Why the 2025 K League 1 season is starting so early, with no East Coast Derby curtain-raiser | OneFootball

Why is the season kicking off so early this year, and why is there no Ulsan HD vs. Pohang Steelers 'champions vs. champions' clash to start the 2025 Hana Bank K League 1 campaign?

Ahead of the first of two K League 1 Media Days, K League offered some reasons as to why...

Why is K League kicking off so early this year?

Last season's March 1st season-opener was a return to the norm after two seasons of February starts. The 2022 season's February 19th was the earliest ever on account of the 2022 World Cup in November of that year, but 2025 starts four days earlier.

K League has offered a few reasons as to why. The AFC Champions League Elite knockout stages taking place in April and May in Saudi Arabia, the FIFA Club World Cup in June, and the EAFF E-1 Football Championship in July will mean breaks in the K League calendar.

So, after consulting the Korea Meteorological Administration, with cold waves forecast for the first week of the season, all Round 1 games are kicking off in the south of the country.

Both Ulsan and Pohang will begin the new season with home games, however. Ulsan host newly-promoted FC Anyang on Sunday 16th February after Pohang entertain Daejeon as the official curtain-raiser.

Why is there no 'champions vs. champions' curtain raiser?

It had become a bit of a tradition to have the K League 1 title winners face the Korea Cup winners on the opening day. The 2024 season began with Ulsan HD at home to Pohang Steelers and, had the same format been followed this year, the season would've begun with the same fixture. However, due to both teams' involvement in the AFC Champions League with fixtures on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, followed by more the week after with K League 1 Round 1 sandwiched in between, it has complicated the fixture process.

Pohang's home fixture with Kawasaki Frontale on Tuesday 11th February would give them three days rest before K League opening day, but Ulsan's away fixture with Buriram United the following day would mean rest time is limited for the Horangi. Ulsan would only return to Korea on Thursday 13th, just two days before the opening day.

The following week, Pohang are away to JDT and would need to leave for Malaysia in plenty of time. Ulsan are at home to Shandong Taishan the following day.