Siheung Citizen FC
| Full name | Siheung Citizen Football Club 시흥시민축구단 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 24 October 2015[1] | ||
| Ground | Jeongwang Sports Park | ||
| Capacity | 1,500 | ||
| Manager | Park Seung-soo | ||
| League | K3 League | ||
| 2024 | 1st of 16, Champions | ||
| Website | fcsiheung | ||
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Siheung Citizen Football Club (Korean: 시흥 시민 축구단) is a semi-professional South Korean football club based in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province. The club was founded in 2015 and plays in the K3 League, the third tier of football in South Korea.
History
In 2012, it was announced that Siheung City was working on a project to sign an agreement K Company, a partner of FC Barcelona, to establish an academy in the city. The plans fell though in 2013, and in 2015 the funds of the failed project were allocated for used in the creation of a citizen's football club.[2]
On August 3, 2015, the 'Citizen Football Club Promotion and For-profit Corporation Establishment Preparatory Committee' was formed, and on September 17 they chose to emulate Spanish club Athletic Bilbao. This explains the similarities in club emblems. On 24 October 2015, the club was established.[3][4]
Controversies
During the founding preparations, the company with whom the club was working, removed themselves and the city replaced them with two new companies. This move was controversial because the one company acted as the city treasurer, and the other was planing to open a department store in the city.[5]
The club faced further criticism for using taxpayer money earmarked for the youth team, to pay a large wage bill of a club that did not even have players. Much of that money went towards paying the wage for the new Spanish coach.[6]
On 14 October 2015, council member Jo Wook-hee was elected as the club's CEO, a move which sparked outrage because the club was established as a for-profit organisation, violating laws that prevent council members from engaging in commercial business transaction involving city funds. Further outrage stemmed from the fact that his son was selected as a member of the team.[7]
Kike Liñero Era (2015-2016)
Kike Liñero of Spain, former Athletic Bilbao and FC Seoul youth teams coach, was the club's first manager. During 2015, he helped lay the groundwork for the team with club promotion, community relations, and youth development activities. He was in charge of only a single playing season, after which he returned to Athletic Bilbao to take a position as Chief Scout.
Gléguer Zorzin Era (2017-2018)
Gléguer Zorzin from Brazil, Kike Liñero Assistant Manager, took the reins in 2017 and led the team to second place in the K3 League Basic, the lower division of the restructured K3 League. They went one better in 2018 and won the league, gaining automatic promotion to the K3 League Advance.[a]
Jeong Seon-uh (2019-2020)
In 2019 Jeong Seon-uh took over as manager. The club finished safely in mid-table, but the Korea Football Association implemented their plan to combine the National League and the K3 league, and two new leagues, the K3 League and K4 League were formed. Siheung City FC was placed in the lower decision, the K4 League.
Park Seung-soo (2021-current)
Park Seung-soo joined the team in 2021. Siheung City FC would be his first senior team, having previously managed at Middle School, High School and University level. He led the team to promotion in his first season, to a top half finish every season, including the 2024 K3 League title.
Korean FA Cup
Throughout the history of the club, the team found relative success in the cup tournament only once, when they reached the third round in 2018. During the remaining seasons they were either knocked out in the first round, or the second round, to which 3rd Division teams usually gained automatic entry.
Season-by-season records
| Season | Teams | Tier | Placement | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | FA Cup | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 20 | K3 League | 12th[8] | 19 | 8 | 2 | 9 | 32 | 40 | –8 | 26 | First round[9] | Kike Linero |
| 2017 | 9 | K3 Basic | 2nd[a] | 16 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 17 | +15 | 39 | First round[10] | Gléguer Zorzin |
| 2018 | 11 | 1st[a] | 20 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 40 | 10 | +30 | 46 | Third round[11] | ||
| 2019 | 12 | K3 Advanced | 7th[12] | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 22 | 25 | –3 | 29 | Second round[13] | Jeong Seon-uh |
| 2020 | 13 | K4 League | 8th[14] | 24 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 35 | 31 | +4 | 29 | Second round[15] | |
| 2021 | 16 | 2nd[16] | 30 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 75 | 32 | +43 | 67 | Second round[17] | Park Seung-soo | |
| 2022 | K3 League | 5th[18] | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 40 | 34 | +6 | 46 | Second round[19] | ||
| 2023 | 15 | 6th[20] | 28 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 39 | Second round[21] | ||
| 2024 | 16 | 1st[22] | 30 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 60 | 27 | +33 | 60 | Second round[23] | ||
| 2025 | 16 | TBD | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Round of 16[24] |
^a League tables for K3 League Basic 2017-2019 do not seem to exist outside the Wikipedia articles for those seasons.
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Honours
Domestic competition
League
See also
References
- ^ "시흥시, 시흥시민축구단 및 유·소년클럽 창단식 개최". kyeonggi.com (in Korean). October 25, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
- ^ Kim, Yeong-Rae (15 June 2015). "시흥시민축구단 창단… 과거 백지화 전철 밟나" [Siheung Citizen Football Club Founded. Will It Follow the Path of a Past Worn Out?] (in Korean). Gyeongin Daily. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ "2018년 시흥시민축구단 새로운 도약 기대" [Siheung Citizen FC relish new challenges in 2018]. Weekly Siheung (in Korean). 11 January 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
- ^ "시흥시민축구단" [Siheung Citizen Football Team]. Digital Siheung (in Korean). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ Kim, Hyeong-su (15 June 2015). "부족한 축구단 운영비용, 지역기업에 떠넘기면 그만?" [Should we just pass on the insufficient operating costs of soccer teams to local businesses?] (in Korean). The Joongboo. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ Kim, Yeong-rae (9 June 2015). "시흥시민축구단, 인건비로 혈세 다써" [Siheung Citizen Football Club, using up taxpayers' money for labor costs] (in Korean). Gyeongin Daily. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ Kim, Hyeong-su (22 October 2015). "시흥시민축구단 예산 주자던 시의원...알고보니 구단 이사" [The city council member who gave the budget to Siheung Citizen Football Club turns out to be the club's director.] (in Korean). The Joongboo. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ "K3 League Advance 2016". soccerway.com. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
- ^ "Korean FA Cup 2016". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "Korean FA Cup 2017". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "Korean FA Cup 2018". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "K3 League Advance 2019". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "Korean FA Cup 2019". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "K3 League 2020". soccerway.com. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ "Korean FA Cup 2020". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "K3 League 2021". soccerway.com. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ "Korean FA Cup 2021". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "K3 League 2022". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "Korean FA Cup 2022". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "K3 League 2023". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "Korean FA Cup 2023". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "K3 League 2024". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "Korean FA Cup 2024". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "Korean FA Cup 2025". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "공격수" (in Korean). Retrieved 7 May 2025.
- ^ "Squad Numbers" (in Korean). Retrieved 7 May 2025.
External links
- Official website (in Korean)