Spending by English and Saudi Arabian clubs fueled a record-setting year for soccer’s international transfer market, which reached highs in deals done, money spent and agent fees, FIFA said. FIFA's analysis of male players moving between member countries from June through Sept. 1 counted 10,125 transfers, $7.36 billion spent by clubs and almost $700 million paid to intermediaries representing players and clubs. English clubs spent almost $2 billion — while recouping $956 million

KT Wiz ace William Cuevas was announced as the top player in South Korean baseball for August on Monday. The Korea Baseball Organization said Cuevas was voted the Player of the Month for August, after going a perfect 5-0 in five starts that month while giving up just two earned runs in 36 innings, for a sparkling ERA of 0.50. The Venezuelan right-hander struck out 37 and walked only three. For August, Cuevas led all qualified KBO starts in wins and ERA, and ranked second in strikeouts. Cuevas to

Besieged by criticism over his questionable commitment to the job and lack of tactical expertise, Jurgen Klinsmann will try to grab his first win as head coach of the South Korean men's national football team this week in England. South Korea, ranked 28th, will take on world No. 54 Saudi Arabia at St. James' Park in Newcastle at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday (local time), or 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. In five matches under Klinsmann, South Korea have had three draws and two losses. This is the longest w

Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres has established a new career high for hits in a season. Kim went 1-for-4 against the Houston Astros in Minute Maid Park in Houston on Sunday, picking up his 131st hit of the season. Kim collected 130 hits in 150 games as a big league sophomore last year but has surpassed that total in his 139th game this season. The milestone hit came in Kim's second trip to the plate at the top of the Padres' lineup in the top of the third. He hit a soft liner to s

Veteran South Korean sports administrator Kim Jae-youl is set to become a member of the International Olympic Committee membership, with his candidacy expected to be ratified next month. The Swiss-based IOC announced on its website Friday that its executive board had approved the nomination of eight candidates for election. IOC members will vote on their candidacy during the IOC Session in Mumbai in October, a process regarded as a formality. Kim, president of the International Skating Union, is

With the South Korean men's national football team unable to get past Wales in their latest friendly match, defender Kim Min-jae thinks the players need more time to develop cohesion. Kim played the full 90 minutes of South Korea's goalless draw against Wales in Cardiff on Thursday. The Bayern Munich center back tried to look on the brighter side of things, saying, "I think it was good for us not to concede any goals in such a tough match." On the other hand, the draw left So

Winless after five matches as head coach of the South Korean men's national football team, Jurgen Klinsmann says he is still pleased with the team's progress on his watch as the program undergoes a generation change. Following a goalless draw against Wales in Cardiff on Thursday, Klinsmann attributed a run of uninspiring matches to a transition and a growing process in South Korean football. He also kept taking the long view toward the 2024 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup, which

South Korea played Wales to a goalless draw in their latest men's football friendly match on Thursday in Cardiff, as their winless streak under head coach Jurgen Klinsmann stretched to five matches. The first meeting between world No. 28 South Korea and 35th-ranked Wales generated few sparks at Cardiff City Stadium in the Welsh capital. The Taegeuk Warriors now have three draws and two losses under Klinsmann, who was named South Korea's bench boss in late February. This was South Korea

The fifth time didn't prove to be the charm for Jurgen Klinsmann and his South Korean men's national football team, as another anemic showing by the Taegeuk Warriors left the German tactician winless after five matches in charge. The team's latest match resulted in a goalless draw against Wales in Cardiff on Thursday. South Korea barely threatened to score at Cardiff City Stadium in the Welsh capital, while their defense got caught napping a couple of times to allow the home team

With his beleaguered national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann facing criticism over his remote work, South Korea captain Son Heung-min believes there's more to Klinsmann's work habits than meets the eye. Son came to the German-born coach's defense after South Korea and Wales ended in a goalless draw in Cardiff on Thursday (local time). The result extended Klinsmann's winless streak as South Korea's bench boss to five matches, with three draws and two losses. Klinsmann a

The draw for the group stage of this season’s UEFA Champions League took place at a ceremony in Monaco on Sept. 1. The Champions League is an elite club competition with top clubs across the continent playing for the right to be crowned the European champions. Manchester United and Bayern Munich will meet in a clash of giants in Group A. Meanwhile, Group F with Milan, Dortmund, Newcastle and Paris Saint-Germain, where Lee Kang-in plays, form a group of death. The UEFA Champions League grou

Son Heung-min, captain for both the South Korean men's national team and Tottenham Hotspur, says he wants to lead his charges with action, instead of words. The Taegeuk Warriors will need plenty of action from Son, as they try to win their first match under head coach Jurgen Klinsmann this month. Son and his boys in red will take on Wales in Cardiff at 7:45 p.m. Thursday local time, or 3:45 a.m. Friday South Korean time. Then they will play Saudi Arabia in Newcastle, England, at 5:30 p.m. n

The Seoul city government has launched a break dance team to nurture competitors for the new Olympic sport, and two dancers from the team will compete in the upcoming Asian Games in China, officials said Wednesday. Breaking, also known as break dancing, has been newly added to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. It is also an official sport at the Asian Games in China's Hangzhou that will run Sept. 23 to Oct. 8. The city's new works team has been formed under a consensus with the cultur

South Korea will try to please their home supporters and win their group in an early Olympic men's football qualifying tournament, head coach Hwang Sun-hong said Tuesday. Starting Wednesday, South Korea will host Group B action at the 2024 Asian Football Confederation U-23 Asian Cup qualifying tournament. South Korea's under-22 team will play Qatar on Wednesday, Kyrgyzstan on Saturday and Myanmar next Tuesday. All three matches will kick off at 8 p.m. at Changwon Football Center in the

Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur has completed his fourth career hat trick in the Premier League, earning his first goals of the new season in style. Son netted three goals in a 5-2 rout of Burnley at Turf Moor in Burnley, England, on Saturday. This was Spurs' fourth match of the 2023-2024 season, and Son, who was named captain before the start of this campaign, had been held goalless in three previous contests before this trifecta. Son's previous hat trick came almost exactly a year

Having been unable to find his footing with the Premier League side Nottingham Forest, South Korean international Hwang Ui-jo will get a fresh start with the second-tier club Norwich City. Norwich City announced on their website on Saturday that they have acquired Hwang on loan from Nottingham Forest for the rest of this season. Hwang first signed with Forest in August 2022 but was immediately loaned to Olympiacos FC in Greece, with both teams owned by the Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marina

Toronto Blue Jays starter Ryu Hyun-jin has settled for a no-decision after pitching five solid innings in a notorious hitters' park, with the bullpen costing the South Korean pitcher his fourth consecutive win. Ryu held the Colorado Rockies to two runs on four hits in five innings at Coors Field in Denver on Friday local time, as the Jays won 13-9. Ryu struck out three and walked two while remaining at 3-1 for the season. His ERA rose slightly from 2.25 to 2.48. All the damage against Ryu c

China’s COVID-delayed Asian Games are set to be the largest ever, organizers said, as host city Hangzhou ramps up preparations ahead of the opening ceremony in September. The Games in Hangzhou were due to take place in September 2022 but were postponed by a year because of China’s strict “zero-COVID” rules. Over 12,500 athletes from 45 countries and regions have signed up, with organizing official Ding Jiong telling reporters that Hangzhou would host “the Asian Game

The professional basketball team KCC Egis will relocate its home base from the southwestern city of Jeonju to Busan on the southeast coast. The Korea Basketball League on Wednesday approved a proposal to move the team's home city during a board meeting held at the KBL center in southern Seoul. The KCC Egis was founded in 2001 in Jeonju after acquiring the Hyundai Gullivers, a team based in the central city of Daejeon, and moving the home city. With the approval, the team will bid farewell t

The South Korean badminton duo of Seo Seung-jae and Kang Min-hyuk have struck gold in the men's doubles at the world championships in Denmark, giving their country a record title haul. Seo and Kang, world No. 6, rallied to defeat 11th-ranked Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark 14-21, 21-15, 21-17 for the men's doubles crown at the Badminton World Federation World Championships in Copenhagen on Sunday (local time). Seo and Kang are the first South Korean men's double