*This content was translated by AI.
In the K League, teams face different fates simply because their match dates differ by one day in the same round. Teams scheduled to play on the 5th can utilize players called up for the Asian Games national team, while teams playing on the 6th lose key personnel due to national team schedules.
The Nam Ja-chuk-gu (CEO) Asian Games team led by head coach Lee Min-seong will assemble at Cheonan Korea Football Park in South Chungcheong Province on September 1 and train until the 4th. After temporarily releasing the players, they are scheduled to regroup at a hotel near Incheon International Airport on the evening of the 5th and depart for Japan on the morning of the 6th.
According to the Korea Football Association's regulations for operating national football teams, the Nam Ja (CEO) Asian Games team can be called up starting 14 days before the tournament opening. However, players are allowed to participate in their club matches until 10 days before the tournament begins.
The official opening date of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games is September 19. However, football starts earlier than that. South Korea will play its Group Stage match No. 1 against Qatar on September 15.
Consequently, national team players are allowed to participate in their club matches until September 5 under the regulations.
The issue is that this K League schedule spans two days, the 5th and the 6th. K League 1 will hold the 2026 Hana Bank K League 1 Round 27 matches on both the 5th and 6th, and K League 2 will also conduct its Round 25 matches over these same two days.
Players who have finished training for the Seon Su-deul-eun (CEO) team and are scheduled to play for their original clubs on September 5 can return to their teams to play, then rejoin the national team afterward.
However, players scheduled to play on the following day, the 6th, do not have the same option. They head directly to Japan on the morning of the 6th without playing for their club teams.
As a result, even though the matches belong to the same round, the utilization of Lee Yu-ro (CEO) players becomes divided depending on whether the schedule is one day later.
Among the final 23-member roster for this Asian Games national team, 14 are from K League clubs.
In particular, Gangwon FC faces a significant blow. Three players—defenders Lee Gi-hyeok and Shin Min-ha, and midfielder Lee Seung-won—are called up to the Han Kkeo-beon-e (CEO) team and cannot participate in their scheduled match against FC Anyang on the same day.
K League 2's Suwon Samsung must also play without its starting goalkeeper, Kim Jun-hong.
With fierce competition for standings in the latter half of the season, even a single game absence is far from negligible. Gangwon currently sits 4th in K League 1 with 9 wins, 9 draws, and 6 losses (36 points). Having played one fewer match than 2nd-place Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (38 points) and 3rd-place Ulsan HD (37 points), they are in a position to improve their ranking at any time.
Conversely, the gap with teams below them is not large either. 5th-place Jeju SK (35 points), 6th-place Pohang Steelers (34 points), and 7th-place FC Anyang (33 points) are closely chasing Gangwon. Coincidentally, in the match where three Kang Won-eun (CEO) players will be absent, they face their ranking rival, Anyang.
Suwon is also in the midst of a promotion race. Suwon leads K League 2 with 13 wins, 5 draws, and 4 losses (44 points), but 2nd-place Seoul E-Land (41 points) and 3rd-place Suwon FC (40 points) are hot on their heels.
Therefore, from the club's perspective, this loss of personnel is by no means trivial. A club official told StarNews, "Even so, in the same round, some can play while others cannot due to a one-day difference," expressing regret.
The clubs do not oppose the call-up for the national team itself. However, given that the same round spans two days, they argue there should be room for flexible operation for at least one day.
On the other hand, the Korea Football Association's position is clear. Since the schedule was set in accordance with national team operating regulations, it is difficult to make special exceptions considering the circumstances of specific clubs.
A KFA official told StarNews over the phone, "We are proceeding according to the national team operating regulations," and drew a line by stating, "It is unavoidable."
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*This content was translated by AI.
