AFL Asia would like to officially welcome AFL South Korea to our broader family and football community!
The dream of getting football off the ground came across our desk in October 2020 from a youngster named Matthew Davis, who was planning on moving to South Korea in the future. We are really appreciative of his efforts and are super excited to see football become a reality in the eastern Asian country with a population of over 50 million people.
AFL South Korea is on the look out for new players, so if you or someone you know is living in South Korea, please let them know! They are currently training at the Seoul Energy Dream Center Open Field (Located on the S-E section of the Pyounghwa Park) every Saturday.
AFL South Korea might be in its infancy, but it’s not the first time AFL has reached the shores of South Korea in some capacity. Former AFL Asia Lions representative, HK Dragons player and Tokyo Goannas big man Sungjun An picked up his first Sherrin whilst visiting NSW as a student and has since become a handy ruck and tall forward, who loves a contested battle and is aggressive both in the air and at ground level.
Although the big left footer is the first South Korean native to actively play within Asia, the aviation pilot isn’t the first player of South Korean descent to play at a professional level, with current Fremantle Dockers General Manager Peter Bell born on the Cheju (Jeju) Island of South Korea.
The two-time premiership player with North Melbourne FC (1996 & 1999), two-time All-Australian selection with both the Kangaroos and the Fremantle Dockers and three-time Dockers Best & Fairest winner captained the Dockers in his second stint with the club. The highly successful career included 286 AFL games and 250 goals, after becoming one of the first two players signed by the Dockers ahead of their inaugural season in 1995.
Former HK Dragons highly successful and well-respected player-coach Gary Wines moved to South Korea after the 2019 Asian Champs and is an iconic figure within Asian football. He captained the Hong Kong Dragons Division 3 side and was an All-Asian team selection that year, even being chaired off at his last Asian Champs! More importantly, the legendary Wines is well-known for player-coaching Hong Kong to Asian Champs glory in 2007, 2012, 2013 & 2015! Gary Wines would be more than a handy acquisition for AFL South Korea if he was to ever get involved in the future.
AFL Asia family get on board and show AFL South Korea some love. Like and follow their Facebook page to officially welcome them to the broader family and football community by pressing on the AFL South Korea hyperlink in the opening sentence!
