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 (115,000 vs. 60,000) and as a popular hobby (160,000 vs. 90,000 among adults and 230,000 vs. 105,000 among youths). It is the most popular hobby among 3-18 year olds, whereas ice hockey is 9th. Around 2 million people in Finland, or 45% of the population, are considered football fans.

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

History

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. In 1906, a Finnish club, Unitas, traveled to Saint Petersburg for a friendly match. To regulate the game, the Football Association of Finland was founded in 1907 and it joined FIFA the following year.

A national men's league started in 1908 and is played out since. The men's national team played its first match in 1911 and soon played at the Olympics 1912, finishing fourth.

A national women's league started as late as 1971. The women's national team played its first match in 1973 and entered the first edition of the Nordic Football Championship a year later, finishing third and thus last.

Domestic club competitions

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 highest division in Finnish women's football is the Kansallinen Liiga, comprising 10 semi-professional and amateur teams. Below that, five amateur divisions exist, with Kansallinen Ykkönen being the second national division.

The Finnish Cup and Finnish Women's Cup are Finland's national cup 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.

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 teams

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 1974 Women's Nordic Football Championship and entered their first UEFA competition a decade later, playing in the 1984 European Competition for Women's Football qualification. To date, their most successful competition has been UEFA Women's Euro 2005, where they reached the semi-finals stage. In 2024, they won their first international competition, the invitational 2024 Pinatar Cup in Spain.

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.

Most successful clubs overall

local and lower league organizations are not included. ClubDomestic TitlesVeikkausliigaSuomen cupLiigacupTotalHJK3315654Haka912122KuPS85114TPS83112HPS91-10Reipas Lahti37-10Inter Turku1348HIFK7--7Kuusysi52-7KTP24-6Tampere United3115Ilves14-5KIF4--4ÅIFK31-4VPS2-24MyPa13-4Honka -134VIFK3--3SJK1113Lahti --33Jazz2--2OPS2--2Mariehamn11-2MP -2-2RoPS -2-2Allianssi --22HT1--1Ilves-Kissat1--1KPV1--1PUS1--1Pyrkivä Turku1--1Sudet1--1TPV1--1Unitas1--1Atlantis -1-1Drott -1-1Jokerit -1-1PPJ -1-1

The articles in italic indicate the defunct leagues and the defunct cups. The figures in bold indicate the most times this competition has been won by a team.

Attendances

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:

References

External links Football Association of Finland Finnish football blog