Jari Olavi Litmanen is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. He was the first-choice captain of the Finland national team between 1996 and 2008 in an international career that ran from 1989 to 2010. Litmanen is widely considered to be Finland's greatest football player of all time. He was chosen as the best Finnish player of the last 50 years by the Football Association of Finland in the UEFA Jubilee Awards in November 2003. He also finished 42nd in the 100 Greatest Finns voting in 2004. The Association of Football Statisticians' compendium of 'Greatest Ever Footballers' listed Litmanen as the 53rd best footballer ever.
The Finland national football team represents Finland in men's international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland, the governing body for football in Finland, which was founded in 1907. The team has been a member of FIFA since 1908 and a UEFA member since 1957.
Harry Juhani "Hjallis" Harkimo is a Finnish businessman, sportsperson, and a member of the Finnish Parliament. Previously a National Coalition Party MP, he now chairs his own political party, Movement Now.
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. Football tops ice hockey in the number of registered players and as a popular hobby. It is the most popular hobby among 3-18 year olds, whereas ice hockey is 9th.
Atlantis FC is a Finnish football club, based in Helsinki. It currently plays in the third tier of Finnish football (Ykkönen).
FC Viikingit is a Finnish football club based in Vuosaari, East Helsinki, and currently playing in the Vitonen, the sixth tier of Finnish football. They play their home matches at Vuosaaren urheilukenttä, also called Heteniitty. The club's name and crest refer to Vikings, and they are known for their red colour.
Ari-Juhani Hjelm is a Finnish football coach and former player. He was the head coach of home-town club Tampere United in Finland's Veikkausliiga.
East Helsinki is an area in Helsinki, Finland, usually thought to comprise the city's eastern and south-eastern major districts, including the districts of Vartiokylä, Myllypuro, Mellunkylä, Vuosaari, Herttoniemi, Laajasalo and Kulosaari. With the exception of Kulosaari, the buildings in the area are relatively new – most have been built in the 1960s or later – and constitute relatively densely inhabited suburbs, except for the southern part of Laajasalo and most of Kulosaari. On the other side of the bridge to the west of Kulosaari is Helsinki Downtown, the so-called "South Helsinki". Officially, the name "East Helsinki" is not found in the city's regional nomenclature, but it was a name created by the locals of the area.
Australian rules football in Finland is controlled by the Finland AFL, which formed in 2006 after the creation of Finland's first Australian football club around a year earlier. Domestic matches began in 2007 with two teams, the Helsinki Heatseekers and Salo Juggernauts. A third team, the Espoo Roos was created in 2008 but only lasted one season due to insufficient members. The remaining players joined the Helsinki team, but there are plans to revive Espoo in the future. A third standalone club, the Turku Dockers, was formed in late 2008 by Australian Ex-pats Craig Primmer and Grant Siermans. During the 2010 season, Helsinki players Mika Kupila and Kaj Karlsson who study in Vaasa decided to create a team in the city, the Vaasa Wombats, and they are hoping to join the league in 2011.
Helsinki has a long tradition of sports, the city gained much of its initial international recognition during the 1952 Summer Olympics, and the city has since then been very open to arranging sporting events. The Olympic Stadium is also home to the Sports Museum of Finland. Helsinki hosts fairly successful local teams in both of the most popular team-sports in Finland, football and ice hockey. The later being a sport of passion for many Helsinkians, who usually take a stance for either of the local clubs HIFK or Jokerit. The strong culture of ice hockey has led to Helsinki becoming the birthplace of many legendary National Hockey League stars such as Teemu Selänne, Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen. American football has a strong tradition in Helsinki.
Jari Vanhala is a Finnish former footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a striker.
Jari Ilola is a Finnish former professional footballer who played for Finnish clubs Rovaniemen Palloseura (RoPS), HJK Helsinki as well as Swedish club IF Elfsborg. At international level, he made 30 appearances scoring one goal for the Finland national team.
Jarno Parikka is a retired Finnish footballer who played as a striker.
Finland Men's National Floorball Team is the national floorball team of Finland. The national team was founded in 1985 and they played their first official game against Sweden in 1985. Finland has won four World Championships and 1 European Championships (1995). Finland has appeared in every World and European Championships tournament organised by the IFF and is the only team with Sweden to have won such a tournament.
Jari Rantanen is a retired football striker.
The 1978 IIHF European U18 Championship was the eleventh playing of the IIHF European Junior Championships. This year's tournaments offered spectacular finishes in both Group A and Group B. In Group B's championship game, the Italians led with three minutes to play before the French tied it at two. Overtime was played in two five-minute halves, both teams scored once, and finally team Italy won in a shootout.
The following lists events that happened during 2016 in Finland.
Jari Olavi Niinimäki was a Finnish footballer who played as a forward. He made three appearances for Finland national team.
