New pro football club to be named Seoul Eland FC

The new professional football club set to join the nation's second division next year will be named Seoul Eland FC, officials announced Tuesday.

Eland, a local conglomerate with affiliates in retail, apparel and food service, last week received the green light from the K League, the national governing body of pro football, to found a new team for 2015. Eland had first declared its intention to enter football in April.

The team will be based in the nation's capital and will start in the second-tier competition, the K League Challenge. Eland said the name Seoul Eland FC was selected as the winner of the naming contest.

Other candidates were Eastern Seoul FC, Seoul Gangnam FC and Seoul Eland City FC.

Eland will use the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in southern Seoul as its home base. Eland will join FC Seoul of the top-flight K League Classic in the capital city.

Last month, Eland announced the hiring of Martin Rennie, a Scotsman who once managed the Vancouver Whitecaps in Major League Soccer (MLS), as their first head coach.

There are 10 teams in the second division, and 12 in the first division.

After each season starting in 2014, the worst team from the K League Classic will be automatically relegated to the second division, and the K League Challenge champion will earn an automatic promotion to the first division.

The second-worst K League Classic team will face the second-best K League Challenge club in a playoff. The winner of this match will play in the K League Classic the following year and the loser will end up in the lower-tier league.

Under K League rules, Eland must pay a 500 million won ($491,350) K League Challenge entry fee and a 50 million won annual membership fee by the end of February 2015.

When the club is promoted to the K League Classic, then Eland will have to pay a 500 million won entry fee and a 150 million won annual membership fee. (Yonhap)