SEOUL– The dozen clubs in the top South Korean football competition will send two players each to face Tottenham Hotspur in an upcoming exhibition match in Seoul, the league office here said Wednesday.
The Korea Professional Football League (K League) also announced Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors head coach Kim Sang-sik will be managing Team K League, with Suwon FC bench boss Kim Do-kyun serving as his assistant.
Tottenham, led by South Korean star and reigning Premier League Golden Boot winner Son Heung-min, will take on Team K League at 8 p.m. on July 13 at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Kim Sang-sik guided Jeonbuk to the K League 1 championship in his first season at the helm in 2021. It was Jeonbuk’s fifth consecutive league title, the longest such streak in K League history.
Kim Do-kyun took over Suwon FC prior to the 2020 season and helped them earn a promotion from the K League 2 to the K League 1 for the 2021 season.
The 12 teams in the K League 1 have already sent to the league office a list of their candidates for the exhibition match. The coaching staff and the league’s technical committee will go over those names and announce the final roster on July 7.
The K League said Team K League, in addition to homegrown stars, will also feature foreign players and under-22 youngsters.
Tottenham will also play Spanish club Sevilla FC on July 16 at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, some 35 kilometers south of Seoul.
Tottenham have a large fan base in South Korea thanks to Son’s heroics. The longtime national team captain tied Mohamed Salah of Liverpool for the Premier League lead with 23 goals last season, and they shared the Golden Boot. Son became the first Asian player to be so honored.
Source: Yonhap News Agency