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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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There are many variables on the way to the Asian club competition. According to the final result of 'Hana Bank K League 1 2025', a total of four teams will head to the Asian Champions League stage in the 2026-2027 season. In the K-League, 2.5 Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) tickets and one Asian Champions League 2 (ACL2) ticket are distributed. In principle, there are three in the K League and one in the Korea Cup (formerly FA Cup). The K League 1 winners will go straight to the ACLE finals. The runner-up will go to the ACLE Playoff (PO) stage. The third-place finisher will compete in the ACL2 tournament.
There are variables. 'Military team' is the final result of Kim Cheon. Gimcheon cannot play in the Asian club competition regardless of its final ranking due to the nature of the military team. Gimcheon's ACL ticket will be erased, and the next team will take it with them. In fact, Gimcheon ranked third in the K League 1 last year, but the ACL ticket went to FC Seoul in fourth place. A similar situation could happen this year. As of the 29th, Gimcheon is ranked second with 17 wins, 7 draws and 10 losses (58 points). It is competing with the third-place Daejeon Hana Citizen (59 points), the fourth-place Pohang Steelers (51 points), and the fifth-place Seoul (48 points). If Gimcheon finishes the season like this, Gimcheon's ticket goes to the next team. However, Gimcheon's 9th players, who have been key players, have been discharged. The rest of the season will have to be played with a new face. It's actually a new team. It is impossible to conclude the contents and results of the remaining games.
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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There is another ACL ticket variable. This is the result of the Korea Cup. The Korea Cup winners will compete in ACLE if they finish in the top four in the league, and ACL2 if they are outside the top five. In this year's Korea Cup final, Jeonbuk Hyundai and Gwangju FC will clash. Jeonbuk confirmed its K League 1 victory early on. If Jeonbuk achieves 'double' following the league and the Korea Cup, a total of four teams will participate according to the K League 1 ranking. If Gimcheon ranks second to fourth, it will take the ACL stage to fifth place in the league. However, if Gwangju wins, the situation will be different. Jeonbuk will play ACLE as the K League 1 champion. As Gwangju competes in the Final B, it will win the ACL2 ticket. The remaining tickets will be determined by the league ranking.
The problem is that variables do not end here. We have to wait and see the results of Ulsan HD, Gangwon FC, Seoul and ACL2 Pohang, who are on the ACLE stage this season. The ACLE winners can go straight to the ACLE finals next season, and the ACL2 winners can advance to the ACLE PO next season. Depending on the situation, the ACL qualification team cannot be confirmed until May next year.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
