Kotkan Kiri is a
Finnish sports club from the city of
Kotka.
Club participates in
gymnastics,
ice hockey and
association football. They were originally called ''Metsolan Kiri'', named after Metsola district of Kotka.
Background
They were formed in 1935 after internal political disputes between social democrats and communists had torn Kotkan Riento apart and left Metsola area, in which Riento had had a local section, without a sports club, Riento members from other areas in Kotka had already formed and joined other clubs, like
Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat. Idea for a new club came from local shopkeeper Eino Lehtinen, who called locals for a founding meeting. Kiri joined
Finnish Workers' Sports Federation after formation. Early sports included
boxing,
athletics,
Nordic skiing
Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the Ski binding, binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe ...
,
wrestling,
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 ...
,
swimming, and
diving, in the past club also organized
basketball,
table tennis and
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 ...
. Most sports have since been abandoned. In mid 1940s members build a club house which is still in use. In football club played one season in Finnish premier league after TUL and SPL leagues were merged for 1948 season. From 1948 to 1955 four different clubs from fairly small Kotka visited Finnish first tier, Kiri and Jäntevä represented Metsola district and Hovinsaari in general, while Reipas represented Kristiina district of Kotkansaari, KTP was biggest club in town and drew supporters and players throughout town, in addition Kotkan Palloseura played second-tier football throughout 1930s and played third-tier football during 1940s and 50s and Kymin Paloillijat played in second tier during late 1950s. Tough competition eventually meant that quality players were hard to find and there was not enough attendance for every club. Most local clubs slowly dropped deeper to lower division in coming decades.
Season to season
*1 seasons in ''
Mestaruussarja''
*1 seasons in ''
Suomensarja Suomensarja (sometimes also ''Suomi-sarja'') (‘Finland Series’) was the second highest level of league format association football in Finland from 1936 to 1972.
Before the inauguration of the Suomensarja, there had been, in 1930–1935, special ...
''
*8 seasons in ''Maakuntasarja''
*13 seasons in ''
Kolmonen''
*18 seasons in ''
Nelonen''
*10 seasons in ''
Vitonen
Vitonen or V divisioona is the sixth level in the Finnish football league system and comprises 228 teams. The V divisioona was introduced in 1973 and in the mid-1990s became known as the Vitonen (''Number Five'' in English and ''Femman'' in Swed ...
''
*2 season in ''
Kutonen''
[://www.finlandfootball.net/]
Official homepage
References
External links
Club profile in Finnish FA official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kotkan Kiri
Football clubs in Finland
Association football clubs established in 1935
1935 establishments in Finland
Kotka
Sport in Kymenlaakso