Country Finland Relegation to Ykkönen Current champions IFK Mariehamn
(2016) Founded 1990 Headquarters Finland Domestic cup Finnish Cup | Level on pyramid 1 League cup(s) Finnish League Cup Number of teams 12 Current champion IFK Mariehamn Confederation UEFA | |
 | ||
International cup(s) Champions League
UEFA Europa League Teams Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi, Kuopion Palloseura, FC Inter Turku, FC Lahti, IFK Mariehamn Profiles | ||
Veikkausliiga (Swedish: Tipsligan) is the premier division of Finnish football, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkaus, hence the league's name. Veikkausliiga was founded in 1990; before that the top division was called Mestaruussarja (championship series) since 1930 which was an amateur or semi-professional league. Between 1908 and 1930 the championship was decided in a cup competition.
Contents
Ykkönen (division one) has been the second highest level of Finnish football since 1973.
During the 1990 and 1991 seasons the Veikkausliiga was played under the name "Futisliiga" (Swedish: Fotbollsligan).
As with certain other cold-climate European countries, league matches in Finland are played in summer, with a schedule usually from April to October. The format and number of teams has changed frequently, and as of 2016 there are 12 teams, with each team playing the others three times, for 33 rounds during the season. The best six teams from the previous season play 17 home matches, while the other six teams play 16 home matches. At the end of the season, the lowest-placed team is relegated to Ykkönen, whose winner is promoted to Veikkausliiga, and the second-worst team plays a two-leg play-off versus the Ykkönen runner-up.
In 2010 the average annual salary with fringe benefits for a league player was 24,400 euro. Veikkausliiga is a founding member of the European Professional Football Leagues association.
Clubs
The Veikkausliiga clubs in the 2017 season are presented in the table below. Number of seasons includes seasons played in preceding Mestaruussarja and seasons of predecessor teams.
Former clubs
1) FC Jazz was formerly known as PPT (Porin Pallotoverit).
2) Kuusysi and Reipas merged their professional teams in 1996 to form FC Lahti. Kuusysi returned to Kakkonen in 2011 under the name Lahti Akatemia, while Reipas returned to Kolmonen one year later.
3) Tampere United was formed in 1998 after it inherited the place of FC Ilves. Tampere United was dissolved in 2011 and Ilves, which had continued playing at lower levels, got promoted back to the highest league in 2015.
Performance by club
The following clubs have won:
Finnish Championship Cup Competition (1908–1929)
Mestaruussarja (1930–1989)
Veikkausliiga (1990–present)
29 clubs have been Champions.