HIFK Fotboll

HIFK Fotboll

Full name	Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors
Nickname(s)	IFK Tähtirinnat (The Star Chested) Stadens stolthet (The City's Pride) Röda (The Reds)
Founded	1897; 127 years ago (1897)
Dissolved	4th January 2024; 10 months ago (4th January 2024)
Ground	Bolt Arena Helsinki, Finland
Capacity	10,770
Chairman	Jan-Erik Eklöf
Head Coach	Alex Maylett
League	Kolmonen
2023	Ykkönen, 6th of 12 (bankruptcy)
Website	http://hifkfotboll.fi
Home colours Away colours

HIFK Fotboll or IFK Helsingfors is the association football section of HIFK, a sports club based in Helsinki, Finland. The men's football team currently competes in the Kolmonen whereas the women's first team is in Naisten Kakkonen. Both teams use Väinämöisen kenttä in Töölö as their home ground.

History

Bolt Arena

Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna i Helsingfors was formed on 15 October 1897 by Georges Doubitsky, a 15-year-old student at the Svenska Reallyceum school in Helsinki. In the 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. HIFK's first football game was at the Kaisaniemi ground on 17 May 1908 where the new team lost 1–2 to Unitas.^[1]

In those early years^[when?] 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 brilliant 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 spent time in the lower divisions of Finnish football, and at one point found themselves playing in the Nelonen (Fourth Division), the fifth tier of the Finnish football league system, between 1980 and 1983, and later on between 2003 and 2005, and would only return to the first division in 2006, 43 years later.

Since 1930, HIFK have played 33 seasons in the Mestaruussarja (the top tier), 22 seasons in the second tier and 19 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. More recently, in 2010, they won the third tier, after defeating FC Santa Claus in the promotional playoff match.^[3] This saw them return to the second-tier (Ykkönen) of Finnish football for seasons 2011 and 2012, only to be relegated back to Kakkonen after their 2012 season. Back in Kakkonen, HIFK rehired coach Jani Honkavaara, who managed them when they were first promoted back to the Ykkönen. During his second term they returned to the Ykkönen for a third time within the century, when they beat PS Kemi Kings in the promotion playoffs.

HIFK won Ykkönen in 2014, and therefore were automatically promoted into the highest tier of Finnish football, Veikkausliiga. After securing promotion, HIFK announced that they would play their 2015 season home games at the Telia 5G -areena, the ground which belonged to their local rivals HJK Helsinki.^[4] In December 2014 HIFK launched a crowdfunding campaign through Invesdor. HIFK aimed to gather 250.000 – 500.000 euros by selling shares of the club valued at 189,70 euros a piece. According to club chairman René Österman, HIFK was in need of funding for the upcoming Veikkausliiga season and crowdfunding gave a chance for the club's supporters to own a part of the club. The campaign ended successfully in January 2015 and HIFK gathered 335.495 euros from 786 investors.^[5][6][7]

After three seasons in Veikkausliiga, HIFK were relegated to Ykkönen after finishing 11th in 2017 season and losing relegation play-offs against FC Honka on away goals. However, after a successful 2018 campaign in Ykkönen, HIFK was promoted back to Veikkausliiga for the 2019 season.

In the early 2022 Veikkausliiga season, after the newly recruited manager Bernardo Tavares had unexpectedly left the club after the first league match of the season, it was reported that HIFK would name Fabrizio Piccareta the club's new manager. Later he was sidelined in the process and Mixu Paatelainen was appointed. Later it was revealed that HIFK and Piccareta had already signed a deal, and Piccareta sued the club for the breach of contract.^[8] The club's sporting director, Mika Lönnström, who was responsible for the manager recruit, was later fired.^[9][10] Piccareta appealed to the FIFA's Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and his complain succeeded, as in May 2023, HIFK was ordered to pay Piccareta €86,000 damages for the breach of contract.^[11] HIFK first announced that they will appeal on the decision, but later withdrew their appeal due to lack of money.

During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the club had repeatedly financial problems, and had several fund raising campaigns to be able to continue its first team's actions.^[12]

On 4 January 2024, after the club finished 6th in the second-tier 2023 Ykkönen, HIFK Fotboll Ab, the limited liability company under which the men's first team operated since 2012, filed for bankruptcy.^[13][14][15] HIFK/2, which was registered under HIFK Soccer rf and was therefor not affected by HIFK Fotboll ABs bankruptcy, assumed the position of the men's first team in the new fifth tier Kolmonen.^[16]

European campaigns

HIFK participated in the European Cup in the 1960–61 and 1962–63 seasons and played in the UEFA cup in 1971–72.

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Score	Agg.
1960–61	European Cup	Preliminary round		IFK Malmö	1–3, 1–2	2–5
1962–63	European Cup	First round		Austria Wien	3–5, 0–2	3–7
1971–72	UEFA Cup	First round		Rosenborg	0–3, 0–1	0–4

Honours

• Mestaruussarja
  • Champions (7): 1930, 1931, 1933, 1937, 1947, 1959, 1961
  • Runners-up (7): 1909, 1912, 1928, 1929, 1934, 1935, 1971
• Attendance Record: 10,500 (HIFK – HJK, Telia 5G -areena, 10 August 2016)^[17]

Divisional movements since 1930

• Top Level (32 seasons): 1930–45, 1947–49, 1958–66, 1970–72, 2015–2017, 2019–2022
• Second Level (23 seasons): 1945–46, 1950–57, 1967–69, 1973–74, 1999–02, 2011–12, 2014, 2018, 2023
• Third Level (19 seasons): 1975–78, 1988–98, 2008–10, 2013^[2]

Season to season

Season to season

Season Level Division Section Administration Position Movements 1930 Tier 1 A-sarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions 1931 Tier 1 A-sarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions 1932 Tier 1 A-sarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd 1933 Tier 1 A-sarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions 1934 Tier 1 A-sarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd 1935 Tier 1 A-sarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd 1936 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd 1937 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions 1938 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 6th 1939 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th 1940–41 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th 1943–44 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 5th 1945 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Group 1 Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 5th 1945–46 Tier 2 Suomensarja (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Promoted 1946–47 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd Championship Series 1st, Champions 1947–48 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd 1948 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 10th 1949 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 9th Relegated 1950 Tier 2 Suomensarja (First Division) West Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd 1951 Tier 2 Suomensarja (First Division) West Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 6th 1952 Tier 2 Suomensarja (First Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 4th 1953 Tier 2 Suomensarja (First Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 4th 1954 Tier 2 Suomensarja (First Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 5th 1955 Tier 2 Suomensarja (First Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 8th 1956 Tier 2 Suomensarja (First Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 3rd 1957 Tier 2 Suomensarja (First Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Promoted 1958 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd 1959 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions 1960 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 5th 1961 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions 1962 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 7th 1963 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th 1964 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 6th 1965 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 5th 1966 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 10th Relegated 1967 Tier 2 Suomensarja (First Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 4th 1968 Tier 2 Suomensarja (First Division) South Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 4th 1969 Tier 2 Suomensarja (First Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Promotion Group 2nd, promoted 1970 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd 1971 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd 1972 Tier 1 Mestaruussarja Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 10th Relegated 1973 Tier 2 I divisioona (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 4th 1974 Tier 2 I divisioona (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 11th Relegated 1975 Tier 3 II Divisioona (Second Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 6th 1976 Tier 3 II Divisioona (Second Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 4th 1977 Tier 3 II Divisioona (Second Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 9th 1978 Tier 3 II Divisioona (Second Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 11th Relegated 1979 Tier 4 III divisioona (Third Division) Section 2 Helsinki & Uusimaa 11th Relegated 1980 Tier 5 IV divisioona (Fourth Division) Section 4 Helsinki & Uusimaa 8th 1981 Tier 5 IV divisioona (Fourth Division) Section 1 Helsinki & Uusimaa 7th 1982 Tier 5 IV divisioona (Fourth Division) Section 2 Helsinki & Uusimaa 4th 1983 Tier 5 IV divisioona (Fourth Division) Section 3 Helsinki & Uusimaa 1st Promoted via play-offs 1984 Tier 4 III divisioona (Third Division) Section 2 Helsinki & Uusimaa 1st Promotion play-offs 1985 Tier 4 III divisioona (Third Division) Section 1 Helsinki & Uusimaa 3rd 1986 Tier 4 III divisioona (Third Division) Section 2 Helsinki & Uusimaa 2nd 1987 Tier 4 III divisioona (Third Division) Section 2 Helsinki & Uusimaa 1st Promoted 1988 Tier 3 II Divisioona (Second Division) West Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 5th 1989 Tier 3 II Divisioona (Second Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd 1990 Tier 3 II Divisioona (Second Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd 1991 Tier 3 II Divisioona (Second Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 4th 1992 Tier 3 II Divisioona (Second Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 4th 1993 Tier 3 II Divisioona (Second Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 4th FC HIFK 1994 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) South Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 4th FC HIFK 1995 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) South Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 8th FC HIFK 1996 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) South Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 8th FC HIFK 1997 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd FC HIFK 1998 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd FC HIFK 1999 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) South Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 6th FC HIFK – Relegation Group South – 8th 2000 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) South Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 8th FC HIFK – Relegation Group South – 7th 2001 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) South Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 6th FC HIFK 2002 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) South Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 7th FC HIFK – Relegation Group South – 7th – Play-offs 2003 Tier 5 Nelonen (Fourth Division) Section 1 Uusimaa (SPL Helsinki) 5th 2004 Tier 5 Nelonen (Fourth Division) Section 1 Uusimaa (SPL Helsinki) 2nd c 2006 Tier 4 Kolmonen (Third Division) Section 3 Helsinki & Uusimaa (SPL Helsinki) 2nd 2007 Tier 4 Kolmonen (Third Division) Section 2 Helsinki & Uusimaa (SPL Helsinki) 1st Promoted 2008 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) Group B Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 7th 2009 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) Group A Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 7th 2010 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) Group A Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Play-offs, promoted 2011 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 9th 2012 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 10th Relegated 2013 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) East Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Play-offs, promoted 2014 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Promoted to Veikkausliiga 2015 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 7th 2016 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 10th 2017 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 11th Play-offs, relegated 2018 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Promoted 2019 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 7th 2020 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 8th 2021 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 6th 2022 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 12th Relegated 2023 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 6th Bankruptcy 2024 Tier 5 Kolmonen Uusimaa (SPL Helsinki) 36 seasons in Veikkausliiga 23 seasons in Ykkönen 19 seasons in Kakkonen 7 seasons in Kolmonen 7 seasons in Nelonen [18][19]

Supporters and rivalries

HIFK Fotboll supporters June 2017.

Historically, HIFK was primarily a club for the Swedish-speaking population in Helsinki. Nowadays the club is bilingual. The most renowned supporter group of the club was Stadin Kingit (in English: "the kings of Stadi"). Its name was derived from the common slang nickname for Helsinki (Stadi). Many members attend the handball, bandy and ice hockey matches of HIFK as well.

The single most important fixture for HIFK supporters is against the major local rivals, HJK. The fixture is commonly known as the Stadin derby and was last played during the Veikkausliiga season of 2022.

Club structure

HIFK Fotboll operate a large number of teams including 3 men's teams, 3 women's teams, 1 men's veterans team, 16 boys' teams and 5 girls' teams.

• HIFK competes in Group B of Kolmonen (Fifth tier) administered by the SPL Uusimaa.
• HIFK / 3 competes in Group 4 of Vitonen (Seventh tier) administered by the SPL Uusimaa.

Updated as of season 2024. ^{[20] [21] [22]}

Players

As of 24 July 2024^[23]

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  FIN Elias Kaukamo 3 DF  FIN Roger Prezioso 4 DF  FIN Leo Halme 5 FW  FIN Leevi Hoppania 6 FW  FIN Nicolas Prezioso 7 DF  FIN Niko Turunen 8 FW  FIN Dolynnyi Nazar 9 DF  FIN Peik Westerlund 10 FW  FIN Said Mijoc 11 MF  FIN Robin Leskinen 14 MF  FIN Nelson Holmberg 15 MF  FIN Lotus Kurkio 16 MF  FIN Fonkah Alakotila 17 DF  FIN Arian Ahmadi 18 FW  FIN Lauri Korkeila 19 MF  FIN Noa Kiema

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  FIN Adam Oyegoke 21 DF  FIN Seifedine Eshrouk-Maharzah 22 GK  FIN Nikke Vesterinen 22 FW  FIN Danjaal Hamzaaghaei 24 FW  FIN Zakaria El Hayani El Mourabi 25 GK  FIN Alex Hendren 27 DF  FIN Robert Razmus 27 GK  FIN Teddy Schalin 28 FW  FIN Guled Hasan Farah 30 MF  FIN Aatos Rajanummi 31 FW  FIN Daniel Eidet 32 GK  FIN Olli Hyvärinen 33 DF  FIN Veikko Pelkonen 45 MF  FIN Markus Juolahti 45 DF  FIN Roope Seppänen

Management and boardroom

As of 24 July 2024^[24]

Name Role Alex Maylett Head coach Anas Abdi Coach Umid Dibachy Coach Joona Haavisto Team Leader Aapo Haavisto Doctor

Boardroom

^[25]

Name Role Jan-Erik Eklöf Chairman Viktor Fagerudd Vice-Chairman Janne Räsänen Member Janne Rasinkangas Member Hanna Khalili Member Dan Nordström Member

References

1. "HIFK Soccer – Historia". Archived from the original on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2010-07-21.
2. "Finland – Divisional Movements 1930–2011". RSSSF. 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
3. Flanagan, Chris (December 21, 2017). "Inside FC Santa Claus: Lapland's favourite football team – who are finally getting serious". FourFourTwo.
4. Tapio Keskitalo; Ari Virtanen (10 November 2014). "HIFK kaappasi FC Hongan Nnaemeka Anyamelen – joukkue pelaa liigaa Sonera-stadionilla". HS.fi (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
5. "HIFK hakee joukkorahoitusta". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Sanoma Oy. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
6. Herala, Olli (11 December 2014). "Futis-HIFK:n osakeanti: "Ei mitään pikavoittoja"". Kauppalehti (in Finnish). Kauppalehti Oy. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
7. "Veikkausliiga, här kommer HIFK!". invesdor.com. Invesdor. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
8. MTV: HIFK-leirissä uskomatonta sekoilua – seura joutumassa oikeuteen, Iltalehti, 12 July 2022
9. HIFK kertoi oman versionsa Fabrizio Piccareta -kohusta – näin seuran luottamus Mika Lönnströmiin mureni: ”Antaisin Piccaretalle yhden neuvon”, suomifutis.com, 1 September 2022
10. HIFK:n soppa sakenee – kohun keskelle joutunut valmentaja vastaa seuran väitteisiin: "Minulla on kaikki kirjalliset todisteet", MTV Oy/ mtvuutiset.fi, 17 August 2022
11. HIFK Fotboll valitti Fifan Piccareta-päätöksestä Urheilun kansainväliseen vetoomustuomioistuimeen, Yle, 19 July 2023
12. Jalkapalloliigassa pelaava HIFK vaarassa ajautua konkurssiin – tarvitsee akuutisti 140 000 euroa ja puoli miljoonaa vuoden loppuun mennessä, Yle, 16 June 2022
13. "Jalkapallo-HIFK konkurssiin". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-01-04.
14. "Jalkapallo | HIFK lopettaa toimintansa – jättää konkurssihakemuksen". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 2024-01-04. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
15. Siippainen, Aapo (2024-01-04). "Jalkapallo | Nyt tuli loppu! – näin HIFK perustelee konkurssihakemusta". Helsingin Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-01-04.
16. HIFK Fotboll Ab lopettaa toimintansa, hifkfotboll.fi, 4 January 2024
17. "Veikkausliiga – Ottelutilastot". Retrieved 2015-04-25.
18. Jalkapallokirjat 1946–>, Suomen Palloliitto, ISSN 0787-7188
19. "Tulostus". urheilumuseo.fi. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
20. "Veikkausliiga". veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
21. "Miehet Kolmonen". palloliitto.fi (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
22. "Miehet Kutonen" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
23. "Edustusjoukkue 2023". hifkfotboll.fi. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
24. "HIFK ja Mixu Paatelainen sopimukseen". hifkfotboll.fi. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
25. "Yhteystiedot - HIFK Fotboll" (in Finnish). HIFK Fotboll. Retrieved 24 July 2024.

External links

• (in Finnish) Official football website
• (in Finnish) Official club website
• Team info at GSA