832 players are registered to Korean pro football leagues

A total of 832 players will be eligible to play in Korea’s pro football leagues this year, its operator said Friday.

The K League said that 467 players registered for the top-tier K League 1 and 365 for the second division K League 2 this season. Player registration for the 2019 season ended Thursday. There are 12 clubs in the K League 1 and 10 clubs in the K League 2.

Daegu FC, the reigning Korea Football Association (KFA) champions, and Gyeongnam FC, last year’s runners-up, had the most athletes among K League 1 clubs with 43 players, while Jeju United only registered 32 players.

In the K League 2, Daejeon Citizen FC and Suwon FC topped all teams with 41 players, while Gwangju FC, Bucheon FC and FC Anyang had the fewest players at 33.

The league said 206 players - 124 from the K League 1 and 82 from the K League 2 - are under the age of 22. K League rules state that teams must put two players under 22 on each match roster and that at least one of them must start the match.

The league said 231 players - 137 in K League 1 and 94 in K League 2 - came from the K League clubs’ youth system, which is up from last year’s 195.

Yonhap