Pargas Idrottsförening, or PIF for short, is a

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

s club based in the city of Pargas,

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 club has over 1,500 members and is known, especially for

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

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 ...

, and

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...

. It also makes provision for

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

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 ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

, and

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

. The club was founded in 1914 as ''Pargas Malms Idrottsförening'' but changed its name to its current title in 1916.

Football

PIF played their first official match in 1916, their opponents being the

Kimito Kimito (; fi, Kemiö ) is a former municipality of Finland. On January 1, 2009, it was consolidated with Dragsfjärd and Västanfjärd to form the new municipality of Kimitoön. Prior to the consolidation, it was one of the four municipalities l ...

based club ''Wrethalla'' and the match ended in a 2- 2 draw. In 1994 the club played one season in the Ykkönen, the second tier of the Finnish football system. They also have experienced two other seasons at the same level back in 1939 and 1948. Their records indicate that the club have had three spells in the

Kakkonen Kakkonen or II divisioona is the third level in the league system of Finnish football and comprises 36 Finnish football teams. The II divisioona was introduced in 1973 and in the mid-1990s became known as the Kakkonen (Finnish for 'Number Two' ...

(Second Division) in 1990–93, 1995 and 2000–06. At the end of the 2006 season they were relegated to the

Kolmonen Kolmonen or III divisioona is the fourth level in the league system of Finnish football and comprises 104 Finnish football teams. The III divisioona was introduced in 1973 and in the mid-1990s became known as the Kolmonen (''Number Three'' in En ...

where they currently reside. In addition, PIF has played two seasons at the highest level in

Futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

in Finland, PIF is the youth club of Finnish international and former Charlton and

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

player Jonatan "Tintin" Johansson, who has now returned to Turun Palloseura.

Current squad

Season to season

Club Structure

The club runs a large number of teams including a men's team, a ladies' team, a veteran's side (Team 82 Oldboys) and 8 boys and 4 girls junior teams. A key facility provided by the club is the Aktia Arena, a floodlit all-weather pitch that is 104 x 62 metres (or two junior pitches 62 x 45 metres). Some matches are played here but the main home venue is at Pajbacka.

2010 season

PIF Men's Team are competing in the

administered by the Turku SPL. This is the fourth highest tier in the Finnish football system. In 2009 PIF finished in eleventh position in their

section.

Orienteering

Pargas won the women's relay in

Tiomila Tiomila or 10-mila is an orienteering race held annually in Sweden since 1945, usually in late April or early May. It is a 10-man relay which includes both night and daytime legs. The women's race consists of five daylight legs. Tiomila attracts ...

in 1999. The

section was founded in 1945.

References and sources

Official Club WebsiteOfficial Football Club Website
* Finnish Wikipedia
Suomen CupPargas IF Facebook

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pargas Idrottsforening Football clubs in Finland Orienteering clubs in Finland Association football clubs established in 1914 Pargas 1914 establishments in Finland