Kakkonen or II divisioona is the fourth level in the

league system A league system is a hierarchy of sports league, leagues in a sport. They are often called pyramids, due to their tendency to split into an increasing number of regional divisions further down the system. League systems of some sort are used in ma ...

of Finnish football and comprises 36 Finnish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

teams. Until the end of 2023, ''Kakkonen'' was the third-highest level in Finland, but after the creation of new second-tier

Ykkösliiga ''Ykkösliiga'' (English language, English: ''"League One"''; ) is the second highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga), managed by the Football Association of Finland. The teams in Ykkösliiga also play a pre-s ...

, Kakkonen also dropped down one level in the league pyramid. The new fourth-tier Kakkonen is divided to three groups, each consisting of 10 teams. The II divisioona was introduced in 1973 and in the mid-1990s became known as the Kakkonen ( Finnish for 'Number Two'; ).

Sakari Tukiainen Sakari Tukiainen (born 2 October 1991) is a Finnish striker who plays for Tercera Federación club Manchego Ciudad Real. Club career Tukiainen began his career with Finnish youth academy Espoon Palloseura (EPS), where he played from 1997 unti ...

finished the season 2014 as the top goal scorer and setting a new league record with 40 goals for the Kakkonen. Petter Meyer finished the 2015 as the top goal scorer for

GrIFK Grankulla IFK, or GrIFK as the name is commonly abbreviated, is a Finnish sports club from the city of Kauniainen. The club was formed in 1925 and the main activities covered are football, ice-hockey, handball, floorball and alpine. Each sp ...

with 23 goals.

League structure

For the 2012 season the format of the Kakkonen has been changed with the league divided in 4 groups of 10 teams, each representing a geographical area. Every club plays each of the others in the same group three times. Clubs gain three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. The group winners may win promotion to

Ykkönen ''Ykkönen'' (Finnish language, Finnish for 'Number One'; , previously I divisioona) is the third highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga and Ykkösliiga), managed by the Football Association of Finland. Until ...

while two bottom clubs of each group and weakest 8th ranked club will be relegated to

Kolmonen Kolmonen or III divisioona is the fifth level in the Finnish football league system, league system of Finnish football and comprises 108 Finland, Finnish football (soccer), football teams. The III divisioona was introduced in 1973 and in the mi ...

. For the 2016 season the format of the Kakkonen has been changed with the league divided into 3 groups of 12 teams. Each club plays the others in its group twice. The group winners and the best second place team have a chance of winning one of two promotion places to

after a four team playoff. The bottom three teams in each group 10, 11 and 12 will be relegated to

Administration

The

Football Association of Finland The Football Association of Finland (, SPL; ) is the governing body of football (soccer), football and futsal in Finland. It was founded in Helsinki on 19 May 1907. The SPL organises the Finland national football team, men's and Finland women's ...

(, SPL; , FBF) administers the Kakkonen.

Sections and teams 2022

Kakkonen Group A

Kakkonen Group B

Kakkonen Group C

All details taken from Finnish FA website.

Seasons – League Tables

Group Winners

1970–1972 II divisioona, Tier 2 1973–1993 II divisioona, Tier 3 1994-2023 Kakkonen, Tier 3 2024- Kakkonen, Tier 4

Footnotes

External links

Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto - Kakkonen 2013)
* Kakkonen - Finnish Wikipedia {{UEFA third leagues 3

Fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

Professional sports leagues in Finland