Seoul Nowon United Football Club (Korean: 서울 노원 유나이티드 풋볼 클럽) (known as Seoul United FC until 2018) was a South Korean semi-professional football club based in Nowon District, Seoul. It last competeted in the fourth tier of the South Korean football league system, the K4 League.
History
Founding
In 2001, following the K League's decision to relocate the then-capital clubs to other cities, there was a desire to bring professional football back to the city of Seoul.
Following the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup, Seoul's World Cup Stadium stood empty, except for the occasional international match. The Seoul Metropolitan government sought to offset not only the maintenance cost, but also the construction cost, by creating a new team in Seoul. Members of the online community, Seoul Citizens' Club Supporters' Group (서울시민구단 서포터 모임), along with the Red Devils Seoul Branch, had previously expressed the desire to bring football back to the capital, and saw this an opportunity. But the proposed cost of using Seoul’s World Cup Stadium was set at 25 billion won, a price no company was willing to play to start a new club.
With no team or company interested, and the national stadium standing empty, the idea was proposed for two clubs to move to Seoul at a cost of 7.5 billion won each, with the Seoul Metropolitan Government contributing the remaining 10 billion won. Anyang's LG Cheetahs agreed to pay the combined 15 billion won and in 2004 became the new occupants of the World Cup Stadium, delivering a blow to the movement's plans to for a new team.[1]
Entry into the league system
Despite this, the fan push continued, and the establishment of the K3 League in 2007 gave a realistic opportunity for involvement in the league set-up. Two amateur sides, Good Bu&Bu (Good Friend) and Youngseo FC (Jin Seoul), were merged to create the new club and the home venue of 69,950 capacity Seoul Olympic Stadium was chosen.
The club's first ever match was played on April 21, 2007, a 2–2 home draw with Changwon Dudae FC.[2] Under the banner of “The True Seoul Citizen’s Club”, the team's first year saw much excitement and success. They won the first ever K3 League title after a 3–0 aggregate victory over Hwaseong Shinwoo Electronics in the championship final.[3]
Following the championship success
In the years following their initial success, the team struggled with results and financial deficits. After leaving Seoul Olympic Stadium, they played at Hyochang Stadium before relocating to the 446 capacity Nowon Madeul Stadium in Nowon District, Northern Seoul.[4] In 2019 the team's official name was changed to Seoul Nowon United FC to reflect their ties with Nowon District.[5]
Partnerships
Since 2013, Seoul United have been involved in various youth projects in the Nowon District. Both male and female youth teams in various age categories were established and dissolved. In 2024 the U18 team was re-established.
In 2015 Seoul United formed a sister relationship with Japanese 3rd tier FC Ryukyu, with the intention to play each other once a year.[6]
In 2021, the futsal team known as FS Seoul moved to Nowon and joined Seoul Nowon United. They are currently known as NowonHR FS and compete in the FK-League.
Disbandment
Ahead of the 2025 season, the club was suspended from participation in the league for one year, with the termination of its agreement with Nowon District cited as one of a number of reasons. Following this suspension, the club announced that it would cease operations after 17 years in the league.[7]
Team Colours
The team primarily plays in a shirt with thick black and white bars, black shorts and white socks.
Emblem
The Club's emblem was designed by Jang Bu-da, a well known emblem designer in Korea. Jang was also involved in promotion of the team in the early years and currently owns his own sport promotion agency.
The logo features a shield with the black and white bars of the team shirt. The shield is flanked by two tigers and toped with a blue flame. A banner underneath the shield shows the team name in English. The banner is the only part of the emblem that changed when the team name was changed to Seoul Nowon United FC. The whole emblem is surrounded by a golden, shield shaped frame.
Managerial history
| Dates | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| January 2007 - December 2008 |  Im Geun-Jae
|
2007 K3 League Champions. 2007 Manager of the Year. |
| January 2009 - December 2009 | Lee Chang-Hwan
|
|
| January 2010 - July 2011 | Kim Gang-Nam
|
2011 Seoul Mayoral Cup |
| July 2011 - December 2011 | Im Geun-Jae
|
Reappointment |
| January 2012 - July 2012 | Bae Hyeong-Nyeol
|
2012 Seoul Mayoral Cup |
| July 2012 - December 2012 | Yun Pyo-Ho
|
|
| January 2013 - December 2013 | Kim Chang-Geom
|
2013 Seoul Mayoral Cup |
| January 2014 - November 2014 | Yu Gi-Heung
|
|
| December 2014 - June 2016 | Choi Sang-Gun
|
|
| June 2016 - June 2019 | Jo Dong-Hyeon
|
Relegation from K3 (3rd tier) |
| July 2019 - November 2022 | Lee Jeong-Jae
|
|
| November 2022 - December 2023 | Lee Chun-Seog
|
|
| January 2024 | Lee Jeong-Jae
|
Reappointment. Reached promotion-relegation playoff. |
Honours
- Winners (1): 2007
Season-by-season records
| Season | Teams | League | Placement | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | FA Cup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 10 | K3 League | Champions | 18 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 42 | 18 | +24 | 37 | DNQ | |
| 2008 | 16 | K3 League | 5th Overall | 29 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 63 | 47 | +16 | 48 | Third round | |
| 2009 | 17 | K3 League | 13th | 32 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 70 | 56 | +14 | 40 | Third round | |
| 2010 | 18 | K3 League | 6th in Group B | 25 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 45 | 29 | +16 | 38 | DNQ | |
| 2011 | 16 | K3 Challengers League | 2nd in Group B | 22 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 72 | 25 | +47 | 49 | First round | |
| 2012 | 18 | K3 Challengers League | 3rd in Group A | 16 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 48 | 17 | +31 | 34 | First round | |
| 2013 | 18 | K3 Challengers League | 5th in Group B | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 38 | 31 | +7 | 27 | First round | |
| 2014 | 18 | K3 Challengers League | 7th in Group A | 25 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 28 | 52 | –24 | 22 | First round | |
| 2015 | 18 | K3 League | 9th in Group B | 25 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 51 | 59 | –8 | 19 | Second round | |
| 2016 | 20 | K3 League | 17th | 19 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 26 | 53 | –27 | 12 | First round | |
| 2017 | 9 | K3 League Basic | 9th | 16 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 19 | 64 | –45 | 2 | First round | |
| 2018 | 11 | K3 League Basic | 10th | 20 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 31 | 62 | –31 | 12 | Second round | |
| 2019 | 8 | K3 League Basic | 8th | 21 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 33 | 81 | –48 | 1[a] | DNQ | |
| 2020 | 13 | K4 League | 12th | 24 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 32 | 46 | –14 | 17 | First round | |
| 2021 | 16 | K4 League | 11th | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 40 | 53 | –13 | 32 | First round | |
| 2022 | 17 | K4 League | 7th | 32 | 15 | 4 | 13 | 56 | 45 | 11 | 49 | Second round | |
| 2023 | 17 | K4 League | 11th | 31 | 10 | 6 | 15 | 51 | 62 | –11 | 35 | First round | |
| 2024 | 13 | K4 League | 3rd | 42 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 63 | 43 | 30 | 34 [b] | First round |
References
- ^ Yoo, Hyung-ryul (February 2, 2004). "안양LG, '서울LG' 선언" [Anyang LG announce 'Seoul LG']. Kyunghyang Shinmun. Retrieved February 6, 2025 – via Naver News.
- ^ Bae, Jin-nam (April 21, 2007). "서울·창원, K3리그 개막정 '장군멍군'" ['Six of one and half a dozen of the other': Seoul and Changwon in K3 League's opening match]. Sports Hankook (in Korean). Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ Lee, Geon (November 25, 2007). "서유, K3리그 초대 챔피언 등극" [Seoul Utd crowned as first ever K3 League champions]. Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ Park, Jin-ub (November 7, 2013). "국내 최초의 축구전문 디자이너 장부다씨 '이제는 축구산업을 디자인하고 싶다'" [Jang Bu-da, first football-specialist designer in the country: 'Now I want to design the football industry']. Sports Seoul (in Korean). Retrieved February 11, 2025.
- ^ Kim, Ga-eul (January 14, 2020). "'출범' K3·K4리그, 3월 7일 팡파르-흥미진진 대진" [Fanfare and interest as K3, K4 Leagues 'launch' on March 7th]. Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ Youth Development Partnership (in Korean)
- ^ Lee, Yu-bin (January 15, 2025). "'2024 K4리그 득점왕+도움왕' 배출한 서울노원 UTD, 해체 선언" [Seoul Nowon United, home of the '2024 K4 League top goalscorer and top assister', announces disbandment]. Korea Entertainment and Sports (in Korean). Retrieved February 6, 2025.
