Football Association of Finland

Football Association of Finland

UEFA
Founded	1907
FIFA affiliation	1908
UEFA affiliation	1954
President	Pertti Alaja

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]

Ålands Fotbollförbund SPL Helsingin piiri SPL Itä-Suomen piiri SPL Kaakkois-Suomen piiri SPL Keski-Pohjanmaan piiri SPL Keski-Suomen piiri

SPL Pohjois-Suomen piiri SPL Satakunnan piiri SPL Tampereen piiri SPL Turun piiri SPL Uudenmaan piiri SPL Vaasan piiri

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

1. "Palloliitto". Suomen Palloliitto. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
2. "Suomen Palloliitto – Piirit". Suomen Palloliitto. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
3. "A-lehdet Dialogi Oy". Aikakaus Media (in Finnish). Retrieved 18 June 2015.

External links

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