Football Association of Finland

Football Association of Finland

UEFA
Founded	1907
Headquarters	Sonera Stadium
FIFA affiliation	1908
UEFA affiliation	1954
President	Pertti Alaja
Website	http://www.palloliitto.fi

The Football Association of Finland (Finnish: Suomen Palloliitto; Swedish: Finlands Bollförbund, literally "only" Ball Association of Finland), abbr. SPL is the governing body of football in Finland. It was founded in 1907.

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.

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]

The association was also the governing body of bandy in Finland until Finland's Bandy Association was founded in 1972.

District organisations

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

There were also 12 other district organisations that no longer exist.

Publications

The association publishes several magazines, including now-defunct monthly magazine Futari.^[3]

Presidents

• Walter Flander 1907–1908
• John Catani 1909
• Uno Westerholm 1910–1911
• Carolus Lindberg 1912
• Walter Qvist 1913–1917
• Erik von Frenckell 1918–1952
• Juuso Walden 1953–1963
• Osmo P. Karttunen 1963–1974
• Ove H. Rehn 1974–1975
• Jouko Loikkanen 1975–1983
• Lauri Pöyhönen 1983–1987
• Pentti Seppälä 1987–1997
• Pekka Hämäläinen 1997–2009
• Sauli Niinistö 2009–2012
• Markku Lehtola 2012
• Pertti Alaja 2012–

References

External links

• Official website (Finnish)
• Finland at UEFA.com
• Finland at FIFA.com

Football in Finland
Football Association of Finland
National teams	Finland (Women's) U-21 (FU-20) U-19 U-18 U-17
League system	Men: Veikkausliiga (tier 1) Ykkönen (tier 2) Kakkonen (tier 3) Kolmonen (tier 4) Nelonen (tier 5) Vitonen (tier 6) Kutonen (tier 7) Seiska (tier 8) Women: Naisten Liiga (tier 1) Naisten Ykkönen (tier 2) Naisten Kakkonen (tier 3) Naisten Kolmonen (tier 4) Naisten Nelonen (tier 5)
District Associations	Åland FF SPL Helsinki SPL Itä-Suomi SPL Kaakkois-Suomi SPL Keski-Pohjanmaa SPL Keski-Suomi SPL Pohjois-Suomi SPL Satakunta SPL Tampere SPL Turku SPL Uusimaa SPL Vaasa
Domestic cups	Finnish Cup Finnish League Cup Finnish Women's Cup
List of clubs Footballer of the Year List of competitions List of venues

Futsal in Finland
Futsal Football Association of Finland
League competitions	Futsal-Liiga
Cup competitions	Futsal Cup of Finland
National teams	Finland national futsal team

International association football
FIFA Federations Teams Competitions World Cup U-17 U-20 Confederations Cup Olympics Youth Olympics Universiade World Rankings Player of the Year Ballon d'Or Timeline of association football
Asia	AFC – Asian Cup U-23 U-19 U-16 U-14 Regional (ASEAN, EAFF, SAFF, WAFF)
Africa	CAF – Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 Regional (CECAFA, CEMAC, COSAFA, WAFU)
North America, Central America and the Caribbean	CONCACAF – Gold Cup U-20 U-17 U-15
South America	CONMEBOL – Copa América U-20 U-17 U-15
Oceania	OFC – Nations Cup U-20 U-17
Europe	UEFA – European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17
Non-FIFA	NF-Board – Viva World Cup CONIFA - ConIFA World Football Cup ConIFA European Football Cup IGA - Island Games
Games	African Games Asian Games Central America Central America and Caribbean East Asian Games Francophonie Games Indian Ocean Island Lusophony Games Mediterranean Games Pan American Games Pan Arab Games Pacific Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games
See also Geography Debuts Codes Player of the Century Women's football