The K-League, which the BBC also paid attention to overseas, also abolished the ban on foreign goalkeepers
Jun 20, 2025
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England's 『BBC" reported on the 20th (Korea Standard Time)"As the Korean professional football lifted its ban on recruiting foreign goalkeepers for the first time in 27 years, it will be able to play in Korean professional football starting next year.'
The Korea Professional Football Federation held its third board meeting in 2025 at the Shinmun-ro Football Center in Seoul on the 19th and eased regulations on the registration of foreign goalkeepers. In the mid-1990s, when most clubs used foreign goalkeepers as their main players, the K-League gradually limited the number of foreign goalkeepers' participation since 1996 to foster domestic goalkeepers. It also completely banned the registration of foreign goalkeepers in 1999.
The board of directors of the Professional Federation considered that the annual salary increase rate of domestic players was excessive compared to field players due to restrictions on foreign players in special positions, and that even if foreign goalkeepers were allowed, the number of clubs increased significantly compared to the time when foreign goalkeepers were introduced, they could secure enough opportunities for domestic goalkeepers to play" he said.
As a result, the clause that the goalkeeper must be a domestic player in the K-League tournament's guidelines will be removed from 2026. Both K League 1 and K League 2 can recruit foreign goalkeepers.
The 'BBC' ban on foreign goalkeepers has been in effect since 1999, and was introduced to help domestic goalkeepers develop by ensuring they have enough game time. However, 26 years ago, there were only 10 professional clubs in Korea, but now there are 26 professional clubs in the first and second leagues in Korea, drawing attention by telling the current situation in detail.
Meanwhile, the professional league decided to expand the K League 2 entry from 18 to a maximum of 20 from next season. In the case of K League 1, the list of players has been operated with 20 players since the 2024 season.
'Homebody Player' was added to the qualification for the Young Player Award, which was limited to Korean players under the age of 23. The board of directors of the professional league considered that home-grown players who were raised in domestic soccer and signed a rookie contract with the K-League club and were given the same status as Korean players are also eligible for the Young Player Award.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
