Seoul Nowon United Football Club (Korean: 서울 노원 유나이티드 풋볼 클럽) (known as Seoul United FC until 2018) is a South Korean semi-professional football club based in Nowon District, Seoul. It currently competes 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. Michael Atkinson is often mentioned when talking about this group of supporters, but there seems to be no information to support his involvement.
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 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 saw this as a good marketing opportunity for their parent company and agreed to pay the combined 15 billion won. In 2004 the Cheetahs became the new occupants of the World Cup Stadium, changing their name to FC Seoul, and delivering a blow to the movement's plans to for a new team.
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. Under the banner of “The True Seoul Citizen’s Club”, the team's first year saw much excitement and success, clinching the first ever K3 League title after a 3–0 aggregate victory over Hwasung Sinwoo Electronics in the championship playoffs. They even sported sponsorships from Nike and KT.
Following the championship success
In the years since their initial success, the harsh reality of life in K3 saw the team struggle with results and financial deficits. Unable to afford rent, the club move to continually smaller and cheaper stadiums. For the 2010 season, they left Seoul Olympic Stadium changed stadiums often. The list includes Hyochang Stadium, Seoul Sports Complex Auxiliary Stadium, Mokdong Stadium, and Guri Wangsuk Sports Park. In 2011 the team relocated again to the 446 capacity Nowon Madeul Stadium in Nowon District, Northern Seoul, where they've resided ever since.
In 2019 the team's official name was changed to Seoul Nowon United FC, indicating their stronger ties with, and support by Nowon District. They are still commonly known as Seoul United, although home fans often refer to the team as Nowon United.
Partnerships
In 2015 Seoul United formed a sister relationship with Japanese 3rd tier FC Ryukyu.[1] The hope was to play each other once a year, but it seems the relationship was not sustainable.
Since 2013, Seoul United have been involved in various youth projects in the Nowon District, ranging from elementary school to high school, both male and female. Various teams were established and dissolved. In 2024 the U18 team was re-established and as of the start of 2025 it seems they are still the only youth team associated with Seoul Nowon United FC.
In 2019 the club's official name was changed to Seoul Nowon United. Nowon District are the official owners of the club and the official chairman is the mayor of Nowon District.
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.
Team Colours
The team primarily plays in a shirt with thick black and white bars, black shorts and white socks. Variations have been used various seasons, but always stayed with the black and white colour scheme.
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 ever changed when the team name was changed to Seoul Nowon United FC. The whole emblem is surrounded by a golden, shield shaped frame.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
