| Full name | Kronohagens Idrottsforening | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Kiffen, Mustat Hurmurit (Black Enchanters) | ||
| Founded | 1908 | ||
| Ground | Pallokenttä and Pukinmäki, Helsinki, Finland | ||
| Chairman | Raynold Dickman | ||
| Manager | Henrik Lindström | ||
| Coach | Mika Helin Jari Hakala |
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| League | Kakkonen | ||
| 2009 | 8th – Kakkonen (Group A) | ||
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Kronohagens Idrottsforening (abbreviated KIF or Kiffen) (English: Kruununhaka Sports Association) is a sports club from Helsinki, Finland. The club was founded on 27 September 1908, and has been mainly known for the achievements of its association football and handball teams. In the past the club also played at the top level in ice hockey and has won the Kalevan maljan (Kaleva Cup) in athletics. Other sports that the club participates include shooting, bandy, bowling and boxing. The men's football team is historically one of the most successful teams in Finland, and won the national football championship on three occasions during the 1910s, but currently plays in the Kakkonen (Second Division), the third tier of Finnish football. The football section of Kronohagens Idrottsforening is now known as FC Kiffen 08.
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Kiffen football is known as the Mustat hurmurit (Black charmers). The name comes from the 1930s when the black coloured jersey was first introduced. Kiffen had two representatives, Ragnar Wickström and Lars Schybergson, in the Finnish football team at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912. The club then won the Finnish football championship (Mestaruussarja) in 1913, 1915 and 1916 in the years prior to Finnish independence in 1917. Kiffen’s last championship win came much later in 1955.[1]
The decline in Kiffen football set in a decade later when the club were relegated from the Mestaruussarja and then a further relegation from the Suomensarja (Finland League), the second tier, followed in 1965 to the Maakuntasarja, the third tier. Fortunes fluctuated in the late 1960s and early 1970s before the club made its last appearances in the Mestaruussarja in 1977 and 1978.[2] Among the players representing KIffen at that time were Erkki Alaja, Juha Dahllund, Kai Haaskivi, Atik Ismail and Reima Kokko.
The following year in 1978 Kiffen had dropped to the Ykkönen (First Division) and in the subsequent years the club have not reached second tier football.[2] Over the last 30 years the club has fluctuated between the Kakkonen (Second Division) and Kolmonen (Third Division).
In 1982 and 1983 Kiffen’s ladies team reached the Finnish Women’s league championship qualifiers and from 1984 until 1989 played in the Premier Division after which the team withdrew with their divisional place being inherited by MP Mikkeli.[3]
In recent years the club has focused its activities on youth development. In geographical terms the club is serving the North-East of Helsinki and the Malmi area.
Top Level (25 seasons): 1930-32, 1940/41–46/47, 1948–57, 1960–64, 1977–78
Second Level (16 seasons): 1936–39, 1947/48, 195859, 1965, 1969–74, 1976, 1979
Third Level (21 seasons): 1975, 1980–85, 1990, 1994–2004, 2009–present day [2]
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Kiffen runs 2 men's teams, 1 veteran's team and 1 boys team.
For the current season Kiffen First Team are competing in Section A of the Kakkonen. This is the third tier of the Finnish football system. In 2009 the team finished in eighth position in their Kakkonen section.
Kiffen/2 are participating in the Section 1 of the Nelonen (Fourth Division) administered by the Helsinki SPL.
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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Kiffen played under the name KIF in the Finnish SM-sarja for several occasions. KIF won the SM-sarja 3 times (1939, 1941 and 1943). KIF played its final SM-sarja season in 1952 and has not been playing top level ice hockey since.
Kiffen has one of the most successful Handball teams in Finland. Kiffen played in the Finnish Handball League from 1969 to 2003. Kiffen's best years were during the 1970s when they were 10 times in the medals.