Gangwon FC facts for kids
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| Full name | Gangwon Football Club 강원도민프로축구단 |
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| Founded | 2008 | ||
| Ground | Chuncheon Songam Sports Town Gangneung Stadium |
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| Owner | Gangwon Province Government | ||
| Chairman | Kim Jin-tae (Governor of Gangwon) | ||
| Manager | Chung Kyung-ho | ||
| League | K League 1 | ||
| 2024 | K League 1, 2nd of 12 | ||
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Gangwon FC (Korean: 강원 FC) is a professional football team from Gangwon Province, South Korea. They joined the top South Korean football league, the K League, in 2009. Gangwon FC was the 15th club to join this league. The team gets support from High1 Resort.
Contents
History
How Gangwon FC Started
The governor of Gangwon Province, Kim Jin-sun, announced plans for a new football club on April 28, 2008. A special group was formed in June 2008 to help create the team. By November 2008, 14 players had already joined Gangwon FC. Soon after, on November 20, 2008, the team had a full squad of 23 players. This included nine players chosen from the 2009 K League draft. Gangwon FC was officially started on December 18, 2008. This allowed them to play in the 2009 K League season.
Early Games and Challenges
Gangwon FC played their very first K League match on March 8, 2009. They played against Jeju United at Gangneung Stadium. Gangwon FC won 1–0, with Yoon Jun-ha scoring the winning goal. The team had a great start, winning their first five games. This made them a big surprise in the first half of the 2009 K League season.
However, Gangwon FC could not keep up their winning streak. By the middle of the season, they had dropped to the lower half of the league. At the end of their first season, they finished 13th out of 15 clubs.
In the 2009 Korean FA Cup, Gangwon FC won their first game against Incheon Korail FC. They won in a penalty shoot-out after a 2–2 tie. But they lost their next game to the Chunnam Dragons. In the 2009 Korean League Cup, Gangwon finished last in their group. They only won one game in that competition.
Tough Seasons and Staying in the League
The 2010 season was hard for Gangwon FC. Even though their main striker, Kim Young-hoo, scored 13 goals, the team finished 12th. The 2011 season was even tougher. Gangwon finished last in the league. The whole team only scored 14 goals in 30 matches that year.
In 2012, the K League changed its rules. The bottom two teams would be moved down to a lower division. In the last few games, Gangwon FC managed to stay in the top league. Baek Jong-hwan scored a key goal that helped them win against Seongnam Ilhwa. They avoided being moved down by just one point.
In 2013, the K League introduced automatic relegation. The bottom two teams would go down, and the third-to-last team would play a special playoff. Gangwon finished third from last. They lost their playoff games to Sangju Sangmu Phoenix. This meant they were moved down to the K League Challenge, which is the second division.
Recent Success and "Byung-soo Ball"
In the middle of the 2018 season, Kim Byung-soo became the new head coach. He helped the club finish eighth in the K League 1. The next season, in 2019, Kim Ji-hyeon won the K League Young Player of the Year award. Gangwon finished sixth in the league.
Coach Kim Byung-soo was praised for his exciting style of play, called "Byung-soo ball." In 2019, Gangwon FC led the K League in how much they kept the ball. They also had the most pass attempts and best pass completion rates. They finished third in goals scored.
Before the 2020 season, the team worked on making their defense stronger. They brought in players like Lim Chai-min, Shin Se-gye, and Kim Young-bin. On October 4, 2020, Gangwon won a home game against Seongnam. This win helped them stay in the K League 1.
For the 2021 season, Gangwon signed new players. These included Masatoshi Ishida, Sin Chang-moo, and national team players Yun Suk-young and Rim Chang-woo. They also signed Uzbek player Rustam Ashurmatov. On March 21, 2021, they won their first home game of the season against Incheon United. However, after a big loss to Pohang Steelers on November 3, 2021, coach Kim Byung-soo was replaced. Under the new coach, Choi Yong-soo, Gangwon won their relegation play-off games. This allowed them to stay in the top division.
In the 2024 K League 1 season, Gangwon FC had their best performance ever. They finished second in the league, right behind the champions Ulsan HD. A big reason for their success was K League Young Player of the Year Award winner Yang Min-hyeok. He was later signed by Tottenham Hotspur.
Players
Current squad
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Out on loan
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Captains
| Season | Captain |
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| 2009 |  Lee Eul-yong |
| 2010–11 | Chung Kyung-ho |
| 2011 | Seo Dong-hyeon |
| 2011 | Lee Eul-yong |
| 2012 | Kim Eun-jung |
| 2013 | Chun Jae-ho |
| 2014 | Kim Oh-gyu |
| 2015 | Hwang Kyo-chung Baek Jong-hwan |
| 2016–17 | Baek Jong-hwan |
| 2018 | Jung Jo-gook |
| 2019–20 | Oh Beom-seok |
| 2020–21 | Lim Chai-min |
| 2022 | Kim Dong-hyun |
| 2023 | Rim Chang-woo |
| 2024 | Han Kook-young Yun Suk-young |
| 2025 | Kim Dong-hyun |
Youth Team and Reserve Squad
On September 13, 2010, Gangwon FC started an Under-12 (U-12) team in Gangneung. Later, in November 2011, they partnered with Gangneung Jeil High School (for an Under-18 team) and Jumunjin Middle School (for an Under-15 team).
In February 2021, Gangwon FC became the first professional team to create a reserve team. This team plays in the semi-professional K4 League. The idea is to give young players and other team members more chances to play. At least seven players in the starting lineup must be 23 years old or younger. Lee Seul-gi, who used to coach the main team, became the manager of this new U23 squad.
Coaching Staff
- Manager: Chung Kyung-ho
- Assistant manager: Vacant
- First-team coach: Choi Hyo-jin, Song Chang-ho
- Goalkeeping coach: Jeon Sang-wook
Managers Through the Years
| No. | Name | From | To | Season(s) |
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Choi Soon-ho |
2008/11/16 | 2011/04/06 | 2009–2011 |
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Kim Sang-ho |
2011/04/07 | 2012/07/01 | 2011–2012 |
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Kim Hak-bum |
2012/07/09 | 2013/08/11 | 2012–2013 |
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Kim Yong-kab |
2013/08/14 | 2013/12/10 | 2013 |
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 Arthur Bernardes |
2013/12/23 | 2014/09/18 | 2014 |
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Park Hyo-jin |
2014/09/18 | 2014/12/24 | 2014 |
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Choi Yun-kyum |
2015/01/05 | 2017/08/14 | 2015–2017 |
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Park Hyo-jin |
2017/08/14 | 2017/11/04 | 2017 |
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Song Kyung-sub |
2017/11/02 | 2018/08/11 | 2017–2018 |
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Kim Byung-soo |
2018/08/12 | 2021/11/04 | 2018–2021 |
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Choi Yong-soo |
2021/11/16 | 2023/06/14 | 2021–2023 |
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Yoon Jong-hwan |
2023/06/19 | 2024/12/06 | 2023–2024 |
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Chung Kyung-ho |
2024/12/06 | present | 2025– |
Honours
League
- K League 1
- Runners-up (1): 2024
Season-by-season records
| Season | League | FA Cup | Other | |||||||||
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| Division | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pos. | |||
| 2009 | 1 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 42 | 57 | –15 | 28 | 13 | R16 | League Cup: GS |
| 2010 | 28 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 36 | 50 | –14 | 30 | 12 | R32 | League Cup: GS | |
| 2011 | 30 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 14 | 45 | –31 | 15 | 16 | QF | League Cup: GS | |
| 2012 | 44 | 14 | 7 | 23 | 57 | 68 | –11 | 49 | 14 | R16 | ||
| 2013 | 38 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 37 | 64 | –27 | 36 | 12↓ | R16 | ||
| 2014 | 2 | 36 | 16 | 6 | 14 | 48 | 50 | –2 | 54 | 3 | QF | |
| 2015 | 40 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 64 | 56 | +8 | 51 | 7 | R16 | ||
| 2016 | 40 | 19 | 9 | 12 | 50 | 33 | +17 | 66 | 4↑ | R32 | ||
| 2017 | 1 | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 59 | 65 | –6 | 49 | 6 | R16 | |
| 2018 | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 56 | 60 | –4 | 46 | 8 | R32 | ||
| 2019 | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 56 | 58 | –2 | 50 | 6 | QF | ||
| 2020 | 27 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 36 | 41 | –5 | 34 | 7 | QF | ||
| 2021 | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 40 | 51 | –11 | 43 | 11 | SF | ||
| 2022 | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 50 | 52 | –2 | 49 | 6 | R16 | ||
| 2023 | 38 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 30 | 41 | –11 | 34 | 10 | QF | ||
| 2024 | 38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 62 | 56 | +6 | 64 | 2 | R16 | ||
- Key
- SF = Semi-final
- QF = Quarter-final
- R16 = Round of 16
- R32 = Round of 32
- GS = Group stage
See also
In Spanish: Gangwon Football Club para niños
