News: Gimhae, Yongin, Paju Submit Applications to Join K League | OneFootball

K League could be getting even bigger with three city governments submitting applications to join next year, according to a press release.Gimhae City (Mayor Hong Tae-yong), Yongin Special City (Mayor Lee Sang-il), and Paju City (Mayor Kim Kyung-il) have submitted applications to join the K League to the Korea Professional Football League.

Gimhae and Paju plan to convert their current K3 League clubs, Gimhae FC 2008 and Paju Citizen FC, respectively, into professional football clubs. They also announced plans to use Gimhae Sports Complex and Paju Stadium as their home grounds.

Yongin Special City submitted its application following Mayor Lee Sang-il’s announcement in March regarding the establishment of a professional football club. The club intends to use Yongin Mireu Stadium as its home ground.

The applications from the three local governments reflect the growing popularity of the K League, which has attracted over 3 million paying spectators for two consecutive years. The move also signals expectations for continued success and expansion of the league.

The Korea Professional Football League will review and supplement the submitted documents based on relevant regulations. A board meeting will be held within 60 days to deliberate on the applications. Those approved by the board will then be submitted to the general assembly for a final decision.