of 34 rounds of 32 games per team.

In addition, the Federation approved the 2026 budget bill worth 55.5 billion won and 54.06 million won in 2025 business settlement (approximately 50.86 billion won in income and 50.69 billion won in expenditure).

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*This content was translated by AI.