Gwangju FC "Gwangju City Council, 1 billion won cut in ACLE participation support fund regret"

Gwangju FC "Gwangju City Council, 1 billion won cut in ACLE participation support fund regret"

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The club expressed regret over the Gwangju City Council cutting 1 billion won from the budget for Gwangju FC's participation in the Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) of the K League 1 professional soccer team.

On the 21st, Gwangju FC representative No Dong-il stated in a statement, "It is very regrettable that the Gwangju City Council has cut the entire 1.067 billion won in support for Gwangju FC's ACLE participation."

Representative Roh claimed, "Despite the difficult financial situation of Gwangju City, the reason we requested the budget was not only for Gwangju FC, but also because we judged it to boost the pride of Gwangju citizens."

"I just feel bad for the city council's decision to not sympathize with this and not provide any help," he added.

The budget that Gwangju City supports Gwangju FC is 10 billion won per year, but the club judged that it was insufficient for the cost of recruiting foreign players and living abroad due to advancement to ACLE, so it borrowed 2.4 billion won in 2023 and 3 billion won this year from financial institutions.

Gwangju FC may be eliminated from the first division if it fails to improve its capital erosion status under the new financial soundness system introduced by the Korea Professional Football League.

Gwangju FC explained, "Last year, right after the Gwangju City Council's 파워볼 budget review was completed, our advancement to ACLE was confirmed and we requested support of 1 billion won out of the 4 billion won cost from the city."

However, the Gwangju City Council's position is that there was a procedural problem with Gwangju FC spending money without any consultation and then asking for a reserve during the second half of the year's supplementary budget review, so it was cut at the standing committee stage.

Myung Jin, the chairman of the Gwangju City Council's Education and Culture Committee, said, "Since ACLE advancement was confirmed late last year, we could have submitted a budget plan even during the supplementary budget review in the first half of this year," adding, "This request for supplementary budget support is merely a stopgap measure to resolve the club's financial difficulties, so fundamental measures need to be prepared."

Gwangju FC finished third in K League 1 last year and secured its first ever appearance in the Asia Champions League Elite (ACLE).

They recorded three consecutive wins, including the game against Yokohama at the Gwangju home stadium last month, the game against Kawasaki in Japan, and the game against Johor in Yongin, but suffered their first loss in the game against Kobe in Japan on the 5th.

Gwangju FC will play their fifth match against Shanghai Shenhua at their home stadium, Gwangju World Cup Stadium, on the 27th.