Finland Men's National Floorball Team is the national

floorball Floorball is a type of floor hockey with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. Men and women play indoors with sticks and a plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three twenty-minute periods. The sport of bandy also played a role ...

team of

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 ...

. The national team was founded in 1985 and they played their first official game against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in 1985. Finland has won four World Championships (2008, 2010, 2016, 2018) and 1

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

(1995). Finland has appeared in every World and European Championships tournament organised by the

IFF In logic and related fields such as mathematics and philosophy, "if and only if" (shortened as "iff") is a biconditional logical connective between statements, where either both statements are true or both are false. The connective is bicon ...

and is the only team with Sweden to have won such a tournament.

History

Early years

The Finland national floorball team was founded in 1985 and they played their first game against

in Sollentuna on 28 September 1985. Finland lost 1–13 and it is still the worst defeat the national team has suffered so far. Pekka Kainulainen scored the first goal of the match and the first official national team goal leading Finland to early 1–0 lead.

1991–2000

The 1994 and 1995 European Championships
The national team participated to the 1994 and 1995 European Championships, which were the first organised international floorball tournaments between national teams. In 1994 tournament Finland lost to Sweden in the final (4–1) on home ground in

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 ...

after upsetting the swedes earlier in the group stage. The 1995 European Championships tournament was held in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and the national team succeeded in making their way in to the final, where they were to meet Sweden again. This time Finland fared better and after a stalemate in regular time and overtime, Finland won the championships in a penalty shootout. Successful penalty shots by Jari Pekkola and Jari-Pekka Lehtonen, and goaltending by Jan Gråsten guaranteed the victory. 1996 World Championships
The first ever World Championship tournament was held in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Finland placed second after being clearly outplayed by Sweden and losing 5–0 in the final. The final match was played in Stockholm Globe Arena in front of 15 106 spectators. 1998 World Championships
The tournament in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

was a disappointment for team Finland. Finland lost to

(4–5) in the semi-finals in a penalty shootout and the national team placed third after beating

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

4–1 in the bronze medal game.

Mika Kohonen Mika Kohonen (born May 10, 1977) is a Finnish floorball player. He currently plays for FC Helsingborg, a club in the Swedish Super League. He has also played for Balrog IK in SSL and Happee in Salibandyliiga. He has also been a part of Finlan ...

was Finland's leading forward with 6 goals and 2 assists in 5 games. 2000 World Championships
Finland was expected to challenge Sweden for real this time around and two teams met yet again in the final match. The final match was played in Jordal Amfi in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and it was the closest World Championships final yet, with Sweden taking the title with a 5–3 victory.

2001–2010

2002 World Championships
The 2002 World Championships tournament was hosted in

and the national team was eager to bring home the title in front of their home crowd. Finland battled its way to the final to meet Sweden. The final match was played in Hartwall Arena with 13 665 spectators, who witnessed Sweden grabbing yet another World Championships title in thriller of a match with 3 goals score in the last minute. The final score was 6–4 to Sweden. 2004 World Championships
This time Finland and Sweden met in the semi-finals. Sweden gained the upper hand, were victorious and continued on to the final. Finland was to settle for the bronze medal game where they met

, an upcoming floorball nation, who had upset Finland earlier in the group stage with a 4–3 victory. The game was again close fought with team Finland emerging on top in a high scoring 8–7 win decided in a penalty shootout. Henri Toivoniemi (GK), Jari Lehtonen (D) and

(F) were selected to the tournament's All-Stars line-up. 2006 World Championships
The tournament was played in

. Finland and Sweden met in the final in Stockholm Globe Arena. The match ended 7–6 to Sweden with Magnus Svensson scoring the deciding

sudden death Sudden Death or Sudden death may refer to: Medical * Cardiac arrest, also known as sudden cardiac death, natural death from cardiac causes * Sudden cardiac death of athletes * Sudden infant death syndrome * Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy * ...

goal in overtime. 2008 World Championships
Finland finally won its first World Championships title after beating Sweden 7–6 in overtime, in a final match played in

. The game-deciding goal was scored by

Tero Tiitu Tero Tiitu (born April 23, 1982) is a Finnish floorball player currently playing for EräViikingit of the F-liiga. Tiitu is the holder of the F-liiga's one season goal scoring record of 63 goals. Swedish floorball magazine Innebandymagazinet chose ...

. After losing to Sweden four times in earlier World Championships finals, Finland finally laid its hands on the coveted trophy as the team captain

Mikael Järvi Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

lifted the prize for the very first time in Finnish floorball history. 2010 World Championships
For the first time Finland came into the tournament as reigning world champions. The home games were held in

. As expected Finland met its nemesis Sweden in the final. Finland were the dominant team and took the title for the second time in front of a roaring home crowd. The final game ended 6–2 to Finland. Mika Kohonen scored a hat-trick in the game.

2011 – present

Finland is the World Champion in Floorball

2012 World Championships
The tournament was held in

and the two floorball juggernauts clashed again in the final game. Sweden totally devastated the Finnish side with quickly gaining a 9–0 lead. The game soon evened out, but with such an advantage given early on, Sweden coasted to victory with the final score being 11–5. 2014 World Championships
The 2014 World Championships are played in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

in December 2014. Finland will participate in the competition. 2016 World Championships
World Championship tournament was held first time in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. Finland and Sweden met in the final in

Arena Riga Arena Riga ( lv, Arēna Rīga) is an indoor arena in Riga, Latvia. It is primarily used for ice hockey, basketball and concerts. Arena Riga holds a maximum of 14,500 and was opened on 15 February 2006. It was built to be used as one of the v ...

. The match ended 4–3 to Finland and took the title for the third time in Penalty shootout. 2018 World Championships
The 2018 World Championships are played for the third time in

. Finland meets his beloved neighbor Sweden in the finals. Finland wins and took the title for the fourth time in the same place where they won the first title in 10 years ago.

Players and staff

Roster for 2014 World championships

Team staff for 2014 World Championships * Head coach: Petri Kettunen * Assistant coach: Mika Ahonen * Assistant coach: Akseli Ahtiainen * Assistant coach: Juha Jäntti * Masseur: Ari Haapalainen * Physio: Aleksi Öhman * Team manager: Jari Oksanen * Media: Juhani Henriksson Updated 2 Dec 2014.

Past rosters

2010 World Champions *Goalkeepers: **Jani Naumanen and Henri Toivoniemi. *Defenders: **Markus Bollström, Juha Kivilehto, Mika Savolainen, Timo Toivonen, Jouni Vehkaoja and Tatu Väänänen. *Forwards: **Harri Forsten, Rickie Hyvärinen, Oscar Hänninen, Henri Johansson, Esa Jussila, Mikael Järvi,

, Mikko Kohonen, Jani Kukkola, Mika Moilanen,

and Lassi Vänttinen. *Staff: **Petteri Nykky (Head Coach), Juha Jäntti (Coach), Petri Kettunen (Coach), Harri Lehtonen, Kimmo Nurminen, Marko Pirhonen and Hannu Tuunainen. 2008 World Champions *Goalkeepers: **Jani Naumanen and Henri Toivoniemi. *Defenders: **Mika Kavekari, Tarmo Kirjonen, Saku Lehti, Vesa Punkari, Mika Savolainen and Jouni Vehkaoja. *Forwards: **Harri Forsten, Rickie Hyvärinen, Esa Jussila, Mikael Järvi, Juho Järvinen,

, Mikko Kohonen, Kari Koskelainen, Jani Kukkola, Santtu Manner,

and Lassi Vänttinen. *Staff: ** Petteri Nykky (Head Coach), Juha Jäntti (Coach), Samu Kuitunen (Coach), Hexi Arteva, Petri Kanter, Antti Luhta and Antti Ylinen.

World championships

Honours

World Games

*Third-placed: 1 **

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

World championships

* Champions: 4 **

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

* Runner-up: 6 **

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* Third-placed: 2 **

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

European championships

*Champions: 1 **

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

*Runner-up: 1 **

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Records

All-time World Championships record

Updated 11 Dec 2016.

Individual records

* Most games played: 152 **

* Most goals scored: 110 **

* Most assists: 156 **

* Most points: 233 **

* Most penalty minutes: 53 ** Vesa Punkari Updated 2 Dec 2014.

References

External links

Official website

Official Twitter

Team Card on International Floorball Federation website
{{National floorball teams National team

Floorball Floorball is a type of floor hockey with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. Men and women play indoors with sticks and a plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three twenty-minute periods. The sport of bandy also played a role ...