Drastically changed Asian Champions League; Gwangju FC's surprising rise

[Anchor]

The Asian Football Champions League, which has changed significantly this season, has reached its final match of the year and turned a corner.

The mid-term report card for the group stage has been released, and surprisingly, the team that received the highest score among the teams is the citizen club Gwangju FC.

Reporter Kim Ki-beom has the story.

[Report]

This is the moment when K League champion Ulsan HD celebrated their long-awaited first victory last night.

In the East Asia group stage, they recorded 1 win and 5 losses.

If it were last year, this performance would have meant early elimination, but this year is different.

The Asian Champions League has changed to a format where East and West Asia are divided into two groups, with each group consisting of 12 teams competing in a league format.

The top 8 teams from both leagues will advance to the Round of 16, and after determining the quarter-finalists through home-and-away matches, the quarter-finals will be held in Saudi Arabia in a knockout tournament to decide the champion.

Gwangju FC has shone in the Champions League, which started in August and will end in April next year, under the new autumn-spring system.

With head coach Lee Jung-hyo's tactical skills, they have achieved 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss, signaling a bright future for advancing to the Round of 16.

Gwangju FC is creating a sensation in their first Asian stage challenge as a citizen club.

[Lee Jung-hyo/Gwangju FC Coach: "There is a saying in Korean. We will go all out."]

Gwangju FC is currently in 2nd place, Pohang Steelers is in 5th place with 3 wins and 3 losses, and Ulsan HD is in 11th place. The fate of advancing to the Round of 16 will depend on the remaining two league matches in February next year.

The prize money for the championship has jumped from 5 billion won to 16 billion won, intensifying competition among Asian countries.

However, with the introduction of the autumn-spring system similar to Europe for the first time, K League clubs are expressing difficulties in preparing for the Champions League, and there are calls for a league-level response.

This is KBS News, Kim Ki-beom.