As the Korean SAMBO Federation emphasised, the Combat SAMBO League is designed to create conditions for the professional career of athletes within the framework of SAMBO, providing them with an additional financial incentive.

As part of the launch of CSL Korea, demo matches were held, consisting of three three-minute rounds. Cups and prize money were awarded to athletes in the -64 kg, -71 kg and -79 kg weight categories.

The Republic of Korea became the first country to introduce this format on a national scale. For the first time, the global Combat SAMBO League was launched on February 22, 2020 in Sochi, Russia. However, the COVID-19 pandemic soon took over the whole world, hindering the activities of the league. After some time, the opportunity to develop this direction arose.

FIAS President Vasily Shestakov noted that he was “pleased to see the Korean SAMBO Federation supports the FIAS initiative at the national level” and thanked the President of the national federation Mun Seongcheon for his significant contribution to the development and popularisation of SAMBO in the country.

“The key to the success of the Combat SAMBO League is to apply the FIAS principle of “one country - one organisation”, to support sambists and sport exchange through a unified network of the world SAMBO community,” said Mun Seongcheon.

President of the European Sambo Federation and Vice-President of the Combat SAMBO League Sergey Eliseev sent congratulations to the organising committee, noting that “Korea is the first country to adopt the CSL initiative.”

“I am confident that the Combat SAMBO League will not only become one of the most popular promotions, but will also provide enormous opportunities for all sambists,” said Mun Seongcheon.

RHF President Kim Sooun, a long-time sponsor of the development of Korean SAMBO, expressed confidence that “the model of the Korean Combat SAMBO League will receive a good response in the international sports arena and will become an excellent example.”