Busan wins its first Youth Championship at the same time as the middle and high school, 2025 GROUND.NK League U15 Championship..U14 wins in Suwon
Aug 22, 2025
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Marking its seventh anniversary this year 'GROUND.N K League U15 Championship' is a summer tournament featuring secondary (U15) clubs under the K League. The competition was held in Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, for 13 days from the 9th to the 21st of this month with a total of 25 teams participating.
Busan (Nakdong Middle School) and Jeonbuk (Geumsan Middle School) faced off in the final match held at the main stadium of the Cheonan Football Center on the 21st. The two teams competed tightly without scoring until the first and second half overtime before Busan won the penalty shootout 4-3.
In this tournament, Busan lost to Jeonbuk in the first round of the group stage, but later beat Jeju and Anyang in turn to settle in the round of 16. After reaching the finals, he beat Seoul E-Land and Bucheon in succession following the penalty shootout victory against Seoul, reached the final of the first tournament ever, and even lifted the trophy.
In particular, Busan won the championship cup last month by U18 (Gyeongseong High School), and this time by winning the championship until U15, recording its first simultaneous victory in the middle and high school of the Youth Championship.
The best player award went to Busan captain Kim Dong-wook, and Busan coach Park Hyung-joo and coach Lee Ji-ho, who led the championship, received the best leader award.
Suwon won the lower-grade competition 'GROUND.NK League U14 Championship'. Suwon met Chungcheongbuk-do Cheongju in the final on the 20th and won 2-1.
The K League Youth Championship has established itself as the best youth competition in Korea by making various attempts to improve the skills of youth players. This year, we continued to operate high-quality competitions in consideration of the team by providing video analysis data for all ▲ games, providing physical data using ▲EPTS, holding ▲ night games, and conducting ▲ cooling breaks. From the tournament, the entire game was broadcast live on YouTube, and the final was broadcast live on TV through SkySports, a soccer-oriented sports channel.
In addition, Nexon, which serves EASPORTS™ FC Online in Korea, has been the title sponsor of the tournament for four consecutive years and provided a lot of support. The federation and Nexon jointly launched the K-League Youth Soccer Support Project 'GROUND.N' in 2022 and are conducting various activities such as the Championship and Stove League.
The '2025 GROUND.N K League Youth Championship' started with the U12&11 (elementary) Championship in Yeongdeok County, North Gyeongsang Province from July 11 to July 17, the U18&17 (high school) Championship in Cheonan City, South Chungcheong Province from July 12 to July 24, and the U15&14 (secondary school) Championship in Cheonan City, South Chungcheong Province from Aug. 9 to Aug. 21.
<2025 GROUND. NK League U15 Championship Awards Details>
Winner: Busan
Runner-up : Jeonbuk
3rd place (joint): Ulsan, Bucheon
Fair Play Team: Ulsan
Best Player Award: Kim Dong-wook (Busan)
Outstanding Player Award: Kwak Ji-hoo (Jeonbuk)
Score of Excellence: Kim Nadaniel Jin-woo (Busan)
Offensive Award: Bae Ho-jin (Ulsan)
Defense Award: Lee Ju-an (Busan)
GK Award: Moon Ji-ho (Busan)
Best Young Player Award: Jang Jae-young (Busan)
Best Leader Award: Park Hyung-joo, Coach Lee Ji-ho (Busan)
Outstanding Leader Award: Shin Yong-joo, Coach Kim Sung-hwan (North Jeolla Province)
<2025 GROUND. NK League U14 Championship Awards Details>
Winner: Suwon
Runner-up : Chungcheongbuk-do Cheongju
3rd place (joint): Gyeongnam, Suwon FC
Fair Play Team: Suwon FC
Best Player Award: Hwang Seok-hyun (Suwon)
Outstanding Player Award: Yoo Seong-min (Chungbuk Cheongju)
Highest Score: Heo Yul (Ulsan)
Offensive Award: Na Jung-bin (Gyeongnam)
Defense Award: Kim Tae-yeon (Suwon)
GK Award: Lee Seok-min (Suwon)
Best Young Player Award: Ryu Seung-yoon (Suwon)
Best Leader Award: Lee Jong-chan and Roh Young-soo (Suwon)
Outstanding Leader Award: Choi Jeong-han and Park Seung-woo (Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province)
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
