The Seoul Sunday Football League or SSFL is a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
league in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.
Organisation
The league was founded in 2002 by Darren Barber and Daniel Behrendt and is recognized by the
Korea Football Association
The Korea Football Association () is the governing body of football and futsal within South Korea. It sanctions professional, semi-professional and amateur football in South Korea. Founded in 1933, the governing body became affiliated with F ...
, with the leading finishers qualifying for the preliminary rounds of the Korean FA Cup. Two separate seasons, known as "Spring" and "Fall" take place each year. The league originally featured 4 teams and expanded to 8 in its second season. Further expansion lead to the creation of two separate divisions in 2004 and a name change to the "Seoul Sunday Football League". 16 teams now compete in the SSFL, with 8 teams in each division. Approximately half of the teams are based in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, with teams also based in
Suwon
Suwon (, ) is the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea's most populous province which surrounds Seoul, the national capital. Suwon lies about south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety". With a populati ...
,
Cheonan
Cheonan (; 천안시, ''Cheonan-si''), also spelled Ch'ŏnan, is a city in South Chungcheong, South Korea.
Cheonan has a population of 666,417 (2018), making it the most-populous city or county in South Chungcheong, and the third most-populous ci ...
,
Anyang
Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively.
It had a ...
,
Daejeon,
Cheongju,
Incheon
Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...
,
Goyang
Goyang (''Goyang-si''; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province in the north of South Korea. It is part of the Seoul Capital Area, making Goyang one of Seoul's satellite cities. It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Capital Area, with a populatio ...
, and
Osan. The
Korea Herald
''The Korea Herald'' is a leading English-language daily newspaper founded in 1953 and published in Seoul, South Korea. The editorial staff is composed of Korean and international writers and editors, with additional news coverage drawn from int ...
and other Korean media sources report on the matches and standings of the league. The lowest ranked team from Division 1 and champion of Division 2 are relegated and promoted respectively, with the second-bottom and second-top teams contesting a play-off for Division 1 status in the following season. SBFC claimed the Fall 2006 Championship, despite a points deduction and fine for disciplinary reasons.
Participants
The teams and players in the league are generally semi-professional or amateur, with several
K-League contracted players featuring in the league. The majority of players are foreign-born, and are generally employed in Korea by the
US Army,
US Marines,
Airforce
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
and
Navy and in the private and tertiary-education sectors as
English language teachers. Foreign students also play in the league. Most teams feature several Korean nationals, and some teams are predominantly Korean. The most successful team in the history of the league has been SBFC, with Seoul United Seoul Celtic, and Inter Suwon F.C. also consistently challenging for honors.
Previous Champions
Fall 2019: SBFC
Spring 2019: Inter Suwon F.C.
Fall 2018: Inter Suwon F.C.
Spring 2018: SBFC
Fall 2017: Songdo Celtic FC
Spring 2017: Anyang F.C
Fall 2016: Anyang F.C.
Spring 2016: SBFC
Fall 2015: SBFC
Spring 2015: Anyang F.C.
Fall 2014: SBFC
Spring 2014: Inter Suwon F.C.
Fall 2013: SBFC
Spring 2013: SBFC
Fall 2012: SBFC
Spring 2012: Inter Suwon F.C.
Fall 2011: Inter Suwon F.C.
Spring 2011: Inter Suwon F.C.
Fall 2010: Inter Suwon F.C.
Spring 2010: Seoul Celtic F.C.
Fall 2009: Seoul Celtic F.C.
Spring 2009: Seoul Celtic F.C.
Fall 2008: Seoul United F.C.
Spring 2008: Seoul Celtic F.C.
Fall 2007: Daejeon De La Cuba
Spring 2007: Seoul United F.C.
Fall 2006: SBFC
Spring 2006: SBFC
Fall 2005: SBFC
Spring 2005: SBFC
Fall 2004: SBFC
Spring 2004: Seoul United F.C.
Fall 2003: Seoul United F.C.
Spring 2003: Seoul United F.C.
Fall 2002: SBFC
Spring 2002: Soccer N' Love
List of Champions
SBFC 14 (F 2002, F 2004, S 2005, F 2005, S 2006, F 2006, F 2012, S 2013, F 2013, F 2014, F 2015, S 2016, S 2018, F 2019)
Inter Suwon F.C. 7 (F 2010, S 2011, F 2011, S 2012, S 2014, F 2018, S 2019)
Seoul Celtic F.C. 4 (S 2008, S 2009, F 2009. S 2010)
Seoul United F.C. 4 (S 2003, F 2003, S 2004, F 2008)
Anyang F.C. 3 (S 2015, F 2016, S 2017)
Daejeon De La Cuba 1 (F 2007)
Soccer N' Love 1 (S 2002)
Songdo Celtic FC 1 (F 2017)
Notes
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External links
SSFL Official site
Football competitions in South Korea