| Football in Finland | |
|---|---|
 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, the national stadium of Finland | |
| Country | Finland |
| Governing body | Football Association of Finland (Finnish:Suomen Palloliitto) |
| National teams | Men's national team Women's national team |
| Nicknames | Huuhkajat; Helmarit |
| First played | at least 1890s (men); at least 1970s |
| Registered players | 1907 |
| National competitions | |
| Club competitions | |
League: Tier 1:Veikkausliiga (m),Kansallinen Liiga (w) Tier 2:Ykkösliiga (m),Naisten Ykkönen (w) Tier 3:Ykkönen (m), Naisten Kakkonen (w) Tier 4:Kakkonen (m), Naisten Kolmonen (w) Tier 5:Kolmonen (m), Naisten Nelonen (w) Tier 6:Nelonen (m), Naisten Vitonen (w) Tier 7:Vitonen (m) Tier 8:Kutonen (m) Tier 9:Seiska (m) Cups: Finnish Cup (m) Finnish Women's Cup (w) | |
| International competitions | |
Football in Finland (Finnish:jalkapallo) is not, or at least has traditionally not been, the most popular spectator sport, which is in contrast to mostEuropean countries; it falls behindice 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] Around 2 million people in Finland, or 45% of the population, are considered football fans.[6]
Football's standing is constantly increasing, especially among girls and women, where the yearly growth rate has lately been over 10 percent.[7] In season 2006–07 19.9 percent of registered players were female.[7] TheFootball Association of Finland (Finnish:Suomen Palloliitto) has approximately one thousand member clubs.[2] According to aGallup poll, nearly 400,000 people include football among their hobbies.[4][5]
Due to a number of names and variants of football played in the late 19th century, it is unclear when exactly football arrived in Finland.[8] In 1906, a Finnish club, Unitas, traveled toSaint Petersburg for a friendly match. To regulate the game, theFootball Association of Finland was founded in 1907 and it joinedFIFA the following year.
A national men's league started in 1908 and is played out since.[9] Themen's national team played its first match in 1911 and soon played at theOlympics 1912, finishing fourth.[8]
A national women's league started as late as 1971.[10] Thewomen's national team played its first match in 1973 and entered the first edition of theNordic Football Championship a year later, finishing third and thus last.
The highest division in Finnish men's football is theVeikkausliiga, comprising 12professional football teams. Below that is a league system maintained by the Finnish Football Association, withYkkönen, or First Division, as the second highest division, with 10 teams. BeneathYkkönen, each division is divided into 'groups' based on the location of the clubs. For instance, the Second Division, orKakkonen, has 40 teams divided into four regional groups, each of 10 teams.
The highest division in Finnish women's football is theKansallinen Liiga, comprising 10 semi-professional and amateur teams.[11] Below that, five amateur divisions exist, withKansallinen Ykkönen being the second national division.
TheFinnish Cup andFinnish Women's Cup are Finland's nationalcup competitions, open to all member clubs of the Finnish Football Association. In the 2009 season, 356 clubs signed up to take part in the men's competition alone.[12]
All Finnish domestic football competitions take place in the spring, summer and autumn, due to weather conditions. Similar systems are used in the otherNordic countries as well, except for Denmark which had that system in the past.
TheFinland national team played its first international match in 1911 againstSweden. Finland was still then aGrand Duchy part of theRussian Empire, and became independent in 1917. Finland have played in a few Olympic Games, finishing fourth in1912, but have so far never qualified for theFIFA World Cup. Finland qualified toUEFA European Championship for the first time in 2020.
The Football Association of Finland also organizes nationalunder-19 andunder-21 teams.
TheFinland women's national football team made their competitive debut in the1974 Women's Nordic Football Championship and entered their first UEFA competition a decade later, playing in the1984 European Competition for Women's Football qualification.[13] To date, their most successful competition has beenUEFA Women's Euro 2005, where they reached the semi-finals stage.[13] In 2024, they won their first international competition, the invitational2024 Pinatar Cup in Spain.
Since 1943 theÅland Football Association (ÅFA) has organized football inÅland. The ÅFA is adistrict association of the Football Association of Finland. However, the Åland Islands fields independentmen's andwomen's national teams, principally competing in theIsland Games.
Stadiums with a capacity of 10,000 or higher are included.
| # | Photo | Stadium | Capacity | City | Home team | Founding year | Cite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Helsinki Olympic Stadium | 36,200 | Helsinki | Finland | 1938 | [14] |
| 2 |  | Tampere Stadium (Ratina Stadion) | 16,800 | Tampere | Finland, Ilves | 1966 | [15] |
| 3 |  | Lahden Stadion | 14,465 | Lahti | FC Lahti | 1981 | [16] |
| 4 | .jpg) | Paavo Nurmi Stadium | 13,000 | Turku | 1893 | [17] | |
| 5 |  | Porin Stadion | 12,300 | Pori | FC Jazz | 1966 | [18] |
| 6 |  | Bolt Arena | 10,770 | Helsinki | HJK, HIFK, Finland | 2000 | [19] |
local and lower league organizations are not included.
| Club | Domestic Titles | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veikkausliiga | Suomen cup | Liigacup | Total | |
| HJK | 33 | 15 | 6 | 54 |
| Haka | 9 | 12 | 1 | 22 |
| KuPS | 8 | 5 | 1 | 14 |
| TPS | 8 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| HPS | 9 | 1 | - | 10 |
| Reipas Lahti | 3 | 7 | - | 10 |
| HIFK | 7 | - | - | 7 |
| Kuusysi | 5 | 2 | - | 7 |
| KTP | 2 | 4 | - | 6 |
| Inter Turku | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Tampere United | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Ilves | 1 | 4 | - | 5 |
| KIF | 4 | - | - | 4 |
| ÅIFK | 3 | 1 | - | 4 |
| VPS | 2 | - | 2 | 4 |
| MyPa | 1 | 3 | - | 4 |
| Honka | - | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| VIFK | 3 | - | - | 3 |
| SJK | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Lahti | - | - | 3 | 3 |
| Jazz | 2 | - | - | 2 |
| OPS | 2 | - | - | 2 |
| Mariehamn | 1 | 1 | - | 2 |
| MP | - | 2 | - | 2 |
| RoPS | - | 2 | - | 2 |
| Allianssi | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| HT | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Ilves-Kissat | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| KPV | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| PUS | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Pyrkivä Turku | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Sudet | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| TPV | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Unitas | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Atlantis | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Drott | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Jokerit | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| PPJ | - | 1 | - | 1 |
The average attendance per top-flight football league season and the club with the highest average attendance:
| Season | League average | Best club | Best club average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,144 | HJK | 6,223 |
| 2024 | 2,958 | HJK | 6,361 |
| 2023 | 2,706 | HJK | 5,631 |
| 2022 | 1,894 | HJK | 4,002 |
| 2021 | — | — | — |
| 2020 | 1,594 | SJK | 2,172 |
| 2019 | 2,620 | HJK | 5,007 |
| 2018 | 2,308 | HJK | 3,779 |
| 2017 | 2,476 | HJK | 4,779 |
| 2016 | 2,550 | HJK | 5,101 |
| 2015 | 2,574 | HJK | 5,281 |
| 2014 | 2,046 | HJK | 4,017 |
| 2013 | 2,287 | HJK | 5,098 |
| 2012 | 2,037 | HJK | 3,758 |
| 2011 | 2,159 | HJK | 3,610 |
| 2010 | 2,225 | TPS | 3,658 |
| 2009 | 2,389 | TPS | 4,904 |
| 2008 | 2,636 | HJK | 4,516 |
| 2007 | 2,976 | TPS | 5,294 |
| 2006 | 2,909 | HJK | 5,580 |
| 2005 | 2,695 | HJK | 4,684 |
| 2004 | 2,614 | TPS | 3,822 |
| 2003 | 2,351 | HJK | 3,646 |
| 2002 | 1,933 | Tampere | 3,202 |
| 2001 | 2,234 | HJK | 3,818 |
| 2000 | 2,152 | HJK | 3,976 |
| 1999 | 1,943 | KTP | 3,105 |
| 1998 | 2,110 | HJK | 3,460 |
| 1997 | 2,045 | VPS | 3,893 |
| 1996 | 2,298 | HJK | 4,159 |
| 1995 | 2,161 | HJK | 3,418 |
| 1994 | 1,886 | HJK | 3,224 |
| 1993 | 2,367 | Jazz | 4,065 |
| 1992 | 1,990 | HJK | 3,250 |
| 1991 | 1,902 | HJK | 3,493 |
| 1990 | 2,322 | HJK | 4,673 |
| 1989 | 2,350 | HJK | 5,034 |
| 1988 | 2,006 | HJK | 4,033 |
| 1987 | 2,094 | HJK | 5,106 |
| 1986 | 2,364 | HJK | 6,770 |
| 1985 | 2,559 | HJK | 6,789 |
| 1984 | 2,317 | HJK | 5,049 |
| 1983 | 1,934 | Tampere | 4,069 |
| 1982 | 1,852 | HJK | 3,001 |
| 1981 | 2,361 | KTP | 3,473 |
| 1980 | 2,060 | KTP | 2,980 |
| 1979 | 2,114 | HJK | 3,889 |
| 1978 | 1,412 | HJK | 2,757 |
| 1977 | 1,924 | KuPS | 2,935 |
| 1976 | 1,948 | HJK | 2,886 |
| 1975 | 2,533 | HJK | 3,489 |
| 1974 | 2,405 | HJK | 3,481 |
| 1973 | 2,368 | HJK | 3,781 |
| 1972 | 2,403 | TPS | 3,611 |
| 1971 | 2,747 | Reipas | 3,980 |
| 1970 | 2,444 | HJK | 5,177 |
| 1969 | 2,995 | HJK | 8,058 |
| 1968 | 2,946 | HJK | 6,271 |
| 1967 | 3,071 | HJK | 7,197 |
| 1966 | 2,958 | HJK | 7,150 |
| 1965 | 2,615 | HJK | 7,381 |
| 1964 | 2,330 | HJK | 3,952 |
| 1963 | 2,662 | Åbo | 4,007 |
| 1962 | 2,603 | TPS | 4,366 |
| 1961 | 2,603 | TPS | 4,511 |
| 1960 | 1,989 | TPS | 4,019 |
| 1959 | 2,482 | HIFK | 3,920 |
Source:[20]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| National teams |
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| League system |
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