Finland's Domestic Football Season Begins - The Veikkausliiga

The domestic football season kicks off in Finland this weekend, the country known as the 'Land of a Thousand Lakes' with an estimated 188,000 of them!

The Veikkausliiga, which was founded in 1990, is ranked 38 by UEFA and consists of 12 clubs and splits into two groups later in the season.

Previous to the Veikkausliiga, the top division was called Mestaruussarja (championship series) from 1930, which was an amateur/semi-professional league. Between 1908 and 1930 the championship was decided as a knock-out cup competition.

Here's a brief look at the 12 clubs taking part this season.

AC Oulu are based on the North Western coastline of Finland and were formed in 2002, this will be their 5th consecutive season in the top league where they finished 9th last term.

They currently play their home games at Raatti Stadium, which is located on the Raatinsaari Island, about 1km away from the city centre. The club colours are navy blue and white, and they are known as The Navy Blues.

FC Haka was founded in 1934; it is one of the most successful clubs in Finland, with nine Finnish championships and 12 Finnish Cup wins, but they haven't won the title since 2004 and finished in 6th place last season. 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.

FC Inter Turku was formed in 1990 and started in the 4th tier; This will be their 27th consecutive season in the top flight; they have one league title to their name, which was in 2008 and last season, the team, known as The Black and Blues, finished 7th.

FF Jaro is one of the newly promoted sides who came up after finishing 2nd via the playoffs; this will be their first time back in the top league since 2015.

HJK Helsinki are considered to be Finland's biggest club; they are the most successful Finnish club in terms of championship titles with 33 and have also won 14 Finnish Cups.

HJK is the only Finnish club that has participated in the UEFA Champions League group stage, In 1998.

Last season they finished 3rd after winning the title the previous 4 seasons.

IF Gnistan were founded in 1924 and has spent nearly all its existence outside of the top tier; last season was its first season ever in The Veikkausliiga, where they finished in 8th place.

The club, based in Helsinki, have strong Swedish roots after being founded by Swedish-speaking students, hence why the club colours are yellow and blue.

IFK Mariehamn are based in Mariehamn, the capital of the Åland Islands and are managed by Englishman Gary Williams a former Chelsea youth player.

Åland is in the Baltic Sea, situated between Sweden and Finland.

The Seasiders have been in the top tier for 20 years and have won one title (2016) and a Finish Cup (2015) and last season finished 10th.

Tampereen Ilves, commonly referred to as Ilves, which is Finnish for Lynx, was formed in 1931 and had their most successful season in The Veikkausliiga last time out, finishing runners up and have won the Finish Cup 4 times, last season they moved into their new stadium.

KTP (Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat) are the other newly promoted side after winning The Ykkösliiga last season. They have previously won 2 top-tier league titles back in the 1950s and also have 4 Finish Cups in the bag.

KuPS (Kuopion Palloseura) are the current Finish Champions winning their first title last season along with the Swedish Cup, their 7th title and 5th Cup in total since they were formed in 1923 and are known as The Cannaries or The Yellow and Black.

SJK (Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho) were formed as recently as 2007 after a merger between the first teams of TP-Seinäjoki and Sepsi-78.

After starting in the third tier, the club won promotion to Veikkausliiga in 2014, and the next year won its first Finnish championship title! They have also won the Finish Cup and League Cup once and last season finished 4th.

They are managed by Scotsman Stevie Grieve.

VPS (Vaasan Palloseura) were formed in 1929 and are known as The Stripes; they won 2 top tier titles back in the 40s and are now back in the top league for what will be their 4th season on the trot, with the last 2 finishing in a respectable 3rd and 5th place.

We hope you have enjoyed this little insight into Finish Football, and it may inspire some of you to visit the country and its stunning scenery.