▲ The board of governors of the Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) holds a meeting in Seoul on April 20, 2021. (Yonhap)

pro volleyball-expansion

New women's volleyball team approved by KOVO governors

SEOUL, April 20 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean professional volleyball governing body said Tuesday that a new club will join the women's volleyball league for the first time in 10 years.

"The board of governors approved the launch of the seventh club, run by Pepper Savings Bank," the Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO) said. "Pepper Savings Bank will pay an entry fee of 2 billion won (US$1.8 million)."

The KOVO board is made up of 13 club owners, including six women's teams, most of which are owned and operated by local financial companies.

The new team is expected to be based either in Seongnam on the southern outskirts of Seoul or Gwangju, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul, according to KOVO.

It is the first expansion of the women's volleyball league since 2011, when the sixth club was founded by the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK).

KOVO said Pepper Savings Bank will receive the six top picks at this year's rookie draft and two special draft rights in the following year.

And the six original clubs will each hand over one player who is not among the nine players protected by the team.

The new team will likely join the league in the upcoming 2021-2022 season.

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[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]