| Full name | Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna i Helsingfors | ||
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| Nickname(s) | HIFK Tähtirinnat (The Star Chested) |
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| Founded | 1897 (Club) 1907 (Football) |
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| Ground | Brahen kenttä, Helsinki, Finland (Capacity: 2,000) |
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| Chairman | Kimmo Niemistö | ||
| Coach | Jani Honkavaara | ||
| League | Ykkönen | ||
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Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna i Helsingfors (abbreviated HIFK) is a sports club from Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 HIFK is the oldest IFK club in Finland. The club has activities in many sports, including football, ice hockey, bandy, floorball, handball, athletics and bowling. HIFK Soccer ry is part of the HIFK sports club. The men's football first team currently plays in the Ykkönen (First Division) and their home ground is at the Brahen kenttä where they have been based since 2011. Earlier their home ground was at the Töölön pallokenttä.
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Today, HIFK is best known in Finland for its ice hockey section which runs a team in the SM-liiga league.
Idrotts Föreningen Kamraterna i Helsingfors was formed on the 15 of October in 1897 by Georges Doubitsky, a 15-year old student at the Svenska Reallyceum school in Helsinki. In those early years the club specialised in athletics, football and bandy. The football section was established in 1907, the same year that the Football Association of Finland was founded. The first football match played HIFK was at the Kaisaniemi ground on 17 May 1908 where the new team lost 1-2 to Unitas.[1]
In those early years HIFK were runners-up in the Mestaruussarja (then played as a cup competition) on 5 occasions in 1909, 1912, 1928 and 1929. In addition in 1912 the Finnish Football team at the Stockholm Olympics comprised a team of HIFK players.
HIFK won their first Finnish championship (Mestaruussarja) in 1930 a feat that they were to repeat on three other occasions in 1931, 1933 and 1937 in a tremendous decade for the club. HIFK also won the Mestaruussarja in 1947, 1959 and 1961. In total HIFK won the Finnish championship on 7 occasions.
HIFK was one of the most successful football sides in Finland until the early 1970s when the team were relegated from the Mestaruussarja (Finnish Premier League). After 1972 the team has not managed to return to the Finnish top flight, and have even played in the Nelonen (Fourth Division), the fifth tier of the Finnish football league system, in 1980-83 and 2003-05.
In total since 1930 HIFK have played 29 seasons in the Mestaruussarja (the top tier), 18 seasons in the second tier and 18 seasons in the third tier. Their best spell in recent decades was from 1999 to 2002 when the club participated in the Ykkönen (First Division).[2] However, the club overstretched themselves which resulted in the withdrawal from the Ykkönen at the end of the 2002 season and taking the place of the second team in the Nelonen (Fourth Division) in 2003. However, in recent years HIFK have made great progress and are now back in the Ykkönen (First Division), the second tier of Finnish football.
HIFK participated in the European Cup in the 1960-1961 and 1962-1963 seasons and played in the UEFA cup in 1971-1972.
HIFK participated in the European Cup in the 1960-1961 and 1962-1963 seasons and played in the UEFA cup in 1971-1972.
| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Score | Agg. |
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| 1960-61 | European Cup | Preliminary round | IFK Malmö | 1–3, 1–2 | 2–5 | |
| 1962-63 | European Cup | Preliminary round | Austria Vienna | 3–5, 0–2 | 3–7 | |
| 1971–72 | UEFA Cup | First round | Rosenborg BK | 0–3, 0–1 | 0–4 |
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HIFK Soccer run a large number of teams including 3 men's teams, 1 men's veterans team, 1 Academy team and 9 boys teams.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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