Gimcheon Sangmu FC
Gimcheon Sangmu FC (Hangul: 김천 상무 프로축구단; Hanja: 金泉 尚武 프로蹴球團) is a South Korean professional association football club based in Gimcheon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Sangmu is the sports division of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.
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| Full name | Gimcheon Sangmu Football Club 김천 상무 프로축구단 金泉 尚武 프로蹴球團 | ||
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| Founded | 1984 (as Sangmu FC) 2021 (as Gimcheon Sangmu FC) | ||
| Ground | Gimcheon Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 32,000 | ||
| Owner | Gimcheon Government and Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps | ||
| Chairman | Mayor of Gimcheon | ||
| Manager | Sung Han-soo (caretaker) | ||
| League | K League 2 | ||
| 2022 | K League 1, 11th of 12 (relegated) | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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| Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps |
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Sangmu's playing staff is made up of young South Korean professional footballers serving their compulsory two-year military duty. Fifteen players join up at the start of every season and spend two years with the side before returning to their previous professional club. Sangmu are not allowed to sign any foreign players because of their military status.
This article also includes the predecessor military-based teams – Sangmu FC, Gwangju Sangmu FC and Sangju Sangmu FC – which are still separate legal entities.
History
Various military clubs (1950s–1983)
Before the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps and its football club Sangmu FC were founded in 1984, the Republic of Korea Armed Forces had three football clubs: ROK Army FC, ROK Marine Corps FC, and ROK Air Force FC.
The ROK Army originally established football clubs of each corps, including CIC FC (Counter Intelligence Corps;[1][2] also known as Seoul FC[3] or Seoul Club),[4] HID FC (Headquarters of Intelligence Detachment), Quartermaster Corps FC (consisted of only quartermasters), OPMG FC (Office of the Provost Marshal General; former Military Police Command FC), Engineer Corps FC, and Infantry School FC. Most of them (excluding Quartermaster Corps FC) were merged into the Engineer Corps FC in 1965. Lastly, these two clubs were united, and Army FC was established in 1969.
Afterwards, the Marine Corps FC renamed as ROK Navy FC due to the dissolution of the Headquarters Marine Corps in 1973.
| Until 1955 | 1956–1964 | 1965–1968 | 1969–1972 | 1973–1983 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military Police Command FC | Army OPMG FC | Army Engineer Corps FC | Army FC | |
| Army Engineer Corps FC | ||||
| Army CIC FC | ||||
| Army HID FC | ||||
| Army Infantry School FC | ||||
| Other ROK Army clubs | ||||
| Army Quartermaster Corps FC | ||||
| Marine Corps FC | Navy FC | |||
| Air Force FC | ||||
Founding and semi-professional Sangmu FC era (1984–2002)
Sangmu FC was founded on 11 January 1984, as the football side of Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps.[5][6] Although Sangmu squad was composed of professional players from K League clubs, Sangmu FC competed in the semi-professional league (now Korea National League). Sangmu joined the K League for the 1985 season, but spent only one year in the league before dropping out.
The reserve side, Sangmu B, competed in the K2 League from 2003 to 2005 before joining the K League reserve league. Sangmu B was based in Icheon and finished as the runners-up in the 2003 K2 League season.
Gwangju Sangmu era (2002–2010)
After establishing a home base in Gwangju in April 2002, the team participated in the Reserve League.[7] The club has rejoined the K League at the start of the 2003 season as Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo FC. Between 2004 and 2010, the club has been known as Gwangju Sangmu FC.
Sangju Sangmu era (2011–2020)
Once Gwangju FC was established, Gwangju Sangmu FC was relocated to Sangju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, as Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps moved to Mungyeong, near Sangju. The club name was officially changed to Sangju Sangmu Phoenix FC in January 2011.[8][9]
Before the 2013 season, the club officially removed the word "Phoenix" in its name. In the same season, Sangju Sangmu became the first champions of the newly established K League Challenge (second division) and promoted to the K League Classic.[10][11]
Sangju started the 2020 season already knowing they would be relegated to K League 2. The military club decided to move out of Sangju to a new, as yet undisclosed location.[12] Sangju has decided not to establish a football team which would be citizen-owned outfit and also played in K League 2.[13]
Gimcheon Sangmu (2021–present)
On 30 June 2020, the K League administration announced that the city of Gimcheon had officially submitted an application to host the team for at least the 2021 season, offering their local stadium as the football club's new home.[14] After a preliminary review and several meetings and assemblies involving local governors, the K League eventually approved the proposal and began the process of moving the club to Gimcheon.[15]
Club name history
- 1996–2002: Sangmu FC
- 2002–2003: Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo FC
- 2004–2010: Gwangju Sangmu FC
- 2011–2012: Sangju Sangmu Phoenix FC
- 2013–2020: Sangju Sangmu FC
- 2021–present: Gimcheon Sangmu FC
Players
Current squad
- As of 23 July 2023
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Coaching staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Caretaker manager |  Sung Han-soo |
| Assistant manager | Lim Kwan-sik |
| First team coach | Kim Tae-su |
| Goalkeeping coach | Kwak Sang-deuk |
Managers
| Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Kim Young-bae |
11 January 1984 | 1984 |
| Jang Jong-dae |
1985 | 9 July 1985 |
| Kim Young-bae |
10 July 1985 | December 1989 |
| Lee Kang-jo |
1990 | 27 October 2010 |
| Lee Soo-chul |
28 October 2010 | 13 July 2011 |
| Kim Tae-wan (caretaker) |
14 July 2011 | 29 December 2011 |
| Park Hang-seo |
20 December 2011 | 11 December 2015 |
| Cho Jin-ho |
18 December 2015 | 25 November 2016 |
| Kim Tae-wan |
25 November 2016[16] | 9 December 2022 |
| Sung Han-soo (caretaker) |
9 December 2022 | Present |
Honours
League
- K League 2
- Winners (3): 2013,[lower-alpha 1] 2015,[lower-alpha 1] 2021
- National Semi-Professional Football League
- Winners (9): 1984, 1991 Fall, 1992 Spring, 1994 Spring, 1996 Fall, 1997 Fall, 1998 Fall, 1999 Fall, 2002 Spring
- Runners-up (5): 1987 Fall, 1993 Spring, 1999 Spring, 2000 Spring, 2003
Cups
- National Semi-Professional Football Championship
- Winners (2): 1999, 2001
- National Football Championship
- Winners (1): 1996
- Notes
- As Sangju Sangmu
Season-by-season records
K League
| Sangmu all-time records | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Teams | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Position | Korean FA Cup | League Cup | Top scorer (league goals) |
| Sangmu era | |||||||||||||
| 1985 | 8 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 19 | 6th | None | None | Hong Seok-min (6) |
| Gwangju Sangmu era | |||||||||||||
| 2003 | 12 | 44 | 13 | 7 | 24 | 41 | 60 | −19 | 46 | 10th | Round of 16 | None | Lee Dong-gook (11) |
| 2004 | 13 | 24 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 20 | −2 | 29 | 8th | Quarter-finals | 10th | Park Jung-hwan (4) |
| 2005 | 13 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 23 | 38 | −15 | 17 | 13th | Round of 16 | 11th | Kim Sang-rok (5) |
| 2006 | 14 | 26 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 17 | 29 | −12 | 23 | 14th | Round of 16 | 11th | Kang Yong (4) Chung Kyung-ho (4) |
| 2007 | 14 | 26 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 14 | 44 | −30 | 12 | 14th | Round of 16 | Group stage | Namgung Do (7) |
| 2008 | 14 | 26 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 46 | −24 | 16 | 14th | Quarter-finals | Group stage | Kim Myung-joong (7) |
| 2009 | 15 | 28 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 33 | 40 | −7 | 30 | 11th | Round of 16 | Group stage | Choi Sung-kuk (9) |
| 2010 | 15 | 28 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 43 | −26 | 19 | 14th | Quarter-finals | Group stage | Choi Sung-kuk (4) |
| Sangju Sangmu era | |||||||||||||
| 2011 | 16 | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 36 | 53 | −17 | 29 | 14th | Round of 16 | Group stage | Kim Jung-woo (15) |
| 2012 | 16 | 44 | 7 | 6 | 31 | 29 | 74 | −45 | 27 | 16th | Round of 16 | — | |
K League 1 and K League 2
| Sangmu all-time records | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Division | Teams | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Position | Korean FA Cup | |
| Sangju Sangmu era | |||||||||||||
| 2013 | K2 | 8 | 35 | 23 | 8 | 4 | 65 | 31 | +34 | 77 | 1st | Round of 16 | |
| 2014 | K1 | 12 | 38 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 39 | 62 | −23 | 34 | 12th | Semi-finals | |
| 2015 | K2 | 11 | 40 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 77 | 57 | +20 | 67 | 1st | Third round | |
| 2016 | K1 | 12 | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 54 | 65 | −11 | 43 | 6th | Round of 32 | |
| 2017 | K1 | 12 | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 41 | 66 | −25 | 35 | 11th | Quarter-finals | |
| 2018 | K1 | 12 | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 41 | 52 | −11 | 40 | 10th | Round of 32 | |
| 2019 | K1 | 12 | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 49 | 53 | −4 | 55 | 7th | Semi-finals | |
| 2020 | K1 | 12 | 27 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 34 | 36 | –2 | 44 | 4th | Round of 16 | |
| Gimcheon Sangmu era | |||||||||||||
| 2021 | K2 | 10 | 36 | 20 | 11 | 5 | 60 | 34 | +26 | 71 | 1st | Quarter-finals | |
| 2022 | K1 | 12 | 38 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 45 | 48 | –3 | 38 | 11th | Third round | |
References
- 뉴스데스크 5-60년대 육군 특무부대원들 조선시대 마패처럼 메달 갖고 다녀[전봉기] (in Korean). 16 April 2006. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- 一回全國蹴球(일회전국축구). Naver.com (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 1953-08-31.
- 蹴球最終日戰績(축구최종일전적). Naver.com (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 1957-11-08.
- 항항원정축구단. Naver.com (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 1958-09-23.
- 군경기단체 국군체육부대로 통합 팀 명칭 상무, 마스코트는 불사조로 (in Korean). Dong-a Ilbo. 1984-01-11.
- 육,해,공 3군통합 스포츠팀 상무 창단 (in Korean). Maeil Business Newspaper. 1984-01-12.
- 프로축구 – 상무축구팀, 프로리그 진출
- 상주상무피닉스축구단 운영방침 및 사업계획 (in Korean). Sangju City Hall. 2011-01-10. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
- ""경북 상주로" 상무, 연고지 변경해 내년 K리그 참가" (in Korean). The Daily Sports Seoul. 2010-12-10. Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
- "K리그 챌린지 초대 우승팀 상주 우승 트로피 수상" (in Korean). Sportal Korea. 2013-11-17.
- 강제강등에서 첫 승격까지, 역사가 된 상주상무 (in Korean). MK Sports. 2013-12-07.
- "Preview: Ulsan Hyundai vs. Sangju Sangmu". K League United. 2020-05-07. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
- "상주, 마지노선 1주일 앞두고 시민구단 전환 포기 선언" [Sangju City announced giving up their transition to citizen-owned football club a week before the deadline.]. Sports Seoul. 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
- 유지호 (2020-06-30). "Gimcheon city seeks to host military football club". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
- 손대성 (2020-07-11). "상무프로축구단 내년부터 상주서 김천으로 연고지 이전". 연합뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-11-29.
- "[오피셜]상주, 김태완 감독 공식 선임". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 25 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
