FC Haka

FC Haka

Full name	Valkeakosken Haka
Nickname(s)	Haka
Founded	1934
Ground	Tehtaan kenttä, Valkeakoski
Capacity	3,516
Chairman	Olli Huttunen
Manager	Andy Smith [1]
League	Veikkausliiga
2024	Veikkausliiga, 6th of 12
Website	fchaka.fi
Home colours Away colours

Tehtaan kenttä, home of Haka on a matchday

FC Haka, originally Valkeakosken Haka, commonly known as Haka, is a Finnish professional football club based in the industrial town of Valkeakoski. The club was founded in 1934 and competes in Finland's premier division, the Veikkausliiga. It is one of the most successful clubs in Finland, with nine Finnish championships and 12 Finnish Cup wins.

History

Haka has historically had close ties with the paper industry in the Valkeakoski area, and is still sponsored by UPM Kymmene.

The club was founded as Valkeakosken Haka in 1934, with significant support from paper entrepreneur Juuso Walden. In 1949 it was promoted to Finland's top division Mestaruussarja (now known as Veikkausliiga), and in 1955 won the inaugural Finnish Cup.

The 1960s was the most successful era in Haka's history, with the club winning both the league and cup three times, including the first double in Finnish football history in 1960. The club was relegated in 1972, but came straight back, and won the double again in 1977.

The club's name was changed to FC Haka in the early 1990s. Haka won the title again 1995, but was relegated the next season. Keith Armstrong was hired as the new coach, and the club came straight back again, winning three straight championships from 1998 to 2000. ^[2] Goalkeeping legend Olli Huttunen succeeded Armstrong as coach in 2002, and led the club to the championship (2004) and two cups (2002 and 2005).

Haka's best performance in UEFA competition was in the 1983–1984 season when they reached the quarterfinals of the Cup Winners' Cup, losing to eventual champions Juventus 0–2 on aggregate. The club was involved in European competition every year between 1998 and the 2008–2009 season.

In subsequent years the club's financial situation deteriorated on two occasions, like many other small market teams in Veikkausliiga. The first was the 2008–09 season when a group of investors led by local businessman and restaurateur Sedu Koskinen (owner and founder of a nationwide night-club chain) formed FC Haka Oy to help an essentially bankrupt team to finish the season. In 2010 Sedu Koskinen left, after having invested around €1 million of his own money in the club.

Since then the club's operations have been reformed to make it financially sounder. The team, having been one of the most successful and prestigious in Finland, ran at a loss for several years during the 2000s. At the same time the overall global economic situation and sponsorship payments from UPM Kymmene diminished. This forced the club to rationalize its operations and adopt a new role as one of the smaller clubs in Finnish top flight football. The situation at the start of 2012 Finnish football season was described by the chairman and board members as difficult but stable.

These times of financial struggles saw the club move from perennial championship challengers to a team usually poised for relegation. In both 2011 and 2012 pre-season media predictions placed the club in the bottom three. Haka finished last in the standings in 2012 and were relegated to the second tier (then known as Ykkönen, but rebranded in 2023 as Ykkösliiga). The club finally won promotion back to the Veikkausliiga for the 2020 season following a near perfect campaign in the 2019 Ykkönen, where they dropped only 7 points and finished 19 points ahead of second-place TPS.

Honours

• Mestaruussarja/Veikkausliiga
  • Champions (9): 1960, 1962, 1965, 1977, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004
• Finnish Cup
  • Winners (12): 1955, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1969, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1997, 2002, 2005
• Finnish League Cup
  • Winners: 1995
• Ykkönen
  • Champions: 1997, 2019
  • Promotion: 1973

European campaigns

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Score	Agg.
1961–62	European Cup	First round		Standard Liège	1–5, v 0–2	1–7
1963–64	European Cup	Preliminary round		Jeunesse d'Esch	4–1, v 0–4	4–5
1964–65	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round		Skeid Fotball	0–1, v 2–0	2–1
		Second round		AC Torino	0–1, v 0–5	0–6
1966–67	European Cup	First round		RSC Anderlecht	1–10, v 0–2	1–12
1970–71	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round		CSKA Sofia	0–9, v 1–2	1–11
1977–78	UEFA Cup	First round		Górnik Zabrze	3–5, v 0–0	3–5
1978–79	European Cup	First round		Dynamo Kiev	0–1, v 1–3	1–4
1981–82	UEFA Cup	First round		IFK Göteborg	2–3, v 0–4	2–7
1983–84	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round		Sligo Rovers	1–0, v 3–0	4–0
		Second round		Hammarby IF	1–1, v 2–1(aet)	3–2
		Quarter-finals		Juventus	0–1, v 0–1	0–2
1986–87	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round		FC Torpedo Moscow	2–2, v 1–3	3–5
1989–90	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round		Ferencvárosi TC	1–5, v 1–1	2–6
1996–97	UEFA Cup	First qualifying round		FC Flora Tallinn	2–2, v 1–0	3–2
		Second qualifying round		Legia Warszawa	0–3, v 1–1	1–4
1998–99	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	Qualifying round		Bangor City	2–0, v 1–0	3–0
		First round		Panionios FC	0–2, v 1–3	1–5
1999–2000	UEFA Champions League	First qualifying round		HB Tórshavn	1–1, v 6–0	7–1
		Second qualifying round		Rangers	1–4, v 0–3	1–7
2000–01	UEFA Champions League	First qualifying round		Linfield	1–2, v 1–0	2–2 (a)
		Second qualifying round		Inter Bratislava	0–0, v 0–1(aet)	0–1
2001–02	UEFA Champions League	First qualifying round		Valletta FC	0–0, v 5–0	5–0
		Second qualifying round		Maccabi Haifa	0–1, v 3–0 [3]	3–1
		Third qualifying round		Liverpool	0–5, v 1–4	1–9
2001–02	UEFA Cup	First round		1. FC Union Berlin	1–1, v 0–3	1–4
2002	UEFA Intertoto Cup	First round		FK Obilić	2–1, v 1–1	3–2
		Second round		Fulham	0–0, v 1–1	1–1 (a)
2003–04	UEFA Cup	Qualifying round		Hajduk Split	2–1, v 0–1	2–2 (a)
2004–05	UEFA Cup	First qualifying round		Etzella Ettelbruck	2–1, v 3–1	5–2
		Second qualifying round		Stabæk IF	1–3, v 1–3	2–6
2005–06	UEFA Champions League	First qualifying round		Pyunik F.C.	1–0, v 2–2	3–2
		Second qualifying round		Vålerenga IF	0–1, v 1–4	1–5
2006–07	UEFA Cup	First qualifying round		Levadia Tallinn	0–2, v 1–0	1–2
2007–08	UEFA Cup	First qualifying round		Rhyl	1–3, v 2–0	3–3 (a)
		Second qualifying round		FC Midtjylland	1–2, v 2–5	3–7
2008–09	UEFA Cup	First qualifying round		Cork City	2–2, v 4–0	6–2
		Second qualifying round		Brøndby IF	0–4, v 0–2	0–6
2023–24	UEFA Europa Conference League	First qualifying round		Crusaders	2–2, v 0–1	2–3

Divisional movements

• Top Level (60 seasons): 1945, 1950–72, 1974–96, 1998–2012, 2020–
• Second Level (18 seasons): 1938–43/44, 1945/46–49, 1973, 1997, 2013–2019 ^[4]

Season to season

Season to Season

Season Level Division Section Administration Position Movements 1937 Tier 3 Maakuntasarja(Second Division) West Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) Promotion Playoff - Promoted 1938 Tier 2 Itä-Länsi-Sarja(Second Division) West League, Northern Group Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 6th 1939 Tier 2 Itä-Länsi-Sarja(Second Division) Western League, Group 3 Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd 1940-41 Tier 2 B-Sarja(Second Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 8th 1943-44 Tier 2 SPL Suomensarja(Second Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th Promoted 1945 Tier 1 SPL Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Groub B Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 6th Relegated 1945-46 Tier 2 SPL Suomensarja(Second Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 8th Relegation Playoff 1946-47 Tier 2 Suomensarja(Second Division) South Group Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd 1947-48 Tier 2 Suomensarja(Second Division) South Group Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th 1948 Tier 2 Suomensarja(Second Division) South Group Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd 1949 Tier 2 Suomensarja(Second Division) West Group Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Promoted 1950 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 8th 1951 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th 1952 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 7th 1953 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th 1954 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 8th 1955 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd 1956 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 5th 1957 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd 1958 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 7th Relegation Playoff 1959 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd 1960 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions 1961 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd 1962 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions 1963 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd 1964 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th 1965 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions 1966 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd 1967 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 6th 1968 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 7th 1969 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 7th 1970 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 8th 1971 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 8th 1972 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 12th Relegated 1973 Tier 2 I Divisioona(First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd Promoted 1974 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 8th 1975 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 10th Relegation Playoff 1976 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd 1977 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions 1978 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd 1979 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 7th Championship Group – 6th 1980 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th Championship Group – 2nd 1981 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th Championship Group – 3rd 1982 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd Championship Group – 3rd 1983 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd Championship Group – 3rd 1984 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Championship Playoffs – 4th 1985 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 8th 1986 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 5th 1987 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 9th 1988 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 6th Championship Group – 6th 1989 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th Championship Group – 4th 1990 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 8th Playoffs – QF 1991 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd 1992 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 6th 1993 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 10th Relegation Group – 4th 1994 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 6th 1995 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions 1996 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 11th Relegation Group – 11th – Relegated 1997 Tier 2 Ykkönen(First Division) North Group Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Upper Group – 1st – Champions – Promoted 1998 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions 1999 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Championship Group – 1st – Champions 2000 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions 2001 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th 2002 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd Upper Group – 3rd 2003 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd 2004 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions 2005 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th 2006 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd 2007 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd 2008 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 8th 2009 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 6th 2010 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 8th 2011 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 10th 2012 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 12th Relegated 2013 Tier 2 Ykkönen(First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd 2014 Tier 2 Ykkönen(First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 5th 2015 Tier 2 Ykkönen(First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 6th 2016 Tier 2 Ykkönen(First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 7th 2017 Tier 2 Ykkönen(First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 6th 2018 Tier 2 Ykkönen(First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 5th 2019 Tier 2 Ykkönen(First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions – Promoted 2020 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 10th 2021 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 8th 2022 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th 2023 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 9th 2024 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga(Premier Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 6th 67 seasons in Veikkausliiga 18 seasons in Ykkönen 1 seasons in Kakkonen [5]

Current squad

As of 21 February 2025 ^[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   NIR Liam Hughes 2 DF   FIN Nikolas Talo 3 DF   FIN Niklas Friberg 4 DF   SCO Jordan Houston 5 DF   BRA Nicolas Gianini Dantas 7 FW   FRA Jean-Pierre Da Sylva 8 MF   FIN Simon Lindholm 9 FW   ENG James Akintunde 11 FW   BEN Steve Traoré 12 GK   FIN Anton Lepola 13 MF   FIN Oskari Sallinen 15 MF   FIN Akseli Lehtomäki

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 MF   KOS Arlind Sejdiu 19 MF   GHA Abraham Okyere 20 DF   FIN Valentin Purosalo 32 GK   FIN Oliver Heino — FW   BRA Lucas Cini — FW   FIN Kalle Multanen — DF   FIN Mikael Almén — DF   FIN Riku Selander — MF   VEN Elías Romero — MF   FIN Eetu Mömmö (on loan from Lecce) — FW   FIN Danila Bulgakov (on loan from Ilves)

Management and boardroom

Management

As of 15 February 2021 ^[7]

Name Role Andy Smith Head Coach Sander Guerreiro Coach Mikko Manninen Coach Pauli Jussila Goalkeeping Coach Alejandro Peris Mora Fitness Coach Janne Hannu Fitness Coach Jonna Kauppinen Team Manager Jari Jalava Kit Manager Juuso Niemenpää Doctor Kalle Myyrä Masseur

Boardroom

As of 15 February 2021 ^[8]

Name Role Marko Laaksonen Chairman Olli Huttunen CEO

Managers

• Jukka Vakkila (1982–84, 1986–87, 1993–96)
• / Keith Armstrong (January 1998 – December 2001)
• Olli Huttunen (January 2002 – September 2009)
• Sami Ristilä (September 2009 – August 2012)
• Asko Jussila (August 2012 – September 2012)
• Harri Kampman (November 2012 – June 2013)
• Asko Jussila (June 2013 – July 2013)
• Juho Rantala (July 2013 – December 2014)
• Kari Martonen (January 2015 – September 2016)
• Asko Jussila/ Olli Huttunen (September 2016 – December 2016)
• / Keith Armstrong (January 2017 – December 2018)
• Teemu Tainio (January 2019 – October 2023)
• Andy Smith (October 2023 – present)

References

1. FC HAKA SIIRTYY ULKOMAALAISKOMENTOON – UUSI PÄÄVALMENTAJA VAIKUTTUNUT FC HAKASTA!
2. Karel Stokkermans (17 June 2018). "English Energy and Nordic Nonsense". RSSSF . Retrieved 3 October 2018.
3. The original result of the second leg was a 4-0 victory to Maccabi Haifa, but Haka were awarded a 3–0 walkover victory after it was determined that Haifa had fielded two ineligible players.
4. "Finland – Divisional Movements 1930–2009". RSSSF . 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
5. "Football Archive - Index of SPL Finnish League Suomen Cup Seasons".
6. "Edustusjoukkue". fchaka.fi/ (in Finnish). FC Haka. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
7. "Hakan edustusjoukkue" (in Finnish). FC Haka. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
8. "Yhteystiedot" (in Finnish). FC Haka. Retrieved 15 February 2021.

External links

• Official website