A heated dispute over coaching qualifications is gripping South Korea's football community. Concerns are mounting that coaches holding international licenses could be barred from managing domestic football teams.
A Korea Football Association (KFA) official said Sunday, "We are in discussions with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to defer the application of the system that grants sports coaching registration only to holders of national qualifications in the football sector." The official added, "We have discussed the details thoroughly, but we have not yet received a definitive answer from the ministry."
The ministry's basic position is reportedly that it cannot grant further exceptions, as it has already applied a three-year grace period to football.
In May 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee convened the Sports Fairness Committee and restricted sports coaching registration to holders of national qualifications, enforcing the rule from January 2023. This means only those who obtain a domestic — not overseas — certification can serve as sports coaches in South Korea. The system was introduced to screen out individuals with criminal records from national team coaching positions. The decisive catalyst was a sexual assault case involving a coach surnamed Cho on the national short track speed skating team in 2019. Under the system, coaches who commit disqualifying offenses even after obtaining certification face suspension, revocation or forfeiture of their qualifications.
The football community pushed back strongly at the time. Unlike coaches in other sports, football coaches primarily obtain coaching licenses from FIFA, which are recognized across international football. The AFC Pro (P-class) license — the highest-level coaching certificate issued by the Asian Football Confederation — qualifies holders to coach top-tier leagues across Asia as well as national teams. However, earning the license requires meeting rigorous conditions, including overseas training and submitting a thesis. The process takes more than a year and costs upward of 10 million won ($7,300). The ministry ultimately reflected the football community's position that "requiring international license holders to additionally obtain a domestic license to coach domestic teams is unnecessary" and granted football a three-year grace period through January 1, 2027.
In response, the Korea Football Coaches Association, which represents football coaches, issued a statement the same day. "We point out the irrationality of the current sports coaching qualification system that football coaches and football professionals are experiencing, and we strongly demand revision of the current regulations," the association said.
