Kuopion Palloseura (or KuPS) is a Finnish

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 ...

club, based in the ninth most populated city of Finland,

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

. KuPS plays in Finland's Premier League,

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 ...

. KuPS has won the Finnish championship six times, the

Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup ( fi, Suomen cup; sv, Finlands cup) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the ...

4 times and the

Finnish League Cup The Finnish League Cup was a knock-out association football, football competition contested annually during the pre-season in winter by teams from Veikkausliiga. The league cup was abolished after the 2016 tournament and replaced with the Finnish C ...

once. KuPS also holds the Finnish club record of the most consecutive seasons in the top flight, from 1949 to 1992. The team is placed fourth in the all-time Finnish Premier League honour table. The team plays its home matches at Savon Sanomat Areena. Until June 2005, KuPS used to play at an aged track and field stadium in Väinölänniemi, which is said to be one of the most beautiful sporting places in Finland. Väinölänniemi is a cape surrounded by a local lake,

Kallavesi Kallavesi is a medium-sized lake in Northern Savonia, eastern Finland located around the town of Kuopio. Combined with the lakes Suvasvesi, Juurusvesi–Akonvesi, Muuruvesi, Melavesi, and Riistavesi Kallavesi forms an lake system named Iso ...

History

1923–1949 Early History

One of the first sports clubs in Kuopio to adopt football was Kuopion Reipas who made the sport an official part of their program in 1915. Reipas was a general athletic society which competed in a wide variety of sports like track and field, gymnastics, skiing as well as team sports like bandy. After the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

of 1918 the differing interests of the disciplines began to cause friction within the club which resulted in the club gradually breaking apart during the 1920s. Among the clubs that emerged from Reipas was KuPS, officially founded on March 16, 1923, at Kuopion Seurahuone. Ali Rautakorpi was elected as the club's first chairman. Other sports participated in by the club during its early years were

pesäpallo Pesäpallo (; sv, boboll, both names literally meaning "nest ball", colloquially known in Finnish as pesis, also referred to as Finnish baseball) is a fast-moving bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland a ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

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 ...

. The 1920s KuPS spent mostly by playing friendly games against other local clubs. First major breakthrough came in 1930 when KuPS won the Savo district championship thereby earning promotion to B-sarja, the second tier of Finnish football at the time, where they remained until 1947 when they were promoted to

Mestaruussarja Mestaruussarja (Championship series) was the top division of Finland, Finnish association football, football from 1930 to 1989. It was replaced by Veikkausliiga in 1990. In 1930 league format was used for the first time to decide the Finnish cham ...

for the first time. KuPS's first stint in the Finnish top division lasted only a single season, but they were promoted again in 1949 and this time remained in the top division for 44 seasons.

Season 2005

KuPS returned to the top flight for the 2005 season after a year in the First Division (

Ykkönen ''Ykkönen'' (Finnish for 'Number One'; sv, Ettan) is the second highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga), although it is the highest league managed by the Football Association of Finland. The teams also play ...

). They finished the 2005 season in 10th place, easily avoiding the relegation play-off (13th place) and direct relegation (14th place).

Season 2006

On 1 April 2006 KuPS beat reigning Veikkausliiga champions, MyPa 1–0 in the semi-final of the

and secured a place in the Finnish League Cup Final. On 12 April 2006 in

Finnair Stadium The Bolt Arena (named Telia 5G -areena until January 2020, named Sonera Stadium until April 2017, and Finnair Stadium until August 2010; also known as ''Töölön jalkapallostadion'', " Töölö football stadium") is a football stadium in Helsin ...

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 ...

KuPS beat

FC KooTeePee FC KooTeePee was a Finnish football club. History Originally FC KooTeePee was founded as a reserve team of Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat (founded 1927). In the year 2000, it became an independent club. At that time Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat ...

2–1 in the League Cup Final and ended their 17-year run without titles. However, the club ended the 2006 season in last place, and was once again demoted to ''Ykkönen'' for the 2007 season. This resulted in manager

Juha Malinen Juha is a masculine given name of Finnish origin derived from Johannes (or John in English language contexts). Notable people with the name include: * Juha Alén * Juha Gustafsson * Juha Hakola * Juha Harju * Juha Haukkala * Juha Hautamäki * J ...

being replaced by his former player/assistant manager Kai Nyyssönen. Reserve team, KuPS Akatemia (tr: KuPS Academy) played in the Second Division Group A (

Kakkonen Kakkonen or II divisioona is the third level in the Finnish football league system, league system of Finnish football and comprises 36 Finland, Finnish football (soccer), football teams. The II divisioona was introduced in 1973 and in the mid-1 ...

lohko A), but the team was terminated in December 2006 to cut costs and as a replacement, an agreement with Kings Kuopio, which plays also in the Second Division was signed. In December 2006, it was revealed that the team was heavily in debt and about to go bankrupt. KuPS fans held their breath, until a Helsinki-based CEO of an Investment bank ICECAPITAL, also a former chairman of the Board of the

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 Fi ...

increased his stake at the club to ca. 95% and saved the club.

Season 2007

After escaping imminent destruction, season 2007 began with reasonably low expectations. A target to achieve promotion back to top flight in two years was set. Manager Kai Nyyssönen lured his former team-mate

Harri Ylönen Harri Ylönen (born 21 December 1972) is a Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national la ...

back to strengthen the team and to serve as an assistant manager. The duo lured in Roope Reinikainen, Ilja Venäläinen and Miikka Turunen, who also returned to their former home club. Jussi Hakasalo from JJK Jyväskylä and Tero Mäkäläinen from MyPa were new names. Because of relegation KuPS lost its prized assets, Sierraleonese players,

Patrick Bantamoi Patrick Bantamoi (born 24 May 1986 in Bo, Sierra Leone) is a Sierra Leonean- Finland, Finnish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Bantamoi was born and raised in Bo, in the southern region of Sierra Leone. Discovered whi ...

FC Inter Turku Football Club International Turku, commonly referred to as Inter Turku and colloquially known as Inter, is a professional football club based in Turku, Finland, that competes in the Veikkausliiga, the top flight of Finnish Football. Founded in 1 ...

and Medo to HJK. KuPS and

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian midfielder Seth Ablade parted their ways earlier, with Ablade terminating his contract. Season 2007 started well with mostly local players. The team suffered a run of draws in the mid-season, but by winning their last six games with their main opponent RoPS of Rovaniemi at the same time losing its lead, KuPS won the league Ykkönen and went straight back. RoPS also achieved a promotion, by winning a promotion play-off against 13th-place finisher of Veikkausliiga,

FC Viikingit FC Viikingit is a Finnish football club based in Vuosaari, East Helsinki, and currently playing in the ''Kakkonen'', the third tier of Finnish football. They play their home matches at Vuosaaren urheilukenttä, also called Heteniitty. The club ...

2010-present

KuPS qualified for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

after finishing second in the

. They were drawn against Romanian side

Gaz Metan Medias GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (russian: ГАЗ or Го́рьковский автомоби́льный заво́д, , Gorky Automobile Plant) is a Russian automotive manufacturer located in Nizhny Novgorod, formerly known as Gorky (Го� ...

in the second qualifying round.

Ilja Venäläinen Ilja Venäläinen (born 27 September 1980) is a retired Finnish football player. He played for FF Jaro FF Jaro is a Finnish football club, based in the bilingual town of Jakobstad. It currently plays in ''Ykkönen''. Home matches are play ...

gave KuPS a 1–0 lead going into the second leg in Romania, but the Finnish side fell 2–0 in

Mediaș Mediaș (; german: Mediasch, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Medwesch''/''Medveš'', hu, Medgyes) is the second largest town in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. Geographic location Mediaș is located in the middle basin of Târnava Mare River, ...

, ending their first European run in 21 years. In the 2012-13 season, KuPS once again qualified for the Europa League. They beat

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

side

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

in the first qualifying round, before pulling off a shock win against

Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Netanya F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל מכבי נתניה, ''Football Club Maccabi Netanya'') is an Israeli football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949. Af ...

. They fell in the next round to Turkish side

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği (), commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Bursa. Formed in 1963, the club colours are green and white, with home kits usually featuring both colours in a striped pattern. In t ...

, in what was the club's most successful European campaign ever. KuPS solidified themselves as a mid-table Ykkonen side during the mid 2010s, and began to push for European places again towards the end of the decade, returning to the Europa League in the 2017 season, although their campaign ended almost immediately, with a loss to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in the first round. In the 2019 season KuPS won their first Finnish top-flight title since 1976. They played in the Champions League for the first time in their history next season.

European campaigns

UEFA club competition record

''As of Septembar 17, 2022.''

Season to season

Current squad

''As of 18 July 2022.''

Out on loan

Management

''As of 1 October 2021''

Boardroom

''As of 28 September 2019'' Image:Ilja Venalainen KuPS vs Sakari Mattila Klubi-04.jpg,

trailed by

Klubi-04 Klubi 04 is a Finnish football club based in Helsinki. It is the reserve team of Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi for whom a number of the players are also registered. History Klubi 04 was founded in 2004 when HJK bought FC Jokerit. Initially Klubi 04 ...

's Sakari Mattila (2007) Image:Jonni Heikkinen KuPS.jpg, Jonni Heikkinen escapes from a

PK-37 Pallo-Kerho 37, also known as PK-37, is a Finland, Finnish football club from the city of Iisalmi. The club was founded on 10 October 1937 as a bandy and association football, football club, but later on it also became known for its pesäpallo a ...

player in

5th Round, 2006 Image:Miikka Turunen KuPS 03 08 nr2.jpg,

Miikka Turunen Miikka Turunen (born 18 August 1979) is a Finnish football player currently playing for KuPS Kuopion Palloseura (or KuPS) is a Finnish football club, based in the ninth most populated city of Finland, Kuopio. KuPS plays in Finland's Premie ...

near the corner flag in

, 2008 Image:Arto Lindberg KuPS Tuomas Haapala HJK 03 08.jpg, Arto Lindberg trying to keep Tuomas Haapala away

Honours

Mestaruussarja/Veikkausliiga * Champions (6): 1956, 1958, 1966, 1974,

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, 2019 * Runners-up (10): 1950, 1954, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1975, 1977, 1979,

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 ...

, 2017

* Champions: 1968, 1989,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

* Runners-up:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

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 ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

* Champions: 2006

(second tier) *Champions:

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 ...

, 2004, 2007

(third tier) * Champions: 1998

Managers

* Aaro Heikkinen (1945–57) * Imre Nagy (1947) * Martti Kosma (1958) * Reino Miettinen (1959) * Veijo Pehkonen (1960) * Asser Väisänen (1960) * Aaro Heikkinen (1961–65) * Gunnar Boman (1966–68) * Veikko Jokinen (1969–71) * Unto Nevalainen (1969–71) * Martti Räsänen (1972–79) * Matti Terästö ''(initial term)'' (1980) * Jarmo Flink ''(final season)'' (1980) * Ari Savolainen (1981) * Matti Väänänen (1982) * Bogusław Hajdas (1983–85) * Jouko Pasanen (1986) * Jouko Pasanen (1987) * Aarre Miettinen (July 1987) * Heikki Turunen (1988) * Aarre Miettinen (1988) * Heikki Turunen (1989) * Markku Hyvärinen (May 1989) * Olavi Rissanen (May 1989) * Martti Räsänen (1990–91) * Olavi Rissanen (1990–91) * Martti Räsänen (1992) * Jouni Jäntti (Sept 1992) * Markku Hyvärinen (Sept 1992) * Keijo Voutilainen (Jan 1, 1993 – Dec 31, 1994) *

Hannu Turunen Hannu Turunen (born 24 June 1956) is a Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national languag ...

(1995–96) * Atik Ismail (1995–96) * Jouni Jäntti (1997–98) * Ensio Pellikka (1998) * Heikki Turunen (1999) * Esa Pekonen (Jan 1, 2000 – Dec 31, 2001) * Jari Pyykölä (Jan 1, 2002 – June 6, 2003) * Ismo Lius (June 2003) *

(Jan 1, 2005 – Dec 31, 2006) * Kai Nyyssönen (Jan 1, 2007 – June 13, 2009) * Esa Pekonen (June 14, 2009 – April 24, 2014) *

Marko Rajamäki Marko Rajamäki (born 3 October 1968) is a Swedish-born Finnish former footballer and current manager of TPS. He managed Turun Palloseura between 2010 and 2014. Previously he managed the club's under-18 team (since 2002) and was also the assis ...

(May 2, 2014 – 2016) *

Jani Honkavaara Jani Honkavaara (born 2 February 1976) is a Finnish football manager and retired football player, who is the manager of KuPS. Career Honkavaara began his football career in TP-Seinäjoki (formerly known as Törnävän Pallo-55). During his time ...

(2017–2019) * Arne Erlandsen (2020) * Simo Valakari (2021–present)

References

External links

Official website

Banzai – Supporters of KuPS, club's website
{{Finnish Champions in Football Association football clubs established in 1923 Football clubs in Finland Kuopio 1923 establishments in Finland