2024 Veikkausliiga

Veikkausliiga
Season2024
Dates6 April – 19 October 2024
ChampionsKuPS
RelegatedEIF
Lahti
Champions LeagueKuPS
Conference LeagueHJK
Ilves
SJK
Top goalscorerAshley Coffey(12 goals)
Biggest home winIlves 5–0 FC Haka
17 May 2024
Biggest away winEkenäs IF 0–7 Inter Turku
14 July 2024
Highest scoringIlves 4–6 IF Gnistan
13 April 2024
SJK 5–5 FC Lahti
27 July 2024
Highest attendance8,835
HJK 0–1 Ilves
(28 September 2024)
← 2023
2025 →
All statistics correct as of 19 October 2024.

The 2024 Veikkausliiga was the 94th season of top-tier football in Finland, which takes place from April to November. Veikkaus was the league's sponsor.

Teams

The league consisted of twelve teams; ten teams remaining from the previous season, and two teams promoted from the Ykkönen. HJK entered the season as defending champions (for the fourth consecutive season).

Team changes

Promoted from
2023 Ykkönen 		Relegated to
2024 Ykkösliiga 		Relegated to
2025 Ykkösliiga
EIF
Gnistan 		KTP EIF
Lahti

EIF were promoted as champions of the 2023 Ykkönen (returning to the top flight after a 90-year absence), replacing the bottom-placed 2023 Veikkausliiga team (KTP, relegated after a single-year stint in top flight). Ykkönen runners-up Gnistan were also promoted (marking their debut in the top flight) after fifth-placed Veikkausliiga team Honka were demoted due to bankruptcy, replacing them in the league.[1][2]

At the end of the season, EIF were relegated back to Ykkösliiga after finishing 12th. The 11th placed team FC Lahti were defeated in the relegation play-offs by FF Jaro and were also relegated.

Stadiums and locations

class=notpageimage|
Location of teams in 2024 Veikkausliiga
Club Location Stadium Turf Capacity
AC Oulu Oulu Raatti Stadium Natural 5,000
Ekenäs IF Ekenäs, Raseborg Ekenäs Centrumplan Artificial 1,900
FC Haka Valkeakoski Tehtaan kenttä Artificial 3,516
FC Inter Turku Turku Veritas Stadion Artificial 9,372
FC Lahti Lahti Lahti Stadium Natural 7,465
HJK Töölö, Helsinki Bolt Arena Artificial 10,770
IF Gnistan Oulunkylä, Helsinki Mustapekka Areena Artificial 2,200
IFK Mariehamn Mariehamn Wiklöf Holding Arena Artificial 1,650
Ilves Tampere Tammelan Stadion Artificial 8,000
KuPS Kuopio Väre Areena Artificial 4,778
SJK Seinäjoki OmaSP Stadion Artificial 5,817
VPS Vaasa Hietalahti Stadium Artificial 6,005

Personnel and kits

All teams are obligated to have the Veikkausliiga logo on the right sleeve of their shirt.

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

Team Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer
AC Oulu Finland Mikko Isokangas and Brazil/Finland Rafinha Finland Niklas Jokelainen Craft
Ekenäs IF Finland Christian Sund Ghana Enoch Kofi Adu Craft
FC Haka Northern Ireland Andy Smith Portugal Guilherme Morais Puma
FC Inter Turku Finland Vesa Vasara Finland Juuso Hämäläinen Nike
FC Lahti Portugal Ricardo Duarte Finland Mikko Viitikko Adidas
HJK Finland Toni Korkeakunnas Finland Joona Toivio Adidas
IF Gnistan Finland Jussi Leppälahti Finland Jukka Raitala Puma
IFK Mariehaman England Gary Williams Finland Robin Sid Puma
Ilves Finland Joonas Rantanen Finland Otso Virtanen Adidas
KuPS Finland Jani Honkavaara Finland Petteri Pennanen Puma
SJK Scotland Stevie Grieve Finland Ville Tikkanen Adidas
VPS Finland Jussi Nuorela Finland Jesper Engström Nike

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in the table Incoming manager Date of appointment
AC Oulu Finland Rauno Ojanen / Finland Jussi-Pekka Savolainen Contract expired 30 November 2023 Pre-season Finland Tuomas Silvennoinen 8 November 2023
AC Oulu Finland Tuomas Silvennoinen Dismissed 13 June 2024 10th Greece Kostas Bratsos 20 June 2024
AC Oulu Greece Kostas Bratsos Dismissed 2 September 2024 9th Finland Mikko Isokangas

Brazil/Finland Rafinha
(caretakers)

2 September 2024
Ekenäs IF Spain Gabriel Garcia Xatart Dismissed 10 August 2024 12th Finland Christian Sund 12 August 2024
FC Haka Finland Teemu Tainio Signed by AEL Limassol Pre-season Northern Ireland Andy Smith 31 October 2023[3]
FC Inter Turku Finland Jarkko Wiss Contract terminated 6 November 2023[4] Finland Vesa Vasara 17 November 2023[5]
FC Lahti Finland Toni Lindberg Dismissed 20 June 2024 11th Portugal Ricardo Duarte 21 June 2024
HJK Finland Toni Korkeakunnas Contract expired Pre-season Finland Ossi Virta / Spain Ferran Sibila 14 November 2023
HJK Finland Ossi Virta / Spain Ferran Sibila Dismissed 20 May 2024 5th Finland Toni Korkeakunnas 20 May 2024
IF Gnistan Finland Joonas Rantanen Signed by Ilves 23 October 2023[6] Pre-season Finland Jussi Leppälahti 10 November 2023[7]
IFK Mariehamn Finland Jimmy Wargh Appointed the club director Portugal Bruno Romão 20 December 2023[8]
IFK Mariehamn Portugal Bruno Romão Resigned 14 August 2024[9] 11th England Gary Williams 16 August 2024
Ilves Finland Joni Lehtonen Appointed the assistant coach Pre-season Finland Joonas Rantanen 23 October 2023
SJK Spain Joaquín Gomez Signed by Al Qadsiah FC 4 November 2023 Scotland Stevie Grieve/Finland Toni Lehtinen 12 January 2024[10]

Regular season

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 KuPS 22 13 5 4 39 22 +17 44 Qualification for the Championship Round
2 HJK 22 13 4 5 41 21 +20 43
3 Ilves 22 11 6 5 45 25 +20 39
4 SJK 22 10 6 6 40 33 +7 36
5 Haka 22 10 5 7 35 32 +3 35
6 VPS 22 9 5 8 34 36 −2 32
7 Inter Turku 22 9 4 9 38 29 +9 31 Qualification for the Relegation Round
8 Gnistan 22 8 6 8 32 34 −2 30
9 Oulu 22 5 6 11 26 36 −10 21
10 Mariehamn 22 5 5 12 20 38 −18 20
11 Lahti 22 3 10 9 26 38 −12 19
12 EIF 22 3 4 15 19 51 −32 13
Source: Flashscore
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored; 7) Play-off
(Note: Play-off is only played if need to decide champion, teams for relegation or UEFA competition and will be played on a neutral ground).


Results

Home \ Away EIF GNI HAK HJK ILV INT KPS LAH MAR OUL SJK VPS
EIF — 1–0 1–2 0–3 0–2 0–7 1–2 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–2
Gnistan 1–2 — 0–3 0–4 1–1 2–1 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–0 0–1 3–0
Haka 2–1 1–2 — 1–1 4–3 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–0 4–3 2–0 1–2
HJK 0–0 1–0 2–0 — 1–1 1–0 3–1 4–0 2–1 3–0 4–1 1–2
Ilves 5–0 4–6 5–0 3–0 — 3–0 1–2 0–0 2–0 3–2 2–2 3–2
Inter Turku 2–1 2–2 3–1 0–1 0–2 — 1–1 3–0 3–0 3–3 3–0 3–1
KuPS 4–1 3–1 0–1 3–1 1–0 1–2 — 1–0 3–0 4–1 2–1 2–1
Lahti 4–0 3–3 1–1 2–1 2–2 0–2 0–1 — 3–0 1–2 0–4 0–0
Mariehamn 3–2 1–1 0–3 1–2 0–1 3–1 2–2 0–0 — 2–1 0–4 0–0
Oulu 2–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 2–2 1–1 — 1–2 1–2
SJK 3–1 0–1 2–1 3–3 1–0 3–1 1–1 5–5 0–2 2–1 — 3–1
VPS 2–3 3–2 3–2 1–3 1–1 3–1 1–3 3–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 —
Source: Flashscore
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship Round

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 KuPS (C) 27 17 5 5 46 24 +22 56 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 Ilves 27 16 6 5 56 27 +29 54 Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round[a]
3 HJK 27 13 6 8 44 27 +17 45 Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round[a]
4 SJK (O) 27 11 7 9 46 44 +2 40 Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round play-off final
5 VPS 27 11 6 10 43 45 −2 39 Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round play-off quarter-finals
6 Haka 27 11 5 11 40 43 −3 38
Source: Flashscore
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored; 7) Play-off
(Note: Play-off is only played if need to decide champion, teams for relegation or UEFA competition and will be played on a neutral ground).
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners
Notes:
  1. ^ a b The 2024 Finnish Cup winners qualified for the Conference League second qualifying round. Since the cup winners (KuPS) qualified based on league position, the Conference League second round spot was passed to the second-placed team, the Conference League first round spot was passed to the third-placed team, the Conference League play-off final spot was passed to the fourth-placed team, and the fourth Conference League play-off quarter-final spot was passed to the eighth-placed team.


Results

Home \ Away HAK HJK ILV KPS SJK VPS
Haka — — — — 0–3 2–3
HJK 0–1 — 0–1 — 2–2 —
Ilves 3–2 — — 1–0 4–0 —
KuPS 2–0 1–0 — — — 3–1
SJK — — — 0–1 — 1–4
VPS — 1–1 0–2 — — —
Source: Flashscore
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation Round

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Inter Turku 27 12 5 10 46 34 +12 41 Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round play-off quarter-finals
2 Gnistan 27 10 7 10 40 43 −3 37
3 Oulu 27 7 7 13 32 40 −8 28
4 Mariehamn 27 7 5 15 27 44 −17 26
5 Lahti (R) 27 4 12 11 31 47 −16 24 Qualification for the Veikkausliiga play-off
6 EIF (R) 27 4 7 16 24 57 −33 19 Relegation to the Ykkösliiga
Source: Flashscore
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored; 7) Play-off
(Note: Play-off is only played if need to decide champion, teams for relegation or UEFA competition and will be played on a neutral ground).
(R) Relegated


Results

Home \ Away EIF GNI INT LAH MAR OUL
EIF — 3–1 — — — 1–1
Gnistan — — — 2–2 2–1 1–0
Inter Turku 1–1 3–2 — 3–1 — —
Lahti 0–0 — — — 2–1 —
Mariehamn 3–0 — 0–1 — — —
Oulu — — 1–0 3–0 1–2 —
Source: Flashscore
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Results by round

Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627
AC OuluLDDLLDDLWLDDWLWWLLWLLLWWLDL
Ekenäs IFLLDLDLDLLWLLWWLLLLLLLDDWLDD
FC HakaLWDDWWLWLWWDLWWLLWDLWDLLLWL
FC Inter TurkuLDDWLLLLLWWLDWWWDWLWLWDLWWW
FC LahtiDLDLLWDLLLDDDLLLDWWDDDLWLDD
HJKLWWDDDWLWDLWWWWLWWLWWWDDLLL
IF GnistanWWLLLDDLDWLLDLLDWWWWWDWLWDL
IFK MariehamnWDLLWLDDWLDWLLLLLLDLLWLLWLW
IlvesDLLWWWWWDLDWDDWLWWWLWDWWWWW
KuPSWDDWDWDWWWWLLLWWWWDWWLWLWWW
SJKWDWDWDLWWLLWDWWWDDWLLDDWLLL
VPSWDWWWLWLWWDDDLLLWLLWDLLDWLW
Source: veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish)
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose

Play-offs

Conference League play-off

Teams placed 4th-8th entered play-off matches for the second spot in the Conference League first qualifying round; the 4th-placed team received a bye to the final. The quarter and semi-finals are held over one leg (with the higher-placed team gaining home advantage), while the final is held over two legs.

Quarter-finals

23 October 2024 Haka (6th) 2–1 (a.e.t.)Inter Turku (7th)Valkeakoski
13:00 BST Olusanya 73'
Bah-Traoré 114'		 Botué 40' Stadium: Tehtaan kenttä
23 October 2024 VPS (5th)0–1 Gnistan (8th) Vaasa
13:00 BST Penninkangas 78' Stadium: Hietalahti

Semi-finals

26 October 2024 Haka (6th) 3–3 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)		Gnistan (8th)Valkeakoski
15:00 BST Olusanya 32'
Whyte 89'
Dantas 115'		 Väyrynen 68'
Heiskanen 83'
Latonenn 109'		 Stadium: Tehtaan kenttä
Penalties
Lanquedoc soccer ball with check mark
Mastokangas soccer ball with check mark
Olusanya soccer ball with check mark
Dantas soccer ball with red X
Whyte soccer ball with check mark		 Väyrynen soccer ball with check mark
Pyyskänen soccer ball with check mark
Eremenko soccer ball with check mark
Kabashi soccer ball with red X
Tatar soccer ball with red X

Final

First leg
30 October 2024 Haka (6th) 1–2 SJK (4th) Valkeakoski
16:00 BST Fall 66' Streng 45'
Moreno 80'		 Stadium: Tehtaan kenttä
Second leg
2 November 2024 SJK (4th) 2–2
(4–3 agg.)		Haka (6th)Seinäjoki
12:30 BST Stadium: OmaSP Stadion

Veikkausliiga play-off

The eleventh-placed team (Lahti) faced the second-placed team from the 2024 Ykkösliiga (Jaro) in a two-legged play-off for the final place in the 2025 Veikkausliiga.

First leg

23 October 2024 Jaro 2–0 Lahti Jakobstad
16:30 BST Crona 35'
Eremenko 52' (pen.)		 Stadium: Centralplan

Second leg

27 October 2024 Lahti1–0
(1–2 agg.)		 Jaro Lahti
14:00 BST Luquinhas 56' (pen.) Stadium: Lahden Stadion

Season statistics

Awards

Team of the Year

Team of the Year[14]
Goalkeeper Austria Johannes Kreidl (KuPS)
Defence Ghana

Clinton Antwi (KuPS)

Finland

Juhani Pikkarainen (Ilves)

Ivory Coast

Ibrahim Cissé (KuPS)

Finland

Saku Heiskanen (Gnistan)

Midfield Finland

Petteri Pennanen (KuPS)

Finland Anton Popovitch (Ilves)

Finland

Joona Veteli (Ilves)

Finland

Oiva Jukkola (Ilves)

Attack Nicaragua Jaime Moreno (SJK) Finland Santeri Haarala (Ilves)
Manager Finland Jani Honkavaara (KuPS)
Director Finland Miika Takkula (Ilves)

Monthly awards

Month Coach of the Month Player of the Month
April[15] Finland Toni Lehtinen (SJK) Finland Topi Keskinen (HJK)
May[16] Finland Jani Honkavaara (KuPS) England Ashley Coffey (AC Oulu)
June[17] Finland Toni Korkeakunnas (HJK) Nicaragua Jaime Moreno (SJK)
July[18] Finland Jani Honkavaara (KuPS) (2) Finland Santeri Haarala (Ilves)
August[19] Finland Jussi Leppälahti (Gnistan) Finland Tim Väyrynen (Gnistan)
September Finland Joonas Rantanen (Ilves) Nigeria Adeleke Akinyemi (Ilves)
October[20] Finland Jani Honkavaara (KuPS) (3) Finland Petteri Pennanen (KuPS)

Attendance

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 HJK 85,069 8,835 6,361 +13.0%†
2 Ilves 80,941 8,017 5,782 +128.2%†
3 KuPS 49,843 8,543 3,560 +26.4%†
4 SJK 40,384 4,619 3,106 +1.2%†
5 VPS 37,727 3,412 2,961 +10.6%†
6 FC Inter 35,967 4,023 2,511 −17.0%†
7 FC Lahti 29,315 3,471 2,255 +3.7%†
8 Haka 29,116 4,347 2,240 −11.8%†
9 Gnistan 29,838 3,024 2,131 +161.8%†
10 AC Oulu 24,336 2,929 1,738 −10.5%†
11 IFK Mariehamn 17,446 1,723 1,342 +14.4%†
12 EIF 15,053 1,640 1,158 +24.2%†
League total 473,225 8,835 2,957 +9.3%†

Source: [1]
Notes:
† Promoted from 2023 Ykkönen

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ghanaian midfielder Enoch Adu Kofi leads Ekenäs IF to Finnish top-flight promotion after 90-year hiatus". Ghana Soccernet. 14 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Gnistan gets Veikkausliiga-level conditions in Oulunkylä - "Thanks to the city for excellent cooperation"". Veikkausliiga. 22 February 2024.
  3. ^ FC Haka palkkasi yllätysnimen – ansioluettelo päävalmentajana erittäin lyhyt, Helsingin Sanomat, 31 October 2023.
  4. ^ Turun Inter erotti Jarkko Wissin – MTV: päävalmentaja ahdisteli naistyöntekijää, Yle, 6 November 2023.
  5. ^ Vesa Vasara siirtyy FC Interin päävalmentajaksi, suomifutis.com, 17 November 2023.
  6. ^ Joonas Rantanen Ilveksen päävalmentajaksi – jalkapallojoukkueen nykyinen valmennustiimi jatkaa tukena, Yle, 23 October 2023.
  7. ^ JUSSI LEPPÄLAHTI GNISTANIN PÄÄVALMENTAJAKSI, gnistan.fi, 10 November 2023.
  8. ^ IFK Mariehamn portugalilaiskomentoon - Bruno Romão uusi päävalmentaja, veikkausliiga.com, 20 December 2023.
  9. ^ IFK Mariehamnin vuoro vaihtaa päävalmentajaa: Bruno Romao sivuun, Yle
  10. ^ Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerhon päävalmentaja kaudella 2024 on Toni Lehtinen, sjk.fi, 12 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Veikkausliiga perustilastot". Veikkausliiga.
  12. ^ Villi 10 maalin ottelu Veikkausliigassa – tulikuuma Joakim Latonen iski hattutempun ja Gnistan nousi sarjakärkeen, Yle, 13 April 2024.
  13. ^ Luke Plangen hattutempulla kolme pistettä – ”Tarvitsimme tätä voittoa”, hjk.fi, 8 June 2024
  14. ^ "Koplajoukkue 2024 nimetty - jalkapallotoimittajien valinnat vuoden parhaiksi palkitaan lauantaina". www.veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  15. ^ Huhtikuun joukkue valittu - HJK:n Topi Keskinen Veikkausliigan kuukauden pelaaja (in Finnish)
  16. ^ AC Oulun Ashley Coffey kuukauden pelaaja - Veikkausliigan toukokuun joukkue valittu (in Finnish)
  17. ^ SJK:n Jaime Moreno Veikkausliigan kuukauden pelaaja kesäkuussa, veikkaus.fi, 5 July 2024
  18. ^ Ilveksen Santeri Haarala Veikkausliigan kuukauden pelaaja heinäkuussa, veikkaus.fi, 2 August 2024
  19. ^ Gnistanin Tim Väyrynen Veikkausliigan kuukauden pelaaja elokuussa, veikkaus.fi, 30 August 2024
  20. ^ KuPS:n Petteri Pennanen Veikkausliigan kuukauden pelaaja lokakuussa, veikkaus.fi, 6 November 2024