The return of the cool weather means a return to sports for many in the expatriate community and fewer sports are awaited with greater anticipation in the fall than football as organized by the Seoul Sunday Football League (SSFL).
Football aficionados will give full vent to their passion for the game when the 16 teams of the two-division league take once again to the schoolyard pitches that serve as their venues this September. The unforgiving nature of the pitch surfaces -- artificial turf or simply sand on concrete -- and the injuries they often inflict does not dim their ardor for the game that has justifiably been dubbed "the sport of the world."
Indeed, the fervor that it excites globally is apparent in the composition of the teams and it would be hard to find another institution in Korea that so readily unites people from every continent and every walk of life in common endeavor as the Seoul Sunday Football League. The leagues even bridges the generation gap since older, corporate expatriates often find themselves pitted against members of the younger (and hence fitter) Englishteaching fraternity in a quest for their "lost youth," quipped Karl Jackson of the Han River Harriers, a native of Yorkshire, England who also serves in the Finance and Treasury Departments of HSBC Korea.
The social aspect of the league is doubtless a strong element of its popularity and serves to build a sense of community within the expatriate community, with families crowding the touchlines on Sunday afternoons. "Obviously, girlfriends, wives and children don't want to be left at home at this time," said Jackson who has been resident in Seoul for five years, "and the children themselves will often play football on the sidelines if there is sufficient space."
Each year, the league plays during two discrete seasons: "Spring," beginning in February and lasting to the end of April; and "Fall," which runs from September to end-November. In both cases, extremes of weather, courtesy of Korea's distinctive seasons, make enjoyable play untenable. "Basically you stop for the cold of winter and the heat of summer," noted Jackson.
Each team within the same division plays every other team twice during each season. As there are eight teams in each division, this means that a team will play the other seven twice for a total of 14 games.
"PONY TAILED ASSASSIN"
The team that has scored its way to the top of Division 1 is declared the league winner at the conclusion of each season. In addition to being crowned as champions, because the SSFL is recognized by the Korea Football Association (KFA), the team is accorded the privilege of qualifying for the preliminary rounds of the Korean FA Cup. The current holder of the league championship is Seoul United Chieftains, who racked up a total of 33 points on 14 games played during this year's Spring season, way ahead of nearest rival Seoul Celtic with 25 points gained on the same number of games. This marks a return to glory for Seoul United, having last won the championship in 2004, the holder for the intervening two years being the Seoul British FC (SBFC) Jokers who were edged in third place at the end of April this year with 24 points.
Meanwhile, a separate accolade -- the Golden Boot -- goes to two players -- one from Division 1 and one from Division 2 -- who have done the most to distinguish themselves over the previous three months. For Division 1, John Ugoh of league winners Seoul United Chieftans claimed the golden boot for the second year in a row at the conclusion of this year's Spring season. Meanwhile, Rachid Zenboury of Rabat, Morocco, top scorer of red-shirted Lokomotiv Goyang who goes by the appellation the "Ponytailed Assassin," was the recipient of the Golden Boot for Division 2.
At the end of each season, the two teams that have ended up at the bottom of Division 1 are relegated, trading places with the top two performing team of Division 2. This means that at the beginning of the Fall season, bottom-ofthe-first Anyang FC and next-to-bottom Han River Harriers will play in Division 2, while top-of-the-second Lokomotiv Goyang, and next-to-top Seoul British FC Butlers will play in Division 1.
The league dates from the spring of 2002. Prior to this time, the various football clubs had arranged Sunday afternoon matches with each other on an ad hoc basis. (The Korean Commercial Soccer League Association had operated during the 1980s but had since folded). To bring some order and consistency to this catch-as-catchcan system, the goalkeeper of the then Incheon FC, Darren Shearburn, suggested to the president of the club, Garnet Brooks, that the teams instead form a league. Mr. Brooks responded by arranging a meeting between Mr. Shearburn (now SSFL secretary) and Dan Behrendt, manager of the then (unified) SBFC at the Nashville Sports Pub in Itaewon-dong, Seoul a well-known place of repose for the city's football players. Mr. Behrendt brought with him representatives of two other teams, St. Patrick's FC and the then Soccer N' Love. The four hit it off, a schedule for the spring season was drawn up, and the SSFL came into being with the four founding teams. (At that time the acronym stood for Super Sunday Football League and was later changed to the Seoul Sunday Football League).
THE GREAT UNIFIER
An awards banquet marked the closure of the season, and such was the organization, professionalism, and sportsmanship exhibited by the fledgling league that it succeeded in attracting four other teams to join for the Fall: Moroccan FC plus three teams still with the league, the U.K. Expats (now Seoul Expats), Suwon Globetrotters (now Inter Suwon), and Seoul Celtic.
Today, over 600 players who hail from more than 21 countries play in the league's 16 teams, half of which are based in Seoul and the remainder in Suwon, Cheonan, Anyang, Daejeon, Cheongju and Osan. As well as its size, the quality of football the league delivers has increased since as well as a bedrock of strictly amateur players, there are a number who are semi-professional or who have previously played in the completely professional Korea Football League, or K-League.
The manner in which teams begin again highlights the social nature of the game among expatriates in Korea and how it relates to the foreigner-oriented entertainment district of Itaewon-dong. "At first the players will get to know each other socially as typically they will happen to meet in the same pub," said Jackson. When the games are finished on a Sunday evening, for example, many teams will congregate at Gecko's Terrace, which itself is home base to one team in particular -- Gecko's Blues. The Seoul British teams, on the other hand, gather at an Irish bar called the Wolfhound, also the regular venue of the quarterly SSFL league meetings.
In comparison to some sporting opportunities in Korea, those offered by the SSFL are highly accessible. A player must purchase the strip of his team, which will cost about 40,000 won (US$45) and a further 100,000 won (US$108) must be paid at the beginning of each season to cover the cost of pitch and referee fees. (After numerous on-pitch altercations between opposing teams the league made it a policy to contract independent referees).
Sports have been described as the great unifier, and this dictum is no better exemplified in Korea than in the Seoul Sunday Football League. Cutting across divisions of nationality and background, it offers the chance of fellowship, of testing one's stamina, and playing one of the world's great games. At the same time, it represents an authentic slice of the expatriate life as it is lived in Korea.
Those interested in knowing more about the SSFL should contact Darren Shearburn, SSFL secretary at +82 (0)32 466-2597, browse the SSFL Web site at http://ssflkorea.com to contact the league's entire roster of teams, or simply hang out at Gecko's Terrace on any Sunday afternoon this September.
