Resurrection of foreign goalkeepers for the first time in 27 years, 'unlimited' expansion of foreign ownership by club [K-League Revolution②]

*This content was translated by AI.

The 2026 professional soccer K-League will kick off on the 28th. It is a season in which three teams (Yongin, Paju, and Gimhae) join the K League 2 and 29 teams (12 K-League teams and 17 K-League teams) participate, the most ever. As much as the number of participating teams has increased, the K-League is expected to be more exciting this season as changes in various systems have been predicted. Star News introduces the prospects and effects of this year's different K-League systems, including the reform of the platform system, foreign player system, and the abolition of the under-22 (U-22) system, in a series to mark the Lunar New Year. /Editor's note

The biggest change in the K-League in the 2026 season is by far a major overhaul of the foreign player system. Foreign goalkeeper registration has become possible, and the limit on foreign player ownership by club has been abolished. The intention is to ultimately strengthen the international competitiveness of the K League by removing various restrictions related to foreign players.

The Korea Professional Football Federation opened its third board meeting in June last year to recruit foreign goalkeepers. Starting this season, the K-League tournament's outline will remove the clause that "goalkeepers should be domestic players." It is the first time in 27 years that foreign goalkeeper registration has been allowed in the K League since 1999.

In the K-League, most clubs used foreign goalkeepers as their main players in the mid-1990s, and it was pointed out that it was difficult to foster domestic goalkeepers. Due to the nature of the position, the main players are not changed and there are few replacements during the game, so domestic goalkeepers' positions have been reduced. In the end, the federation restricted the number of foreign goalkeeper matches since 1996, and since 1999, foreign goalkeeper registration has been completely banned, maintaining the rule for more than 20 years.

However, the federation deleted the ban on foreign goalkeeper registration in consideration of the K-League environment, which has changed significantly from that time. Unlike in the past, when there were eight clubs, the number of clubs has increased significantly to 29 this year, including 12 in the K League, so even if foreign goalkeepers come to the K League, they will be able to secure enough opportunities for competitive domestic goalkeepers to play. The fact that the annual salary increase rate of domestic players is excessive compared to field players was also considered.

Shortly after the federation was announced at the time, Hwaseong FC coach Cha Du-ri said, "When I was young, Sarichev (God's Hand) was so good that I know everyone got rid of it because they brought in foreign goalkeepers. I felt that (foreign goalkeeper restrictions) were out of line with the world"I think domestic goalkeepers will be able to learn from it when a good foreign goalkeeper comes in." There may be advantages and disadvantages, but the timing has been saying, "I was thinking, 'Wouldn't it be good to lift (the restrictions) now?'"

On top of that, the 5th board of directors in October abolished the limit on foreign player registration (possession). It is the first time since the launch of professional soccer in 1983. As of the 2025 season, K League 1 could register up to six foreign players and K League 2 could register up to five foreign players, and only four players could participate at the same time. However, from this season, registration of foreign players is possible without a limit on the number of foreign players. However, restrictions on foreign players who can participate at the same time will be maintained. The K League 1 has increased by one from last year, allowing only five foreign players, or half of the field players, to fill it with foreign players.

The abolition of the foreign ownership limit is aimed at strengthening the international competitiveness of the K-League, including the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Champions League (ACL). In fact, ACL has no restrictions on foreign players, and Middle East leagues such as Saudi Arabia and Japan's J-League can have up to 10 foreign players or have no restrictions on their possession. Unlike K-League teams that naturally play in the ACL, other league teams had a large proportion of foreign players, which led to a weakening of K-League international competitiveness along with power differences.

Shin Tae-yong, former coach of Ulsan HD, said, "A club with money will use good players, and a club with financial difficulties can form a business relationship with a top club if it picks players according to circumstances and utilizes them well. Japan does the same," he said. "We also have to release the mercenary (foreign player) quota. I think league restrictions are fair, but I need to lift the ACL at least," he said repeatedly.

However, ahead of the first season of the reorganization of the foreign player system, each K-League club is in a cautious mood first. The K-League transfer market closes at 6 p.m. on March 26, so the situation needs to be watched more, but it is difficult to find a club that has recruited a large number of foreign players in conjunction with the abolition of the limit on foreign player ownership ahead of the opening of the season. Only Bucheon FC, the promoted team of K League 1, had seven foreign players who exceeded the maximum number of participants, while the rest of the clubs are setting up a squad without exceeding the maximum number of participants. Emmanuel Novo (34, Portugal) of Yongin FC, a new team, is the only foreign goalkeeper.

This is because even if the restriction on foreign player ownership has been abolished, registration of K-League entries and participation in games are still restricted, and there is no need to excessively increase the number of foreign players for realistic reasons such as finances. While the Chuchun-Jain ACL has already entered the middle of the season and only some teams from the K-League participate, the fact that the new season is now opening also seems to have affected the direction of foreign players for each club in the winter transfer market.

An official from K League 1 A team said, "Recruiting foreign players is to expect a key role of the team beyond its power immediately, but recruiting additional resources that may not even be included in the entry at a considerable cost is burdensome in many ways," adding, "Most clubs have no choice but to focus on the K League, which has to see a new year rather than recruiting foreign players in preparation for the ongoing ACL."

An official from club B also said, "The club's finances are limited, but the proportion of foreign players is still large, so we have no choice but to approach the recruitment of foreign players carefully. In the end, the option of filling the goalkeeper position with foreign players, which is difficult to evaluate as a relatively weak position, will also be pushed to the bottom of the list, given that one foreign quarter has to be used.

Instead, as this is the first season in which the foreign player system has been reorganized, there is a possibility that each club's recruitment stance may change depending on future circumstances. "Even though the system has changed significantly, many contracts with existing players or many transfers of foreign players who have already been verified in the league mean that each club's stance on recruiting foreign players is conservative," a high-ranking official of the C team in the Seoul metropolitan area said. "However, if a club declares a massive investment with the aim of winning the ACL beyond the K-League in the future, competition between the clubs may arise then." If the performance is good enough to determine the league's game as in the past, the view on reinforcing foreign goalkeepers will also change."

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*This content was translated by AI.