Football in Åland is governed by the

Åland Football Association The Åland Football Association () is the governing body of Association football, football in Åland. ÅFF is not a member of UEFA or FIFA, but is a member of the Football Association of Finland and has the status of a Finnish District Football A ...

(ÅFF), which was founded in

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

. ÅFF is a member of

Football Association of Finland The Football Association of Finland (, SPL; ) is the governing body of football (soccer), football and futsal in Finland. It was founded in Helsinki on 19 May 1907. The SPL organises the Finland national football team, men's and Finland women's ...

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

has 11 football clubs across different levels, ages, and genders. Åland even has its own national teams, Åland official football team and Åland women's official football team, despite not being a fully sovereign state or having membership to

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

. Åland women's team won the 2011 Island Games women's football tournament on the Isle of Wight. Football clubs of Åland play in leagues and competitions of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. ,

IFK Mariehamn IFK Mariehamn is a Finnish football club based in Mariehamn, the capital of the Åland Islands. It plays in the Finnish Premier Division (''Veikkausliiga''), winning their first title in 2016. The club is managed by Gary Williams, and it plays ...

plays in the Finnish men's premier league

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...

and

Åland United Åland United is a Finnish women's football club based in Lemland, Åland. They compete in the Kansallinen Liiga, the premier women's football league in Finland. In 2004 Åland's clubs Lemlands IF and IF Finströms Kamraterna decided to st ...

plays in the Finnish women's top division Kansallainen Liiga.

Men's football clubs

Finnish football league system

(Tier 1) * Jomala IK – Vitonen, SPL Turku district (Tier 7)

Women's football clubs

Finnish football league system

– Kansallinen Liiga (Tier 1) *

- Naisten Kolmonen, SPL Turku district (Tier 4)

Swedish football league system The Swedish football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. ...

* Jomala IK/

– Division 5, Uppland östra (Tier 7)

Ålandscupen

The

Ålandscupen Ålandscupen () is a local football competition for Åland which is administered by the ÅFF. The cup competition was first introduced in 1943 and continues to be dominated by IFK Mariehamn who have won the Ålandscupen 42 times. Finals Referen ...

was an annual cup competition administered by the ÅFF that was first introduced in 1943.

Youth football

The Åland FA organises a mini-league called ‘Poolspel’ for players of all genders from 6 – 12 years old.

Notable players from Åland

* Anders Eriksson * Jani Lyyski * Annica Sjölund * Daniel Sjölund * Tommy Wirtanen * Joel Mattsson

References

External links

Åland Football Association Official Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Football in Aland Football in Åland