SOOP is unveiling a blueprint for a newly launched women's professional volleyball team as it moves to expand its sports business.

SOOP said on Wednesday it has confirmed the new team name of the women's professional volleyball club it recently acquired from AI Peppers as 'SOOP Supers' and appointed former Korea Volleyball Federation head of match operations Kim Se-jin (김세진) as the first head coach.

SOOP Supers, the new club name, is meant to convey that players with different personalities and strengths come together as one team, like a platform where diverse members gather. Under a direction in which players and fans build history together, it plans to build the club’s identity by engaging with fans across areas including game broadcasts and online and offline events.

Kim, the inaugural head coach, is a former star player who previously played for Samsung Fire and the national team. After retiring, he coached OK Savings Bank and won the championship final two years after the club’s launch. He later served as a KBS N Sports commentator and as head of match operations at the Korea Volleyball Federation. SOOP said it expects his experience operating a new club and his team-building capability to help stabilise the organisation in the early stage of its launch.

After finalising the coaching appointment, SOOP plans to proceed step by step with launch preparations, including building the roster, appointing coaching staff and establishing an operating system. It also plans to expand tailored content and broadcast programmes for volleyball fans, with a policy of creating an ecosystem in which the platform and the club are organically connected.

SOOP has produced content across various sports including billiards, baduk, disabled sports and youth sports based on its experience operating an esports club, and it is further advancing its offline sports business following the volleyball club acquisition.