Seongnam Football Club () is a South Korean professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Seongnam Seongnam (; ) is the fourth largest city in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province after Suwon and the 10th largest city in the country. Its population is approximately one million. It consists of three administrative districts: Bundang District, J ...

that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. It is one of the most successful clubs in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...

, having won seven

K League 1 The K League 1 () is a professional association football league in South Korea and the highest level of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. It is one of the most successful leagues in the Asian Foo ...

titles and 2

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

titles.

History

Ilhwa Chunma era (1989–2013)

Foundation

In 1975,

Sun Myung Moon Sun Myung Moon (; born Moon Yong-myeong; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the ...

, the owner of Tongil Group, wanted to found a professional football club in South Korea. After the Korean Super League was founded in 1983, he tried to establish a club to participate in the league but Choi Soon-young, the head of

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 ...

, ignored Moon's interest due to religious reasons. Nevertheless, Tongil Group prepared the foundation of a new football club from 1986 and finally obtained a license from Korea Football Association as a club based in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. Tongil Group had initially considered establishing the club in the

Honam Honam (; literally "south of the lake") is a region coinciding with the former Jeolla Province in what is now South Korea. Today, the term refers to Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, Jeju Province and Jeonbuk State. The name "Jeonla-do" is used i ...

region but there was objection from the local community. The club was officially founded on 18 March 1989 as ''Ilhwa Chunma Football Club'', and became the sixth member of the Korean Super League. The foundation ceremony was held in the Sheraton Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul. The club had signed six players including Ko Jeong-woon and appointed Park Jong-hwan as the head coach. The contract with Park was considered a lucrative deal at the time, with a signing bonus of 100 million KRW paid alongside an annual salary of 48 million KRW.

Early Successes

The club was successful from its beginning, winning its first League Cup three years after its foundation in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and winning three consecutive league titles from 1993 to 1995. In 1995, K League clubs wanted to stop the club's third consecutive title and agreed to change the league format back to two stages with a championship playoffs system; however, Ilhwa Chunma still won the title. The club won its first Asian title in the same year, defeating Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr in the final to achieve a league and continental double.

Move to Cheonan

The club was forced to move out of Seoul in 1996 following the implementation of the K League decentralization policy. Ilhwa Chunma moved to the city of

Cheonan Cheonan (; ) is the largest and most densely populated city of South Chungcheong Province, South Korea, and the third largest city in the Hoseo region after Daejeon and Cheongju. Cheonan borders Gyeonggi Province ( Pyeongtaek and Anseong) i ...

as the city council proposed converting the Cheonan Oryong Stadium into a football-specific stadium and building another sports complex in Baekseok-dong. The club also changed its name to ''Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma'' as a part of the policy. By the end of 1997, Ilhwa was still enjoying success. The club reached the final of the 1996–97 Asian Club Championship and the 1997 Korean FA Cup. However, from 1998, the club went into a slump as a number of core players moved away from the club for various reasons. One of these players was the club's goalkeeper, Valeri Sarychev, who was forced to move as the K League gradually introduced restrictions on appearances by foreign goalkeepers. As a result, Ilhwa finished at the bottom of the league for two consecutive seasons, in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. In mid-1999, Cha Kyung-bok offered to resign voluntarily due to the poor results. On 21 November 1999, Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma were crowned as the winners of the 1999 Korean FA Cup after beating Jeonbuk Hyundai Dinos 3-0 in the final, held at Jeju Stadium.

Relocation to Seongnam

In 2000, the club moved to the Seoul satellite city of

and renamed themselves to ''Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma''. The move worked out well, as the rejuvenated club went on to win three consecutive K League titles from 2001 to 2003, as well as a league cup title in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and an

A3 Champions Cup A3 Champions Cup (also known as East Asian Champions Cup) was an annual football (soccer) tournament jointly organized by the China PR, Japan and Korea Republic football Association. It began in 2003, involving the league champions of Chinese Supe ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. A disappointing

campaign saw them relinquish their title. The club's shock defeat at home to Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad in the ACL final the same year led to the resignation of their manager Cha Kyung-bok. Under Kim Hak-bum's management, the club bounced back to the forefront of South Korean football as they claimed their seventh league title in 2006, defeating

Suwon Samsung Bluewings The Suwon Samsung Bluewings () are a South Korean Association football, football club based in Suwon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Founded in December 1995, they have won the K League on four occas ...

3–1 on aggregate in the championship playoff final. This was their seventh K League title, a record among all the K League clubs. In the 2007 season, they went undefeated for 22 consecutive league matches — the third longest streak in the history of the K League — before finally being defeated by Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2–1 on 15 July 2007. Seongnam finished the regular season of the 2007 K League Championship in first place but were beaten 4–1 on aggregate in the championship final by

Pohang Steelers The Pohang Steelers (Hangul: 포항 스틸러스) are a South Korean professional Association football, football club based in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province that compete in the K League 1, the top flight of Football in South Korea, South Ko ...

. Seongnam's former player Shin Tae-yong returned as caretaker manager in the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

season before being officially appointed as manager from the following season as the club's successes continued. Seongnam won the 2010 AFC Champions League, defeating local rivals Suwon in the quarter-finals and going on to beat Iranian side Zob Ahan 3-1 in the final in front of 27,000 fans in Tokyo's

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football ...

. Seongnam added another

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

trophy to their collection in 2011, beating Suwon 1–0 in the final. Kim Dong-Seob

Seongnam FC era (2014–present)

In October 2013,

Lee Jae-myung Lee Jae-myung (; born ) is a South Korean politician and lawyer who has served as the 14th president of South Korea since 2025. Lee previously held office as the governor of Gyeonggi Province from 2018 to 2021, as the leader of the Democrati ...

, the mayor of Seongnam, announced that Seongnam City Council had agreed to take over the club from Ilhwa Sports, and that it would henceforth be known as ''Seongnam FC''. In December 2013, Seongnam City officially took over the club from Ilhwa Co., Ltd. They changed their symbol from chunma, which was the symbol of the Unification Church, to the magpie, the symbol of the Seongnam city. The yellow color of their uniform was also replaced with black. Their first manager Park Jong-hwan, who had managed the club from 1988 to 1996, returned to the club as manager once again. The club played the first home game as Seongnam FC on 15 March 2014 against

FC Seoul FC Seoul () is a South Korean professional Association football, football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of Football in South Korea, South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS G ...

, resulting in a 0–0 draw. Their first post-rebranding victory came on 26 March, when they beat bitter rivals Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2–0. The following month, manager Park Jong-hwan resigned after it was revealed that he had been assaulting players. After months of confusion, the club appointed Kim Hak-bum, who led the club during their glory years, as manager. His return turned out to be a success, as Seongnam not only escaped relegation but also won their third FA Cup trophy, beating FC Seoul in a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. In the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

season, after

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

's win over Suwon FC on the final day of the season, Seongnam finished 11th and were relegated to the second division for the first time in their history after being defeated by Gangwon FC on

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

in the promotion-relegation playoffs. Nam Ki-il was announced as the club's new manager on 6 December 2017, replacing Park Kyung-hoon. He led Seongnam FC to promotion back to the first division just one season after their relegation. Nam resigned his position as the manager of the club on 16 December 2019. Kim Nam-il was appointed as the club's new manager on 23 December 2019 to lead the club in the 2020 K League 1 season. In 2022, the club was once again relegated to K League 2. The club finished the 2024 K League 2 season at the bottom of the league table, but remained in the league as there is no promotion and relegation between K League 2 and K3 League.

Facilities

The club has played their home games in Tancheon Sports Complex since 2005. The stadium earned the nickname "Tancheon Fortress" (탄천요새) in the 2000s due to the club's successful home record in the AFC Champions League. The modern Seongnam Football Center, which serves as the club's training ground, was completed in December 2021, having been built at a cost of 26 billion won. It includes a natural grass training field, sauna, weight room, physical therapy room, and medical facilities.

Historical

Seongnam previously played their home games in the Cheonan Oryong Stadium when the club was based in Cheonan. On 22 August 1998, Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma had to finish the game against Jeonnam Dragons during the

, after 1–1 draw in extra time. According to K League regulations back then, teams were required to decide the winner with the

golden goal The golden goal is a sports rule used in association football, Australian rules football, bandy, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, and rugby league to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the ...

or the penalty shoot-out after the extra time, if the match score is level at the end of normal time. Since the stadium was not equipped with a floodlight system, they had to finish their games before sunset. Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma won the game by a draw.

Supporters and rivalries

The club's main supporters group is called Black List. Supporters of Seongnam have worked to protect the club amid rumors of its departure or dissolution. Tancheon Stadium E-stand

Seongnam's biggest rival team is

. Their

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

has been dubbed the Magyedaejeon.

Historical Asian performance

Seongnam won the

1995 Asian Club Championship The 1995 Asian Club Championship was the 15th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the AFC region (Asia). It determined that year's club champion of association football in Asia. Ilhwa Chunma of South Korea w ...

, defeating Al-Nassr 1–0 after

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

in the final. Seongnam reached the final of the 2004 AFC Champions League. Despite winning the away leg 3–1, they lost the home leg 5–0 to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad and lost the tie 6–3 on aggregate. On 13 November 2010, Seongnam beat Iranian club Zob Ahan FC 3–1 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the 2010 AFC Champions League. Shin Tae-Yong in AFC Champions League 2010 Final

This was Seongnam's second AFC Champions League title and qualified them directly into the quarter-finals stage of the

2010 FIFA Club World Cup The 2010 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2010 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament that was played from 8 to 18 December 2010. It was the seventh FIFA Club World Cup and was ho ...

which they finished fourth. Seongnam also placed fifth in the

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

Asian Clubs of the 20th century.

Current squad

Managers

Honours

Domestic

League

**Winners (7):

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

**Runners-up (3):

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

* K League 2 **Runners-up (1):

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Cups

Korean FA Cup The Korea Cup (), formerly the Korean FA Cup, is a national Association football, football cup knockout competition of South Korea, held annually by the Korea Football Association (KFA). Before the competition was established in 1996, two simil ...

**Winners (3):

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

**Runners-up (3):

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Korean League Cup The Korean League Cup was a professional football competition in South Korean football. It was held by the K League Federation from 1986 to 2012. Sponsorship Results Finals Titles by club K League's principle of official statistics is tha ...

**Winners (3):

**Runners-up (3):

* Korean Super Cup **Winners (1): 2002 **Runners-up (2): 2000, 2004 * President's Cup **Winners (1): 1999

International

Asian

* Asian Club Championship/AFC Champions League Elite **Winners (2):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

**Runners-up (2): 1996–97,

* Asian Super Cup **Winners (1):

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

**Winners (1):

Worldwide

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

**Fourth place (1):

* Afro-Asian Club Championship **Winners (1): 1996

Season-by-season records

;Key *Tms. = Number of teams *Pos. = Position in league

AFC Champions League record

References

External links

* {{AFC Club of the Year

K League 1 clubs Association football clubs established in 1989 1989 establishments in South Korea AFC Champions League Elite winning clubs Asian Super Cup winning clubs K League 2 clubs