Football in Finland

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Football in Finland
Finnair Stadium Helsinki.JPG
Home stadium of club HJK Helsinki
CountryFinland
Governing body Football Association of Finland (Finnish: Suomen Palloliitto)
National team(s) Men's national team
Women's national team
National competitions
Club competitions
League:
Tier 1: Veikkausliiga, Kansallinen Liiga
Tier 2: Ykkösliiga, Naisten Ykkönen
Tier 3: Ykkönen, Naisten Kakkonen
Tier 4: Kakkonen, Naisten Kolmonen
Tier 5: Kolmonen, Naisten Nelonen
Tier 6: Nelonen, Naisten Vitonen
Tier 7: Vitonen
Tier 8: Kutonen
Tier 9: Seiska
Cups:
Finnish Cup
Finnish Women's Cup
International competitions

Football in Finland is not, or at least has traditionally not been, the most popular spectator sport, which is in contrast to most European countries; it falls behind ice hockey, which enjoys a huge amount of popularity in the country. [1] Football tops ice hockey in the number of registered players (115,000 vs. 60,000 [2] [3] ) and as a popular hobby (160,000 vs. 90,000 among adults and 230,000 vs. 105,000 among youths [4] [5] ). It is the most popular hobby among 3-18 year olds, whereas ice hockey is 9th. [5]

Contents

Football's standing is constantly increasing, especially among girls and women, where the yearly growth rate has lately been over 10 percent. [6] In season 2006–07 19.9 percent of registered players were female. [6] The Football Association of Finland (Finnish : Suomen Palloliitto) has approximately one thousand member clubs. [2] According to a Gallup poll, nearly 400,000 people include football among their hobbies. [4] [5]

History

A match between Finland and Moscow in Moscow on May 6, 1912. Moscow v Finland, 1912, Zamoskvoretsky Club, Moscow.png
A match between Finland and Moscow in Moscow on May 6, 1912.

Football developed in Finland in the early twentieth century when Finland was still a Grand Duchy in personal union with the Russian Empire. Following the Bolshevik seizure of power in the October Revolution in November 1917, Finland declared its full independence and it was shortly recognised by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in January 1918. Football was first brought to Finland in the 1890s by English sailors, and it was first played in Turku. The first national competition in the sport was set up in 1906, and won by a school team from Turku. The Football Association of Finland was founded in 1907 and it joined FIFA the following year. Due to the sport's historically low status in Finland, the country has never really excelled in football. Only since the 1980s, due to the revival of Finnish football, has the country produced such international stars as Jari Litmanen, Antti Niemi, Sami Hyypiä, Mikael Forssell, Mixu Paatelainen, Teemu Tainio and Jussi Jääskeläinen.

Domestic club competitions

Stadin derby HIFK-HJK 23. May 2017. Stadin derby 2017.jpg
Stadin derby HIFK–HJK 23. May 2017.

The highest division in Finnish men's football is the Veikkausliiga , comprising 12 professional football teams. Below that is a league system maintained by the Finnish Football Association, with Ykkönen , or First Division, as the second highest division, with 10 teams. Beneath Ykkönen, each division is divided into 'groups' based on the location of the clubs. For instance, the Second Division, or Kakkonen , has 40 teams divided into four regional groups, each of 10 teams.

The Finnish Cup is Finland's national cup competition, open to all member clubs of the Finnish Football Association. In the 2009 season, 356 clubs signed up to take part in the competition. [7]

All Finnish domestic football competitions take place in the spring, summer and autumn, due to weather conditions. Similar systems are used in the other Nordic countries as well, except for Denmark which had that system in the past.

National team

IFK Mariehamn home stadium (Wiklof Holding Arena) Wiklof Holding Arena Mariehamn.jpg
IFK Mariehamn home stadium (Wiklof Holding Arena)

The Finland national team played its first international match in 1911 against Sweden. Finland was still then a Grand Duchy part of the Russian Empire, and became independent in 1917. Finland have played in a few Olympic Games, finishing fourth in 1912, but have so far never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. Finland qualified to UEFA European Championship for the first time in 2020.

The Football Association of Finland also organizes national under-19 and under-21 teams.

The Finland women's national football team made their competitive debut in the 1984 European Competition for Women's Football qualification. [8] To date, their most successful competition has been UEFA Women's Euro 2005, where they reached the semi-finals stage. [8]

Åland Islands

Since 1943 the Åland Football Association (ÅFA) has organized football in Åland. The ÅFA is a district association of the Football Association of Finland. However, the Åland Islands fields independent men's and women's national teams, principally competing in the Island Games.

Football stadiums in Finland

Stadiums with a capacity of 10,000 or higher are included.

#PhotoStadiumCapacityCityHome TeamFounding yearCite
1 Olympiastadion 2 2020-08-12.jpg Helsinki Olympic Stadium 36,200 Helsinki Finland 1938 [9]
2 Tampereen stadion 2.9.2017.jpg Tampere Stadium

(Ratina Stadion)

16,800 Tampere Finland,
Ilves 		1966 [10]
3 Lahti Stadium.jpg Lahden Stadion 14,465 Lahti FC Lahti 1981 [11]
4 Kalevan Kisat 2011 Turussa (Finnish Championships in Athletics 2011 in Turku).jpg Paavo Nurmi Stadium 13,000 Turku 1893 [12]
5 Porin stadion 12.7.2013b.jpg Porin Stadion 12,300 Pori FC Jazz 1966 [13]
6 Finnair Stadium Helsinki.JPG Bolt Arena 10,770 Helsinki HJK,
HIFK,
Finland 		2000 [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turun Palloseura</span> Finnish football club

Turun Palloseura, commonly known as TPS, is a professional football club based in Turku, Finland. Since 2024, the men's team competes in Ykkösliiga, the second highest tier. The women's representative team in the Kansallinen Liiga, the highest level of women's football in Finland. Nicknamed "Tepsi", the club was founded in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi</span> Association football club in Helsinki, Finland

Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi, commonly known as HJK Helsinki, or simply as HJK, is a Finnish football club based in Helsinki. The club competes in Veikkausliiga, the top division of the Finnish football league system. Founded in 1907, the club has spent most of its history in the top tier of Finnish football. The club's home ground is the 10,770-seat Bolt Arena, where they have played their home games since 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikkelin Palloilijat</span> Finnish football club

Mikkelin Palloilijat is a Finnish professional football club, based in Mikkeli, that competes in the Ykkösliiga, the new second-tier in Finnish football league system. The club was founded in 1929 and also included volleyball, bandy and ice hockey sections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tammelan Stadion</span> Football stadium in Tampere, Finland

Tammelan Stadion is a football stadium in Tampere, Finland. It is the home ground for the Veikkausliiga club Ilves, Ykkönen club Tampere United, and the Kakkonen side TPV. The Ilves women's team which plays in the Naisten Ykkönen also uses the stadium. The new Tammelan stadium is available from the 2024 season.

Sport is considered a national pastime in Finland and many Finns visit different sporting events regularly. Pesäpallo is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular forms of sport in terms of television viewers and media coverage are ice hockey and Formula One. In spectator attendance, harness racing comes right after ice hockey in popularity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JJK Jyväskylä</span> Finnish football club

Jyväskylän Jalkapalloklubi, commonly referred to as JJK Jyväskylä or simply JJK, is a Finnish football club, based in Jyväskylä. JJK plays its home matches at Harjun Stadion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rafinha (footballer, born 1982)</span> Brazilian footballer

Rafael Scapini de Almeida, commonly known as Rafinha, is a Brazilian football coach of OLS and a former professional footballer. Besides Brazil, he has played in Finland and Belgium. During his career, Rafinha was deployed on different positions on the field, having started as a winger, moving on to midfield and ending his career as a centre back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansallinen Liiga</span> Premier womens football league in Finland

The Kansallinen Liiga is the premier division of women's football in Finland. It was previously called the Jalkapallon naisten SM-sarja during 1974 to 2006 and the Naisten Liiga during 2006 to 2019, The first season under the name Kansallinen Liiga was played in 2020.

The 2009 Veikkausliiga was the 79th season of top-tier football in Finland. It began on 18 April 2009 and ended on 17 October 2009. Inter Turku were the defending champions.

Finnish Cup 2009 was the 55th season of the main annual football (soccer) cup competition in Finland. It is organized as a single-elimination knock–out tournament.

2010 Finnish Cup was the 56th season of the main annual football (soccer) cup competition in Finland. It was organized as a single-elimination knock–out tournament.

The 2011 Veikkausliiga was the 81st season of top-tier football in Finland. It began on 2 May 2011 and ended on 29 October 2011. HJK were the defending champions and successfully defended their title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Finnish Cup</span> Association football competition

The 2012 Finnish Cup is the 58th season of the main annual association football cup competition in Finland. It is organised as a single-elimination knock–out tournament. Participation in the competition is voluntary. A total of 198 teams registered for the competition, with 12 teams from the Veikkausliiga, 10 from the Ykkönen, 28 from the Kakkonen, 54 from the Kolmonen and 94 teams from other divisions.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naisten Ykkönen</span> Finnish womens football league

Naisten Ykkönen is the second highest division of women's football in Finland. It is overseen by the Suomen Palloliitto. Teams in Naisten Ykkönen can gain promotion to the top-tier Kansallinen Liiga or be relegated to the third-tier Naisten Kakkonen. At the conclusion of the 2019 season, PK-35 Vantaa gained promotion to the Kansallinen Liiga as champions of the Naisten Ykkönen and PK-35 gained promotion by winning the promotion/relegation series against IK Myran. Conversely, GBK Kokkola and Ilves/2, were relegated to the Naisten Kakkonen at the conclusion of the 2019 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Kansallinen Liiga</span> Football league season

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">PK-35 Vantaa (women)</span> Finnish football club

PK-35 Vantaa is a football club based in Vantaa, Finland. The club is "dedicated to women's football" and its representative team plays in the Kansallinen Liiga, the top-tier women's league in Finland. PK-35 Vantaa has won the Finnish Championship six times and the Finnish Women's Cup four times. The club's home ground is the Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion in the Myyrmäki district of Vantaa.

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References

  1. ↑ "Lajeja paikan päällä vähintään kerran vuodessa seuraavien määrä lajeittain 19-65-vuotiaiden keskuudessa" (PDF). Kansallinen liikuntatutkimus 2005-2006. Ministry of Education. 2006. Retrieved 13 February 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 "Suomen Palloliitto". Football Association of Finland. Archived from the original on 23 April 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  3. ↑ "Info". Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 27 February 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Urheilulajien harrastajamäärät 19-65-vuotiaiden keskuudessa" (PDF). Kansallinen liikuntatutkimus 2005-2006. Ministry of Education. 2006. Retrieved 13 February 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. 1 2 3 "Urheilulajien harrastajamäärät 8-13-vuotiaiden keskuudessa" (PDF). Kansallinen liikuntatutkimus 2005-2006. Ministry of Education. 2006. Retrieved 13 February 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. 1 2 "Jalkapallo kasvussa Suomessa ja maailmalla". refers to FIFA Big Count 2006. Football Association of Finland. 2007-06-19. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  7. ↑ "Participants". Finnish Cup 2009. Football Association of Finland. 2009. Archived from the original on April 8, 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  8. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-06-07. Retrieved 2014-06-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ↑ "Stadium Facts | Olympiastadion". www.stadion.fi. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  10. ↑ "Tampere Stadium | www.tampere.fi". www.tampere.fi. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  11. ↑ "Lahden stadion – StadiumDB.com". stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  12. ↑ "Paavo Nurmen stadion – Nokiamissio.com" (in Finnish). 2019-02-17. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  13. ↑ "Stadion". Porin kaupunki (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  14. ↑ "Coming to a match? Information for match event! - HJK Helsinki - Bolt Arena". HJK Helsinki. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
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