Last year, on the 40th anniversary of the League’s founding, the organization talked about a “year of rebirth”. It became a reality. Since 2018, when paid attendance began, the league has set a new record for the most fans in a single season. With 2,447,147 fans in the first season and 564,362 fans in the second season, the league entered the “3 million era” for the first time (301,1509 fans). In particular, the K League 1 achieved an average of 10,000 spectators per game for the first time with 17,733 spectators.
The year has changed. In his New Year’s speech, Kwon presented a blueprint for the Year of the Blue Dragon, the year of transformation. He thanked fans for their love over the past year and promised to make “Fan First” – reaching out to fans first – the top priority of the K League in 2024.
Kwon said, “We are beginning our efforts to shape the next 40 years beyond the past 40 years, and in particular, this year we will gather our capabilities to further grow and develop the interest and love you have shown us in the past year,” adding, “There is no professional sports without fans. We will always listen to the voices of our fans and judge everything from their perspective. We will make ‘Fan First’, which means getting closer to soccer fans, the top priority of the K League. To ensure that the 3 million spectator era we achieved last year does not remain a temporary phenomenon, we will closely scrutinize any outstanding areas and make bold changes.”
He also presented his priorities.
The first is to create a digital ecosystem for the K League. Kwon said, “The ways to enjoy football are diversifying, and digital is at the center of it. To support this, we need to have an online environment where you can experience and enjoy the K League around the clock, not just in the stadium. This year, we will create digital content that brings us closer to our fans. Focusing on the K League Media Center, which we built in 2020, we will work with OTT partners and clubs to further activate the sharing of video content and expand the development of digital assets such as player cards.”
The second is to systematize the history and records of the K League. Kwon said, “As we prepared for the 40th anniversary last year, we realized the importance of our history and records. We will make more efforts to collect and discover materials and videos related to the K League and organize them in a systematic manner. We will also break down various records and statistics to create more stories and attractions through the meaning and stories behind them.”
The third is to strengthen financial health and social responsibility. Kwon said, “Although we cannot resolve the financial difficulties faced by clubs in the short term, 온라인카지노 we will establish a financial soundness system to guide rational spending. In addition, we will establish an internal control system in the K League club licensing regulations to increase the transparency of club operations, and further advance social contribution and eco-friendly policies through systematic management of indicators.”
Finally, we will support all members of the K League so that Korean soccer can bring great joy to fans by performing well at the Qatar Asian Cup in January and the Paris Olympics in July,” he added.