The Football Association of Finland ( fi, Suomen Palloliitto, abbr. SPL; sv, Finlands Bollförbund) is the governing body of
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
in
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. It was founded in Helsinki on 19 May 1907.
The SPL organises the
men's and
women's
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
national football teams, and the second and third tiers of national football. The premier division
Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga (; sv, Tipsligan) is the premier division of Finnish football, the highest tier of the Finnish football league structure, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkau ...
is organized by a distinct organisation, and the lower tiers (the fourth tier and below) are organized by the 12 district organisations. The SPL is based in the Finnish capital city of
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
.
Background
The SPL has more than 1,000 member clubs and approximately 140,000 registered players. The Finnish Gallup survey has indicated that football is a popular pastime with around 500,000 Finns interested in the sport. The SPL is Finland's largest amateur sports federation.
The association was also the governing body of
bandy
Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...
in Finland until
Finland's Bandy Association
Finland's Bandy Association (Finnish: ''Suomen Jääpalloliitto'', Swedish: ''Finlands Bandyförbund'') is the governing body for the sport of bandy in Finland. Bandy was one of the sports for which the Ball Association of Finland, founded in 190 ...
was founded in 1972. In 1928, it also arranged the first Finland ice hockey championship, before the 1929 establishment of the
Finnish Ice Hockey Association
The Finnish Ice Hockey Association ( fi, Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto, sv, Finlands Ishockeyförbund) is the governing body of ice hockey in Finland. In 1927, the Finnish Skating Association introduced ice hockey as part of its program and, through ...
.
District organisations
At the more local level Finnish football is administered by the following 12
district organisations of the SPL:
*
Ålands Fotbollförbund
*
SPL Helsingin piiri
The SPL Helsingin piiri ''(Helsinki Football Association)'' is one of the 12 district organisations of the Football Association of Finland. It administers lower tier football in Helsinki.
Background
Suomen Palloliitto Helsingin piiri, common ...
*
SPL Itä-Suomen piiri
*
SPL Kaakkois-Suomen piiri
The SPL Kaakkois-Suomen piiri ''(South Eastern Finland Football Association)'' is one of the 12 district organisations of the Football Association of Finland. It administers lower tier football in South Eastern Finland.
Background
Suomen P ...
*
SPL Keski-Pohjanmaan piiri
The SPL Keski-Pohjanmaan piiri ''(Central Ostrobothnia Football Association)'' is one of the 12 district organisations of the Football Association of Finland. It administers lower tier football in Central Ostrobothnia.
Background
Suomen ...
*
SPL Keski-Suomen piiri
The SPL Keski-Suomen piiri ''(Central Finland Football Association)'' is one of the 12 Finnish District Football Associations, district organisations of the Football Association of Finland. It administers lower tier football (soccer), football in ...
*
SPL Pohjois-Suomen piiri
The SPL Pohjois-Suomen piiri ''(Northern Finland Football Association)'' is one of the 12 district organisations of the Football Association of Finland. It administers lower tier football in Northern Finland.
Background
Suomen Palloliitto P ...
*
SPL Satakunnan piiri
The SPL Satakunnan piiri ''(Satakunta Football Association)'' is one of the 12 district organisations of the Football Association of Finland. It administers lower tier football in Satakunta.
Background
Suomen Palloliitto Satakunnan piiri, ...
*
SPL Tampereen piiri
The SPL Tamperen piiri ''(Tampere Football Association)'' is one of the 12 district organisations of the Football Association of Finland. It administers lower tier football in Tampere.
Background
Suomen Palloliitto Tampereen piiri, commonly ...
*
SPL Turun piiri
The SPL Turun piiri ''(Turku Football Association)'' is one of the 12 district organisations of the Football Association of Finland. It administers lower tier football in Turku.
Background
Suomen Palloliiton Turun piiri, commonly referred ...
*
SPL Uudenmaan piiri
The SPL Uusimaan piiri ''(Uusimaa Football Association)'' is one of the 12 district organisations of the Football Association of Finland. It administers lower tier football in Vantaa.
Background
Suomen Palloliitto Uusimaan piiri, commonly r ...
*
SPL Vaasan piiri
The SPL Vaasan piiri ''(Vaasa Football Association)'' is one of the 12 district organisations of the Football Association of Finland. It administers lower tier football in Vaasa.
Background
Suomen Palloliitto Vaasan piiri, commonly referred ...
There were also 12 other
district organisations that no longer exist.
Publications
The association publishes several magazines, including now-defunct monthly magazine ''
Futari''.
Presidents
*
Walter Flander
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
1907–1908
*
John Catani
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
1909
*
Uno Westerholm
Uno or UNO may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Television
* "Uno" (''Better Call Saul''), premiere episode of the American TV series ''Better Call Saul''
* ''Uno'' (film), a 2004 Norwegian drama film
*Rai Uno, an Italian TV channel
**'' ...
1910–1911
*
Carolus Lindberg
Carolus may refer to:
People
* Carolus (name)
* the medieval Latin form of the name Charles
**Charlemagne (742–814)
* King Charles XII of Sweden, who is sometimes referred to as "Carolus Rex"
Scientific
* ''Carolus'' (plant), a genus of flowe ...
1912
*
Walter Qvist
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
1913–1917
*
Erik von Frenckell
Erik von Frenckell (18 November 1887 – 13 September 1977) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish nobleman, member of the Parliament of Finland, member of the International Olympic Committee and a vice president of the International Football Associati ...
1918–1952
*
Juuso Walden
Juuso Walfrid Walden (5 April 1907 – 19 November 1972) was a Finnish industrial leader and entrepreneur, long term CEO of Yhtyneet Paperitehtaat, the predecessor of United Paper Mills.
Early life and upbringing
Juuso Walden was born in St. P ...
1953–1963
*
Osmo P. Karttunen 1963–1974
*
Ove H. Rehn 1974–1975
*
Jouko Loikkanen 1975–1983
*
Lauri Pöyhönen 1983–1987
* 1987–1997
*
Pekka Hämäläinen 1997–2009
*
Sauli Niinistö
Sauli Väinämö Niinistö (; born 24 August 1948) is a Finnish politician who has served as president of Finland since March 2012, the 12th person to hold that office.
A lawyer by education, Niinistö was Chairman of the National Coalition Part ...
2009–2012
*
Markku Lehtola
Markku is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Markku Alén (born 1951), Finnish former rally and race car driver
*Markku Aro (born 1950), Finnish singer who performed on Eurovision contest in 1971
*Markku Huhtamo (born 1946), Finn ...
2012 (interim)
*
Pertti Alaja
Pertti Johannes Alaja (18 February 1952 – 18 August 2017) was a Finland, Finnish Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper.
Alaja was elected as the 15th president of the Football Association ...
2012–2017
*
Markku Lehtola
Markku is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Markku Alén (born 1951), Finnish former rally and race car driver
*Markku Aro (born 1950), Finnish singer who performed on Eurovision contest in 1971
*Markku Huhtamo (born 1946), Finn ...
2017–2018 (interim)
*
Ari Lahti
Ari Lahti (born 1963) is a Finnish businessman, owner of KuPS of the Veikkausliiga and President of Football Association of Finland. He is the founder, owner, and chairman of Helsinki-based Ice Capital. He was formerly employed at the Bank of Finla ...
2018 to date
References
External links
*
Finlandat UEFA.com
Finlandat FIFA.com
{{Authority control
1907 establishments in Finland
Sports organizations established in 1907
Football in Finland
Futsal in Finland
Organisations based in Helsinki
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
Bandy in Finland
Ice hockey in Finland
Defunct ice hockey governing bodies
Defunct bandy governing bodies
Sport in Helsinki
Football Federation of Finland