Veikkausliiga

Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga 2008

Founded
1990
Nation
Finland
Number of Teams
14
Relegation To
Ykkönen
European Qualification
Champions League UEFA Cup Intertoto Cup
Current Champions (Veikkausliiga season 2008)
FC Inter Turku
Website
[1]

Veikkausliiga is the premier division of Finnish football, comprising the top 14 clubs of the country. Veikkausliiga is currently ranked as the 30th best league in Europe. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkaus, hence the league's name. Veikkausliiga was founded in 1990; before that the top division was called Mestaruussarja (championship series) since 1930. Between 1908 and 1930 the championship was decided in a cup competition.

Ykkönen (division one) has been the second highest level of Finnish football since 1973.

Like in some other cold-climate European countries (including Norway, Sweden and Russia), league matches in Finland are played in summer, with a schedule usually from April to October. In current format each team plays all other teams twice, both at home and away. At the end of the season, the lowest-placed team is relegated to Ykkönen, whose winner will be promoted to Veikkausliiga. In normal seasons, the team placed next to lowest will play a two-legged relegation/promotion match with the second-placed team in Ykkönen. In season 2006, because the Veikkausliiga was one team short, this promotion match was not played and two best clubs of Ykkönen, FC Viikingit and AC Oulu, were promoted directly. KuPS were relegated.

Most of the clubs in Veikkausliiga are professional, although some of the smaller clubs are semi-professional. Average attendance has been slightly under 3000.

1 Clubs
2 Champions
3 Top clubs 1990-2007
4 Top scorers 1990–2008
5 See also
6 External links

Clubs

The Veikkausliiga clubs in the 2009 season are (with their home towns in brackets):

FC Haka (Valkeakoski)	FC Honka (Espoo)
FC Inter (Turku)	FC Lahti (Lahti)
FF Jaro (Jakobstad)	HJK (Helsinki)
IFK Mariehamn (Mariehamn)	JJK (Jyväskylä)
KuPS (Kuopio)	MyPa-47 (Anjalankoski)
RoPS (Rovaniemi)	Tampere United (Tampere)
TPS (Turku)	VPS (Vaasa)

Champions

The following clubs have won either the Veikkausliiga (between 1990 and 2008) or the Mestaruussarja (between 1908 and 1989) championship :

21 wins: HJK
9 wins: FC Haka, HPS
8 wins: TPS
7 wins: HIFK
5 wins: KuPS, Kuusysi¹, Tampere United²
4 wins: KIF
3 wins: Reipas Lahti¹, VIFK, ÅIFK
2 wins: FC Jazz⁴, KTP³, OPS, VPS
1 win: HT, KPV, PUS, Turun Pyrkivä, Viipurin Sudet, Unitas, TPV, MyPa, FC Inter Turku

Notes:
¹ Kuusysi and Lahden Reipas merged their professional teams in 1997 to form FC Lahti. Both teams, however, continue in junior football.
² Ilves-Kissat Tampere merged with TaPa Tampere in 1975 to form Ilves Tampere, who took over Ilves-Kissat's place. Ilves Tampere were renamed Tampere United before the 1999 season as a result of failed merger. Although Ilves continues also as its own club all predecessors' titles are included here in the figure for Tampere United.
³ FC KooTeePee was established to continue top-level football in Kotka when the former Kotka team known as KTP went bankrupt. However as KTP also continues to play in lower divisions its titles are not usually considered to be inherited by FC KooTeePee.
⁴FC Jazz was formerly known as PPT (Porin Pallotoverit)

Top clubs 1990-2007

Year	Champion	2nd	3rd
1990	HJK	FC Kuusysi	MP
1991	FC Kuusysi	MP	FC Haka
1992	HJK	FC Kuusysi	FC Jazz
1993	FC Jazz	MyPa	HJK
1994	TPV	MyPa	HJK
1995	FC Haka	MyPa	HJK
1996	FC Jazz	MyPa	TPS
1997	HJK	VPS	FinnPa
1998	FC Haka	VPS	PK-35
1999	FC Haka	HJK	MyPa
2000	FC Haka	FC Jokerit	MyPa
2001	Tampere United	HJK	MyPa
2002	HJK	MyPa	FC Haka
2003	HJK	FC Haka	Tampere United
2004	FC Haka	AC Allianssi	Tampere United
2005	MyPa	HJK	Tampere United
2006	Tampere United	HJK	FC Haka
2007	Tampere United	FC Haka	TPS
2008	FC Inter Turku	FC Honka	FC Lahti

Top scorers 1990–2008

Season	Player	Club	Goals
1990	Marek Czakon	Ilves	16
1991	Kimmo Tarkkio	FC Haka	23
1992	Luiz Antonio	FC Jazz	21
1993	Antti Sumiala	FC Jazz	20
1994	Dionísio	TPV	17
1995	/ Valeri Popovitch	FC Haka	21
1996	Luiz Antonio	FC Jazz	17
1997	Rafael	HJK	11
1998	Matti Hiukka	RoPS	11
1999	/ Valeri Popovitch	FC Haka	23
2000	Shefki Kuqi	FC Jokerit	19
2001	Paulus Roiha	HJK	22
2002	Mika Kottila	HJK	18
2003	Saku Puhakainen	MyPa	14
2004	Antti Pohja	TamU	16
2005	Juho Mäkelä	HJK	16
2006	Hermanni Vuorinen	FC Honka	16
2007	Rafael	FC Lahti	14
2008	Aleksandr Kokko	FC Honka	13
2008	Henri Myntti	TamU	13

External links

Veikkausliiga 2008

Veikkausliiga seasons

1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939
1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959
1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969
1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979
1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989
1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999
2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009

Football in Finland

League competitions	National association	Cup competitions
Veikkausliiga	National team	Finnish Cup
Ykkönen	National U-21 team	Finnish League Cup
Kakkonen (3 groups)	Women's national team
Kolmonen (12 groups)	List of clubs
Naisten Liiga	League system
	Football venues
	Footballers of the year

Top level football leagues of Europe (UEFA)

Former leagues: Czechoslovakia | East Germany | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia