Siheung Citizen FC

Siheung Citizen Football Club () 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

League tables for K3 League Basic 2017-2019 do not seem to exist outside the Wikipedia articles for those seasons.

Current squad

''As of 7 May 2025''

Honours

Domestic competition

League

*K3 League
**Champions (1): 2024

See also

* List of football clubs in South Korea

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siheung Citizen FC
K3 League clubs
K4 League clubs
K3 League (2007–2019) clubs
Association football clubs established in 2015
2015 establishments in South Korea
Siheung
Sport in Gyeonggi Province