Gimcheon Sangmu Football Club (Korean김천 상무 프로축구단; Hanja金泉 尚武 프로蹴球團) is a South Korean professional football club based in Gimcheon that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Sangmu is the sports division of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.

Gimcheon Sangmu FC
Full nameGimcheon Sangmu Football Club
김천 상무 프로축구단
Founded1984; 40 years ago (1984) (as Sangmu FC)
2021; 3 years ago (2021) (as Gimcheon Sangmu FC)
GroundGimcheon Stadium
Capacity25,000
OwnerGimcheon Government and Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps
ChairmanMayor of Gimcheon
ManagerChung Jung-yong
LeagueK League 1
2023K League 2, 1st of 13
(promoted)
Websitegimcheonfc.com

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

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Various military clubs (1950s–1983)

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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 [ko] Army Engineer Corps FC Army FC [ko]
Army Engineer Corps FC [ko]
Army CIC FC [ko]
Army HID FC [ko]
Army Infantry School FC
Other ROK Army clubs
Army Quartermaster Corps FC [ko]
Marine Corps FC [ko] Navy FC [ko]
Air Force FC [ko]

Founding and semi-professional Sangmu FC era (1984–2002)

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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)

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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)

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Once Gwangju FC was established, Gwangju Sangmu FC was relocated to Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, 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)

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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

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  • 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

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Current squad

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As of 22 May 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 MF   KOR Goo Bon-cheul
3 MF   KOR Kim Hyeon-ug
4 MF   KOR Kim Jin-gyu
5 MF   KOR Kim Dong-hyun
8 DF   KOR Yoon Jong-gyu
9 DF   KOR Lee Sang-min
10 DF   KOR Kim Jae-woo
11 MF   KOR Won Du-jae (captain)
14 MF   KOR Kang Hyun-muk
15 MF   KOR Kim Bong-soo
16 MF   KOR Seo Min-woo
17 GK   KOR Kim Jun-hong
18 FW   KOR Yu Kang-hyun
20 DF   KOR Kim Min-deok
21 GK   KOR Kim Dong-heon
22 MF   KOR Kim Dae-won
23 DF   KOR Park Soo-il
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 DF   KOR Jo Jin-woo
25 DF   KOR Park Seung-wook
26 FW   KOR Kim Min-jun
27 FW   KOR Mo Jae-hyeon
28 MF   KOR Lee Jin-yong
29 MF   KOR Choi Gi-yun
30 DF   KOR Lee Sang-min
31 GK   KOR Kang Hyeon-mu
32 FW   KOR Jung Chi-in
33 DF   KOR Cho Hyun-taek
35 DF   KOR Hong Uk-hyeon
40 FW   KOR Lee Young-jun
41 GK   KOR Jeong Myeong-jae
77 DF   KOR Kim Tae-hyeon
88 DF   KOR Park Min-gyu
99 FW   KOR Lee Joong-min

Managers

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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 25 May 2023
  Chung Jung-yong 26 May 2023 present

Honours

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League

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Cups

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Notes
  1. ^ a b As Sangju Sangmu

Season-by-season records

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K League

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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

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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
2023 K2 13 36 22 5 9 71 37 34 71 1st Third round

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 뉴스데스크 5-60년대 육군 특무부대원들 조선시대 마패처럼 메달 갖고 다녀[전봉기] (in Korean). 16 April 2006. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  2. ^ 一回全國蹴球(일회전국축구). Naver (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 1953-08-31. Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  3. ^ 蹴球最終日戰績(축구최종일전적). Naver (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 1957-11-08. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  4. ^ 항항원정축구단. Naver (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 1958-09-23. Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  5. ^ 군경기단체 국군체육부대로 통합 팀 명칭 상무, 마스코트는 불사조로 (in Korean). Dong-a Ilbo. 1984-01-11.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ 육,해,공 3군통합 스포츠팀 상무 창단 (in Korean). Maeil Business Newspaper. 1984-01-12.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ 프로축구 – 상무축구팀, 프로리그 진출
  8. ^ 상주상무피닉스축구단 운영방침 및 사업계획 (in Korean). Sangju City Hall. 2011-01-10. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
  9. ^ ""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.
  10. ^ "K리그 챌린지 초대 우승팀 상주 우승 트로피 수상" (in Korean). Sportal Korea. 2013-11-17. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
  11. ^ 강제강등에서 첫 승격까지, 역사가 된 상주상무 (in Korean). MK Sports. 2013-12-07. Archived from the original on 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
  12. ^ "Preview: Ulsan Hyundai vs. Sangju Sangmu". K League United. 2020-05-07. Archived from the original on 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  13. ^ "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. Archived from the original on 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  14. ^ 유, 지호 (2020-06-30). "Gimcheon city seeks to host military football club". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  15. ^ 손, 대성 (2020-07-11). "상무프로축구단 내년부터 상주서 김천으로 연고지 이전". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  16. ^ "[오피셜]상주, 김태완 감독 공식 선임". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
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