South Korean soccer soldiers make first challenge for top spot

LONDON -- A soccer club made up of army conscripts is for the first time among the front-runners to become the champion of Asia's oldest professional soccer league. Gimcheon Sangmu, South Korea's military team, is currently second in the K League, with 12 games remaining.

In a country where clubs are either owned by corporate conglomerates, such as Hyundai and Samsung, or city governments, Sangmu is operated by the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps. Its roster is made up of players who leave their soccer clubs for 18 months to fulfill their mandatory military service that able-body males must start by the age of 28.