WK League News

The 2025 WK League may be finished for the five teams not in the title race, but the season isn’t over yet — all eight WK League teams will be representing their regions in the annual National Sports Festival, this year taking place in the southern coastal city of Busan.

The National Sports Festival is held every October, gathering over 20,000 athletes from across the country to compete in about 40 disciplines, earning points for their province or city. The competition’s history dates back to 1920, although it did not take place from 1938-1944 under the Japanese colonial government. This year’s event is the National Sports Festival’s 106th iteration.

There are six football tournaments at the festival, with senior, university, and U18 categories for both men and women. All eight WK League teams will represent their respective regions in the senior category, with matches taking place on the 19th, 21st, and 23rd October in Myeongji Neighbourhood Park in Busan’s Gangseo district. It’s a knockout competition with no group stage, so the first round, on 19th October, is also the quarter-finals.

Representing Gyeonggi-do, Suwon FC will face Gangwon-do’s Hwacheon KSPO at 10:00. At midday, Seoul take on Sejong (no prizes for guessing which WK League teams will be playing for those cities). After that, at 14:00 Gyeongnam’s Changnyeong WFC play against Sangmu WFC. Sangmu’s home ground is just across the border in Gyeongbuk but they are holding the torch for Chungbuk province in this competition. At 16:00, in the final match of the day, Incheon’s Hyundai Steel Red Angels go up against Gyeongju KHNP of Gyeongbuk in a repeat of their final round WK League clash. The winning teams will proceed to the semi-finals on 21st October, with the final scheduled for 23rd October.

The future stars of Korean women’s football will also be in action, with the university tournament set to take place over the same three days at the Baekunpo Sports Park in the south of Busan. Six university teams, representing Ulsan, Sejong, Chungnam, Daejeon, Gyeongbuk, and Gangwon, will compete.

Meanwhile at Hwamyeong Ecological Park, on the banks of the Nakdong River, twelve teams will participate in the girls’ U18 competition. A preliminary round is set to take place on 16th October, with the quarter finals on 18th October, semi finals on 20th October, and the final at 10:00 on 22nd October.