Region South Korea | Number of teams 79 (2015) | |
 | ||
Founded 1996; 21 years ago (1996)
(1921 as All Korea Football Tournament) Current champions Suwon Samsung Bluewings (2016) (4th title) Most successful club(s) Pohang Steelers
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
(both 4 titles) Current champion Suwon Samsung Bluewings (4th title, 2016 Korean FA Cup) Instances 2016 Korean FA Cup, 2015 Korean FA Cup | ||
2016 korean fa cup final 1st leg
The Korean FA Cup is a national cup knockout competition involving K League Classic, K League Challenge, National League, and various amateur and university-level clubs, which is held annually by the Korea Football Association (KFA). Its previous format began in 1921, as the All Joseon Football Tournament (1921–1940) and became the National Football Championship (1946–2000), but the FA Cup in it present format began in 1996. The KFA merged its cup competition with the FA Cup in 2000. The winner gains entry to the Asian Champions League.
Contents
- 2016 korean fa cup final 1st leg
- History
- Format
- Title sponsors
- Winners
- Titles by club
- Top Scorer Award
- All time winners including former Cups
- References
History
The All Korea Football Tournament was founded by the Korea Sports Council in 1921, during Japanese rule in Korea. Youth, student and adult football clubs from various provinces participated. After 1934, it became a part of the Korean National Sports Festival, which was the championship for various sports games and matched Koreans against other sports championships operated by Japanese who lived in Korea. The Korea Sports Council was disbanded in 1937, due to the Japanese government's oppression. The KFA succeeded it after 1938, but was cancelled after 1940 for the same reason during World War II.
After the liberation of Korea, the KFA founded the National Football Championship in 1946. Many clubs from all over Korea participated. It opened in late autumn, like its predecessor, the All Korea Football Tournament.
It declined after the founding of the The Korean Professional Football League (K-League) in 1983, because professional clubs and famous players didn’t take part in it. There were several efforts to make professional clubs join the tournament, and it became so successful that many top-rank clubs joined in and the KFA renamed it FA Cup for the 1988 and 1989 seasons. However, it soon returned to an amateur tournament, because of discord between the KFA and professional football clubs. KFA's FA Cup separated from the National Football Championship in 1996. The two competitions merged again in 2000.
Format
1996–2005
The Korean FA Cup took place after the end of the regular K-League season, and was usually completed over a short period. Games were played in a single-elimination format, with extra time and penalties if required. K-League sides were seeded in the 1st round of the tournament proper, but all matches were played at neutral venues, such as Gimcheon and Namhae.
2006–present
To elevate the status of the tournament, matches were spread throughout the year. The 2006 edition, for example, started in early March, with rounds also held in April, July, August and November. The final was played in December.
As in previous years, the competition was contested in a straight knockout format.
Title sponsors
Winners
Pohang Steelers and Suwon Samsung Bluewings are the most successful clubs in the Korean FA Cup with four titles each. Five clubs, including Pohang Steelers, Jeonnam Dragons, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Seongnam FC, have won the Korean FA Cup more than twice.
Titles by club
Top Scorer Award
Goals from Round of 32 are counted.
If three or more players finished with the same number of goals as the top scorer, the award was not presented.
All-time winners (including former Cups)
The records of FA Cup including former Cups(All Korea Football Tournament, Korean National Football Championship) are the followings.