Football Association of Finland

Football Association of Finland
UEFA
Founded 1907
FIFA affiliation 1908
UEFA affiliation 1954
President Sauli Niinistö

The Football Association of Finland (Finnish: Suomen Palloliitto, SPL; Swedish: Finlands Bollförbund, FBF) is the governing body of football in Finland. It was founded in 1907, and was also the governing body of bandy in Finland until the bandy association, Suomen Jääpalloliitto, was founded in 1972.

The SPL organises the men's and women's national football teams, and the second and third tiers of national football. The premier division Veikkausliiga is organized by a distinct organisation, and the lower tiers (the fourth tier and below) are organized by the 12 district organisations. The SPL is based in the Finnish capital city of Helsinki.

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Background

The Suomen Palloliitto (SPL) has more than 1,000 member clubs and approximately 115,000 registered players. The Finnish Gallup survey has indicated that football is a popular pastime with around 500,000 Finns interested in the sport. The SPL is Finland's largest amateur sports federation.[1]

District organisations

At the more local level Finnish football is administered by the following 12 district organisations of the SPL[2]:

There were also 13 other district organisations that no longer exist. This included SPL Viipuri whose demise reflected the loss of territory to the USSR at the end of the Continuation War in 1944.

References

  1. ^ "Palloliitto". Suomen Palloliitto. http://www.palloliitto.fi/palloliitto/. Retrieved 2011-07-21. 
  2. ^ "Suomen Palloliitto - Piirit". Suomen Palloliitto. http://www.palloliitto.fi/palloliitto/yhteystiedot/piirit/. Retrieved 2011-12-16. 

External links