Ulsan, Gangwon, and Seoul, which secured spots in the '2025-2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE),' along with Pohang, which secured a spot in the '2025-2026 AFC Champions League 2 (ACL2),' have obtained the 'AFC License' qualifying them for the AFC club competition.
Ulsan and Gangwon each secured the rights to participate in the 2025-2026 AFC club competitions by finishing first and second in last year's K League 1, while Seoul placed 4th and Pohang won the Korea Cup.
Accordingly, Ulsan, Gangwon, Seoul, and Pohang have applied for the AFC License to participate in the upcoming '2025-2026 ACLE' and '2025-2026 ACL2' to be held in September, and the Korea Professional Football League held a club licensing review committee for the four clubs on the 9th (Friday) of this month.
The club licensing review committee is an independent body that deliberates on club license issuance, evaluating whether the applying clubs meet criteria defined by the AFC Club Licensing Regulations to determine whether to issue the licenses. The criteria for issuing the AFC License consist of a total of seven areas: 'sports, facilities, personnel and administration, legal, financial, marketing, and social contribution.'
After a thorough review by sector, the club licensing review committee approved the issuance of AFC Licenses for Ulsan, Gangwon, Seoul, and Pohang, allowing all four clubs to acquire the AFC License. Notably, Gangwon, which will participate in the AFC club competition for the first time, submitted Chuncheon Songam Sports Town as the venue for the ACLE matches, and it is expected to be finalized as the hosting site through the upcoming AFC inspection.
Meanwhile, the league separately conducts club licensing that grants eligibility to participate in K League and AFC club competitions. Thus, the 'K League License Club Qualification Review Committee' will evaluate eligibility for the 2026 season K League and is scheduled to meet in October.
[Photo] Provided by the league.
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