Football (soccer) Amature league

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Saurian
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2007 8:13 pm

Football (soccer) Amature league

Post by Saurian » Sat Dec 01, 2007 8:54 pm

Hi everybody :D ,

I have moved to Finland(Helsinki) just a couple of months ago, but already miss playing soccer. I have spent a lot of time trying to find some information on amature divisions here in Helsinki, but had little luck :cry: .
If somebody knows if there are some tournaments being held regularly, teams looking for new players or even if you have any information in English on how to form a team and register it for some events, please let me know.

Actually, any info on soccer is welcome(better to say begged for).



Football (soccer) Amature league

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Rosamunda
Posts: 10650
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2004 12:07 am

Post by Rosamunda » Sat Dec 01, 2007 10:12 pm

In order to play in league games with a club you need to join a club that is affiliated to Finnish football federation. Here is a list of clubs for Helsinki:

http://www.hel.fi/wps/portal/Liikuntavi ... Jalkapallo

(M= mens' teams, N= ladies' teams)

Most of the clubs have their own websites where you can get more info.

You will have to pay a club membership fee and federation fee so it can work out a bit pricey if you are a serious player.

Finnish Football Federation:

http://www.palloliitto.fi/palloliitto/english/

Saurian
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2007 8:13 pm

Post by Saurian » Sat Dec 01, 2007 10:40 pm

thanks for a reply
I have already seen both of the pages and the lack of info in English and my poor Finnish stopped me from getting anywhere :(

and if I am a serious player, how about getting some money, instead of paying? Or should I get an agent and do it all proper... :/?

Rosamunda
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Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2004 12:07 am

Post by Rosamunda » Sun Dec 02, 2007 7:00 pm

Call /email the clubs directly (the email addresses and the phone numbers are there on the Helsinki pages), English is widely spoken.

Karhu79
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2007 4:41 pm
Location: Helsinki

Post by Karhu79 » Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:10 am

Follow Penelope's suggestion!
I did the same with Basketball and it worked.

Remind that the football season start from April/May, not earlier and it's now off. Anyway you can surely play indoor soccer somewhere..

MC Deli
Posts: 162
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2007 4:10 pm
Location: Helsinki

Re: Football (soccer) Amature league

Post by MC Deli » Sun Dec 09, 2007 8:27 pm

Saurian wrote:Hi everybody :D ,

I have moved to Finland(Helsinki) just a couple of months ago, but already miss playing soccer. I have spent a lot of time trying to find some information on amature divisions here in Helsinki, but had little luck :cry: .
If somebody knows if there are some tournaments being held regularly, teams looking for new players or even if you have any information in English on how to form a team and register it for some events, please let me know.

Actually, any info on soccer is welcome(better to say begged for).
http://helsinki.palloliitto.fi/kilpailutoiminta/
Here you can find info about Helsinki amateur footy teams. To quickly summarise, in Finland the premier league (Veikkausliiga) is pro / semi pro and national and probably about the standard a level one below Conference in the UK. Divisions 1,2 regional and still played on grass. Divisions 3-7 are local and played on gravel. You can find these lower divs in both Espoo and Helsinki. In Helsinki teams in divs 4 and 5 train. Teams in 6 and 7 are mostly 'friends' teams and can be very 'mixed ability' to be polite. After 7, where all players have to be registered and insured, there is also a hobby league (Harrasteliiga), company leagues, over 35s etc. By 6 the halves are 35 mins and there are no linesmen. In the hobby league it is 8+1 players and played on small fields like cat boxes:)

http://helsinki.palloliitto.fi/kilpailu ... tiedot/are lists of all contacts for Helsinki teams.

In 5 teams only play 18-20 matches from May-July and Sept-Oct - July-Aug is summer break. In 6/7 teams only play 12-13 games. You can also start the season with the Kevät cup (the hobby 'Spring Cup' for 5/6/7 teams which is 9+1) and also enter the Suomen Cup (FA cup-style.)

Playing in Helsinki in the hobby league or divs 5,6,7 is pretty straightforward - there are long lists of teams on the website and there are always teams in need of players. Remember though that, even though a team in the 6th division is theoretically only 5 years from Europe or 8 matches from Europe (via the Suomen Cup) the standard is, and I quote, "the 2nd string reserves of your local english country pub side, playing hung over, with the keeper and star striker missing, playing with their shoelaces tied together" - and, oh yeah, not talking to each other on the field. LOL.

That said, footy in Helsinki is really well run and great value. I have been playing and (trying to coach friends) in 7/6/5 and have had a fantastic time. Even though the fields are gravel, you might have noticed how many well tended goal nets there in Helsinki! The futsal is great too (local divs in Helsinki 1-4 plus hobby league and played in Hakaniemi and Myllypuro).

I think it is really easy to set up a team. If you set up and register a team you can start in the footy 7th or futsal 4th. But you need Finnish skills. All info is in Finnish and Suomen Palloliitto guys organising the divisions and pitches (which are quite tough to book for training) generally only use Finnish.

If you want to get into football coaching you should speak to Suomen Palloliitto - however, my understanding is that all their courses (UEFA badges etc) are Finnish, understandably.

http://www.suopotkupallo.fi/index.php For the Swamp football world cup if you haven't seen it already.

If you are interested in youth football you should research the Helsinki Cup - in summer thousands of young kids from teams from around the world come to play in Helsinki...

Saurian
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2007 8:13 pm

Post by Saurian » Mon Dec 10, 2007 10:30 pm

wow!:shock:

I suppose that is basically all the info there is, thanks a lot. I hope others will also find it useful and move on to promoting soccer in Finland.

As for myself, I ll just spend all the winter learning Finnish language to have any idea on what is written on those websites, which links you were kind enough to post.

If you are still playing futsal in Helsinki, please let me know. :wink:

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raamv
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Post by raamv » Tue Dec 11, 2007 1:07 am

before you start playing..take health insurance...as many people have been to hospital playin soccer. n out for many weeks.
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Rosamunda
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Post by Rosamunda » Tue Dec 11, 2007 12:18 pm

If you join an affiliated club the insurance (from Pohjola) is sold with the Suomenpalloliitto licence. It covers tournaments and matches, even abroad, and the cover is better than many private health insurance offerings which exclude physiotherapy etc. Both my kids who play have it.

antti_73
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Nov 16, 2007 12:14 pm

Post by antti_73 » Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:47 am

Don't forget "suofutis" (swamp soccer). This is how finnish players refine their astonishing technique.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1924lNf0PlQ

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raamv
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Post by raamv » Thu Dec 13, 2007 1:40 pm

penelope wrote:If you join an affiliated club the insurance (from Pohjola) is sold with the Suomenpalloliitto licence. It covers tournaments and matches, even abroad, and the cover is better than many private health insurance offerings which exclude physiotherapy etc. Both my kids who play have it.
yeah but is this mandatory or optional? and how many know of this when joining a club? thats the point I wanted to make :Ö break a leg after insurance = 5 weeks all payed expense..
break a leg w/o insurance = 5 weeks out of work + 5 or more weeks worth of pay lost!!
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Rosamunda
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Post by Rosamunda » Thu Dec 13, 2007 2:03 pm

In order to have a Suomenpalloliitto licence you must have insurance. They offer a package from Pohjola with the licence (due in March each year). So if you don't want to take their package then you just pay the licence fee but you need to produce a certificate from your own insurance company to show you have insurance. I think it is pretty clear. The details are all on the Pohjola website http://www.pohjola.fi/YKY/Vakuutus/Urhe ... efault.htm

I'm not sure about compensation for lost pay etc since my kids are... kids. But one of the other parents explained to me that when his son was injured he was REALLY glad he had the Suomenpalloliitto insurance because it included several things they would not have got from their regular home insurance package.

The premiums increase in price as the kids get older for the simple reason that Under 16s tend to get injured more often (and more seriously) than the littl'uns. Next year I will pay 42 euro insurance premium for my youngest (born 96) and 90 euro for his big bro (born 92). For the "liiga" players (adults) it is 480 euro. The licence fee is 35 euro.

But I am sure it varies from one sport to another.

And BTW, you cannot play in any matches or tournaments organised by the Suomenpalloliitto unless you have the Pelipassi (licence).

MC Deli
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Location: Helsinki

Post by MC Deli » Sat Dec 15, 2007 12:52 am

I have received news from my club's charismatic chairman that actually from next season they are changing the rules (in Helsinki at least) - in divisions 5-6-7 we will no longer have to have Palloliitto's insurance or other seperate insurance (e.g. from Pohjola). This is great for amateur teams because some players will be able to play who couldn't afford it before (120 eur a year used to be a bit a gamble for some students for example).

MC Deli
Posts: 162
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2007 4:10 pm
Location: Helsinki

Post by MC Deli » Sat Dec 15, 2007 12:54 am

Whether that will still apply to the Suomen Cup I don't know. Also being insured is great when you get injured and need treatment - though it always seems that the physiotherapy you actually need is never covered!

Rosamunda
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Post by Rosamunda » Sat Dec 15, 2007 11:05 am

A couple of players in my son's team needed treatment last year and it was all covered by the Pohjola package. Interesting that they have changed the rules... I will check the small print as I have received the paperwork for next year (I am treasurer of their club). OTOH, I would strongly recommend that the boys take the insurance, it makes life a lot easier for the people managing the team.


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