New-look Ulsan ready to defend title

The reigning K-League champions have rebranded since last season and are the team to beat yet again in 2024

- JOHN DUERDEN

The 2024 K-League season kicks off on March 1, a national holiday on the peninsula that commemorates the people and movement that fought for independence from the Japanese colonisers in the first half of the 20th century. It is always a well-marked day, though often very cold, and should result in big crowds, lustily sung national anthems and plenty of Taegeukgi flags flying from apartment windows as well as stadiums.

There is some optimism ahead of the season. Attendances last year reached an average of almost 11,000, the highest for a decade, and there were record ticket revenues for the top tier worth around £20 million. These are not spectacular numbers but show a positive upwards trend. An exciting title race should help, especially as there wasn't really one last time with Ulsan Hyundai establishing a healthy lead early in the season and never really looking like letting go. It was so comfortable that even a late bad run offered no hope to the challengers.

The chasing pack, such as it was, was led by Pohang Steelers and the top two will meet on the opening day. However, this is not quite the same champion as before. Just days after lifting the league trophy for the second successive season and the fourth in total, the title winners rebranded themselves to Ulsan HD to align with the image of the owners.