"There should be rounds where only domestic players compete": Women's volleyball head coach makes 'radical proposal' — why?

*This content was translated by AI.

"Without systemic changes, growth is impossible. Players must ultimately play in matches."

Cha Sang-hyun (52), the newly appointed head coach of the South Korean Yeo Ja-bae-gu (CEO) team, emphasized that "systemic change" is necessary for the development of Korean volleyball. As the proportion of foreign players has increased, the roles of domestic players have diminished, leading to a vicious cycle of weakening the national team's competitiveness. To break this cycle, he argues that the system must be changed to increase playing opportunities for domestic players, even if it means altering the current structure.

At a press conference for the 2026 South Korean men's and women's national volleyball team head coaches held at the Olympic Hall in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 20th, Coach Cha stated, "To be frank, only about one-third to half of the 14th players in the final national team roster are starters for their respective clubs. This is the biggest challenge for Korean women's volleyball," highlighting the current reality.

Coach Cha added, "Everyone in the volleyball community and fans know that the growth of domestic players is necessary. However, without systemic changes, players cannot grow. Players must ultimately play in matches. I believe the time has come to create a system where domestic players can compete."

In fact, the V-League is dominated by foreign players, with nine of the top 10 scorers in the 2025-2026 season being foreigners. Since foreign players account for more than half of team offense, the roles of domestic players are inevitably limited. It is also difficult for a player from the Seon Su-deul-i (CEO) team, where offensive share was only in the double digits, to suddenly become a savior. This is why Coach Cha is deeply concerned.

He noted, "Even when meeting with outside hitters and opposite spikers, I emphasized 'responsibility' more. We discussed offensive share in depth. They must not be mere fillers but prepare to win the match. I am convinced that domestic players can solve critical moments, and growth will only be possible if a system is created where they can play in the opposite spiker position."

Following this, Coach Cha Sang-hyun emphasized that systemic changes are needed to increase playing time for domestic players, such as introducing rounds where only domestic players compete during seasons with major international tournaments.

He stated, "When meeting with other stakeholders, I argued that 'even if it's only during seasons with the Asian Games or Olympics, at least three regular league rounds should be played exclusively by domestic players.' Of course, fans' expectations have risen, so we cannot completely eliminate foreign players. For example, we could keep rounds 1-3 as they are and have rounds 4-6 played only by domestic players. Systemic changes are necessary," he added.

The background behind the national team head coach's "radical proposal" is the growing sense of crisis regarding the declining competitiveness of the South Korean women's volleyball team. In the past, the team achieved milestones such as reaching the semifinals at the 2012 London Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and winning gold at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. However, after the retirement of players like Kim Yeon-koung, results have significantly declined. During this period, the world ranking has fallen to 40th, placing them behind Japan (5th), China (6th), Thailand (18th), Vietnam (28th), Kazakhstan (35th), and Taiwan (37th) even within Asia.

Coach Cha Sang-hyun, who mentioned that "the Yeo Ja-bae-gu (CEO) team is indeed in crisis," said, "Competition in Asia is not easy. Japan and China have the strength to reach the world semifinals, while Thailand and Vietnam have also risen significantly. We are at a point where we cannot retreat. I told the players, 'You must accept reality. Otherwise, there can be no development.' Whether women's volleyball takes off again or remains stagnant depends on how well we prepare," he stressed.

Meanwhile, the Yeo Ja-bae-gu (CEO) team will compete in the 2026 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Cup in Candon, Philippines, next month, and will participate in the East Asian Championship and Asian Championship in August. The Asian Championship is a tournament where the 2028 LA Olympics qualification (champion) and the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup qualification (top three) are at stake. In September, they will compete in the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, aiming for their first gold medal since the 2014 Incheon Games, 12 years later.

- Setter: Kim Da-in (Hyundai Construction) Lee Soo-yeon (Korea Expressway Corporation)

- Libero: Lee Young-ju (Hyundai Construction) Han Da-hye (Pepper Savings Bank)

- Outside Hitter: Kang So-hwi (Korea Expressway Corporation · Captain), Kim Hyo-im (GS Caltex), Park Yeoreum (Jung Kwan Jang), Lee Ye-rim (Hyundai Construction), Jung Yoon-joo (Heungkuk Life)

- Opposite Spiker: Na Hyun-soo (Hyundai Construction)

- Middle Blocker: Kim Se-bin (Korea Expressway Corporation), Park Eun-jin (Jung Kwan Jang), Lee Da-hyun (Heungkuk Life), Lee Ju-a (IBK Industrial Bank of Korea)

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*This content was translated by AI.