Members of the soccer community exchanged views on the transition of professional football “Chuchun Festival (opening in early and mid-August to closing in May of the following year), which is becoming a trend in Asia, especially in the Middle East beyond Europe.
The Korea Professional Football Association held a public hearing at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies’ auditorium in Jongno-gu, Seoul on Tuesday to consider switching to the K-League’s spring and autumn system. The K-League, which has been implementing the Spring and Autumn Festival (opening in March and closing in December), is discussing the issue as Japan’s J-League, a neighboring country, has also confirmed its decision to switch to the spring and autumn system during the 2026-2027 season, following the Asian Football Confederation’s club competition.
Choi Jeong-ho, secretary-general of Ulsan, who attended the public hearing, said, “We are implementing the system in line with global standards. I don’t think we can maintain the current system. With 3 million spectators in the K-League, I think it would be better to use the system as a factor to attract more fans.” “When asked if we can stand still in reorganizing order, we have to make proactive preparations. The system is a matter of direction and timing,” said Kim Jong-yoon, head of the KFA’s tournament management team.
“It is generally predictable that problems will arise during the autumn and spring seasons such as cold weather. However, it is difficult to predict problems that will arise when the standard competition is not followed,” said Ahn Hong-seok, head of Yonhap News.
“Most athletes seem to support the system,” said Shin Kwang-hoon (Pohang Steelers). “It is difficult to exercise just in hot weather these days. Tactics and strategies sometimes change as it is too hot. Sometimes, players give more credit to players in the background,” Shin said, adding that the change of the system would have a positive impact on boosting the performance.
“Chuchunje has an advantage in managing grass. Korea’s climate is unfavorable to Korean paper grass (for soccer fields). Of course, infrastructure improvement or management technology upgrade should come first,” said Lee Kang-gun, president of Wangsan Green, a grass expert.
Chung Tae-seok, a member of the medical committee, stressed, “The autumnal spring system has advantages in terms of health care, physical strength, and performance. There is a threat of hypothermia in winter, but if you look at the (domestic) injury-related data you have, there is no significant difference from the European autumnal spring season league data.”
Yoon Ji-hyun, secretary-general of Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province, said, “We need to closely examine the transition to the autumn system,” but pointed out the practical issue and timing. Notably, referring to the specificity of municipal and provincial teams that receive budgets from local governments, he said, “Government officials will understand my story well. We cannot proceed with the fiscal year (which starts at the beginning of the year and ends at the end of the year) beyond the year. 온라인바카라 It is a matter that cannot be overlooked only by soccer teams.”
“As the J-League, which has similar conditions to ours, will conduct the trial and error for about a year or two, it would be good to start after watching the trial and error. It will reduce confusion,” he added.
In addition, when implementing the “Choochun” system, the timing of participation in the transfer market could be matched with that of major leagues, and media attention could increase as the schedule does not overlap with other popular sports such as baseball. On the other hand, concerns over holding home games, training facilities, and a decrease in the number of spectators were also addressed.