Tribal Football

K-League lifts 27-year ban on signing foreign goalkeepers

Tribal Football
K-League lifts 27-year ban on signing foreign goalkeepers
K-League lifts 27-year ban on signing foreign goalkeepersPenta Press / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
K-League clubs will be allowed to register foreign goalkeepers for the first time in 27 years, starting with the 2026 season, the South Korean top flight announced.

The league introduced the ban in 1999, when it had just eight teams, aiming to give domestic goalkeepers more playing time. 

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The decision to lift the ban on foreign goalkeepers was made at a board meeting on Thursday, the league announced in a statement on Friday.

"The board said it took into consideration the fact that foreign players were restricted from registering as goalkeepers, a specialised position, resulting in excessive salary increases for domestic players compared to field players," it added.

"The number of clubs has increased significantly since the time the foreign goalkeeper restriction was introduced, so even if foreign goalkeepers were allowed, domestic goalkeepers would still have enough playing time.

"As a result, from 2026, the K-League will remove the stipulation that the goalkeeper must be a domestic player from the K-League's competition guidelines, which will apply to both the K-League 1 and K-League 2."

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