Sports Briefs

FOOTBALL

In potentially historic deal, Kobe club signs Ulsan’s Kim

Ulsan Hyundai said on Tuesday that the team’s No. 1 goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu has signed with Japanese club Vissel Kobe.

Although details of the contract weren’t announced, Ulsan said that it has received the largest transfer fee for a Korean goalkeeper in K-League history.

Kim, 25, is an Ulsan native and made his pro debut in 2008. He became the team’s starting goalkeeper in 2013 and has conceded 124 goals in 118 matches so far.

Kim was a member of the Korean national football team that won the bronze medal in the 2012 London Summer Games. He made his senior national team debut in August 2013 and has played 18 matches so far.

Korean national team midfielder Jung Woo-young has also been playing for Vissel Kobe, though there have been recent rumors that he will move to a Chinese club next season.

To fill Kim’s void, Ulsan said it signed goalkeeper Jung San from Seongnam FC.

BY JOO KYUNG-DON

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

NFL could return to L.A. after a 21-year absence

SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams filed on Monday for relocation to the Los Angeles area, boosting the prospect of the NFL returning to the nation’s second-largest market after a 21-year absence.

The Chargers want to partner with the AFC West rival Raiders on a stadium in Carson.

The Chargers ownership have had the right to leave San Diego since 2008, but the long, contentious efforts to replace aging Qualcomm Stadium only sparked a proposed L.A. shift after Rams owner Stan Kroenke announced plans to build a stadium in Inglewood.

The NFL confirmed it received the applications to move for the 2016 season. They will be reviewed ahead of a meeting next week when all team owners are expected to vote on whether to allow any of the teams to move. A team wanting to move needs 24 of 32 votes.

Los Angeles has been without the NFL since after the 1994 season. AP