K League Junior

K League Junior (Korean: K리그 주니어) is a South Korean youth football league system managed and organised by the K League. It was first introduced in 2008 as the SBS High School Club Challenge League, subsequently becoming the Adidas All-in Challenge League before rebranding as K League Junior in 2014.

History

The SBS High School Club Challenge League was founded in 2008 to expand youth football in South Korea and identify domestic talent. From 2008, all professional teams in the K League were required to operate a youth system to further the development of Korean football. The league was initially sponsored by broadcaster SBS, which aired some matches live on television. Eight under-18 teams, each affiliated with a professional K League club, participated in the first season, which was won by Ulsan Hyundai. By 2012, the league had expanded to sixteen teams and the league was renamed as the Adidas All In Challenge League, with Adidas as the title sponsor. When the K League Challenge was launched as the second division of professional football in 2013, the name of the youth league was changed to K League Junior to avoid confusion.

In 2019, an under-15 league was established. The following year, K League made it compulsory for all clubs in the professional leagues to operate U-12, U-15 and U-18 youth teams. The start of the 2020 league was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and matches took place with no spectators.

Structure

U-18

Historical

The High School Club Challenge League was initially split into two groups: Group A (Central) and Group B (South). From 2008-2011 the two groups operated as separate leagues, with a tournament or championship final to determine the overall winner. In 2012 the format changed, with both groups still playing two separate leagues, but with inter-league matches organised between the two, and the top-ranking teams from both groups progressing to the King of Kings tournament. From 2013-2014, the Challenge League operated as one unified league competition. Until 2018, K League Junior continued to operate two entirely separate leagues during the year for both groups, but from 2019 it adopted the split system used by K League 1, with the top teams from both groups becoming a top division and the lower ranked teams becoming a separate lower division for the second half of the competition. The teams finishing in first and second place in the top division were then regarded as the overall champions and runners-up.[citation needed]

Current

Since 2024, K League Junior U18 teams have been divided into three groups based on geographical location, with eight teams each in Groups A (North) and B (Central) and nine teams in Group C (South). The league continues to use a split system to determine the divisions for the second half of the year. In the first half of the year each team plays against each other team in their group once. After round 9, the top four teams in Groups A and B, and the top five teams in Group C, proceed to the upper league for the second half of the season, while the remaining teams compete in the lower league.

U-15

Like their U18 counterparts, teams in the U15 competition were previously divided into two geographical groups. Since 2024, the U15 tournament has also operated with three groups. However unlike the U18 competition, the groups in the U15 system operate as separate leagues throughout the year with no split system.

Clubs

Records

U-18

Pre-split system

Split system

U-15