Formation 1945 Headquarters Seoul Chairman Park Kyung-Kyu | Type Non-profit Official language Korean (KR) Website KAFA.org | |
The Korea American Football Association (KAFA, Korean: 대한미식축구협회, Hanja: 大韓美式蹴球協會) has existed in South Korea for more than 20 years. The popularity of American football in Korea has been historically low, but with the visit of Hines Ward (a Korean born NFL football star with the Pittsburgh Steelers) in 2006, the sport received a modest level of increased appeal. Within Korea, KAFA is a sports governing body over both traditional football with pads and also flag football.
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Traditional football leagues within Korea are divided between university and senior (KNFL) teams. There are three championship bowl games of special note that occur at the end of the season. The Tiger Bowl determines the champions of the University league, the Gwangaeto Bowl determines the champions of the KNFL, and finally the Kimchi Bowl, the Korean equivalent of Japan's Rice Bowl, pits the University champion against the KNFL champion.
KNFL
In 2015, there were seven teams in the KNFL, divided into two divisions (북부리그 North Division, 남부리그 South Division). The top two seeds of each division played in a four-team semifinal playoffs. Winners of the semifinals played in the Gwanggaeto Bowl Championship. The KNFL Champion played the Korean University League Champion in the Kimchee Bowl.
Starting in 2016, the KNFL has changed to a full league format. Each of the seven teams play one another. The two teams with the best regular season records face off in the Gwanggaeto Bowl. The KNFL Champion plays the Korean University League Champion in the Kimchi Bowl.
Kimchi Bowl
The Kimchi Bowl is the final championship game of KAFA. The game pits the KNFL team that has won the Gwanggaeto Bowl against the university team that has won the Tiger bowl.