Sport is considered a national pastime in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and many Finns visit different sporting events regularly.

Pesäpallo Pesäpallo (; ; , colloquially known in Finnish as pesis and also referred to as Finnish baseball) is a fast-moving bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland and has some presence in other ...

is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular forms of sport in terms of television viewers and media coverage are

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

and

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

. In spectator attendance,

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

comes right after ice hockey in popularity. Other popular sports include

floorball Floorball (also known by other names) is a sport played with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. It is played indoors with sticks and a hollow plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three periods. The sport of bandy also playe ...

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

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 ...

ringette Ringette is a winter team sport played on an ice rink using ice hockey skates, straight sticks with drag-tips, and a blue, rubber, pneumatic ring designed for use on ice surfaces. While the sport was originally created exclusively for female c ...

, and

Popular sports in Finland

Ice hockey

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

is the most popular sport in Finland. The Finnish main league

Liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mesti ...

has an attendance average of 4,850 people. Ice Hockey World Championships 2016 final Finland-Canada, 69% of Finnish people watched that game on TV

MTV3 MTV3 (, ) is a Finnish commercial television channel owned and operated by the media company MTV Oy, originally launched on 13 August 1957 as a programming block, becoming its own channel on 1 January 1993. It had the biggest audience share ...

-channel. The Finnish national team has won the World Championship four times, in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and is considered a member of the so-called " Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Czechia,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. At the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

, the Finnish hockey team won the Men's tournament Olympic gold for the first time. Some of the most notable Finnish players are

Teemu Selänne Teemu Ilmari Selänne (; born July 3, 1970) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger. He began his professional career in 1989–90 with Jokerit of the SM-liiga and played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Winn ...

, Jari Kurri, Jere Lehtinen, Teppo Numminen,

Tuukka Rask Tuukka Mikael Rask (born 10 March 1987) is a Finns, Finnish former professional ice hockey Goaltender (ice hockey), goaltender. Rask was drafted 21st overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs before being traded to the Boston ...

and brothers Saku and Mikko Koivu. Finland has hosted the Men's Ice Hockey World Championships in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and co-hosted

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Football

Football in Finland, unlike in most

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an countries, is not the most popular spectator

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

, as it falls behind

, which enjoys a huge amount of popularity in the country.

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 ...

tops ice hockey in the number of registered players (115,000 vs. 60,000) and as a popular hobby (160,000 vs. 90,000 in adults and 230,000 vs. 105,000 in youth). It is the most popular hobby among 3- to 18-year-olds, whereas ice hockey is 9th. Football's standing is constantly increasing, where the yearly growth rate has lately been over 10 percent. In season 2006–07 19.9 percent of registered players were female. The Football Association of Finland (''Palloliitto'') has approximately a thousand clubs as its members. According to a

Gallup poll Gallup, Inc. is an American multinational analytics and advisory company based in Washington, D.C. Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the company became known for its public opinion polls conducted worldwide. Gallup provides analytics and man ...

, nearly 400,000 people include football in their hobbies. HJK is the most successful Finnish football club and has won 32 Finnish championship. Also it is only Finnish club that has played in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

and Europa League in group stage.

Floorball

Floorball Floorball (also known by other names) is a sport played with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. It is played indoors with sticks and a hollow plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three periods. The sport of bandy also playe ...

is a popular sport and Finland was one of the three founding countries of

International Floorball Federation The International Floorball Federation (IFF) is the worldwide governing body for the sport of floorball. It was founded on 12 April 1986 in Huskvarna, Sweden, by representatives from the national floorball associations of Finland, Sweden and S ...

. Finland men's national floorball team has won the World Floorball Championships in 2008, 2010, 2016, 2018 and 2024, making floorball the only team sport in which Finland has defended a World Championship title, and placed second in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2012, 2014 and 2020. Finland has hosted Men's World Floorball Championships in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and will host it again in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

. The game is played similar to floor hockey, with five players and a goal keeper on each team. The game is played indoors for men and woman, using 95 to 115.5 cm. sticks, and a plastic ball. The length of the game is three twenty minute periods.

Motorsport

Motorsport became popular in Finland in the 1950s with the birth of

rallying Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (sometimes called "rally racing" in United States), navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed ...

competitions. In the 1960s Finnish rally drivers such as

Rauno Aaltonen Rauno August Aaltonen (born 7 January 1938), also known as "The Rally Professor", is a Finnish former professional rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1970s. Career Before WRC was established Aaltonen comp ...

, Timo Mäkinen and Pauli Toivonen started to dominate international events and have held the post since, making Finland the most successful nation in the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

. Juha Kankkunen and Tommi Mäkinen both won the World Championship four times during their respective careers and

Marcus Grönholm Marcus Ulf Johan "Bosse" Grönholm (born February 5, 1968) is a Finland, Finnish former rallying, rally and rallycross driver, being part of a family of the Swedish-speaking population of Finland lineage. His son, Niclas Grönholm, is an upcoming ...

won the title twice in 2000 and 2002. After 20 years later Kalle Rovanperä won the World Championship in 2022. Finland's WRC event, Neste Oil Rally Finland, gathers 500,000 spectators every year. The city of

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...

in the Central Finland region has often served as the main venue for Finnish rally competitions. Currently the most popular form of motorsport is

. F1 was popularized in Finland in the 1980s by Keke Rosberg, who in

became the first Finnish Formula One World Driver's champion, and reached its peak when Mika Häkkinen won the championship twice in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. Kimi Räikkönen, the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

champion, has retired from the sport at the end of 2021. Since 2013, Valtteri Bottas has competed for the

Williams F1 Williams Racing, legally known as Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited and competing as Atlassian Williams Racing, is a British Formula One team and constructor. It was founded by Frank Williams (Formula One), Frank Williams (1942–2021) ...

, Mercedes and

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

teams. Other forms of motorsport popular in Finland include

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

, which reached its peak in the early 1970s before the death of Jarno Saarinen. In

enduro Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is ...

, 7 and 13-time World Enduro Champions Kari Tiainen and

Juha Salminen Juha Salminen (born 27 September 1976 in Vantaa) is a Finland, Finnish former professional motorcycle enduro racer. He is a 13-time World Enduro Championship, World Enduro Champion (including the overall world championship titles from 2000 to 200 ...

have ensured media coverage in their home country. File:Finnish Rallycross Championship Hyvinkää 2011.jpg, Folkrace and

Rallycross Rallycross is a form of sprint style motorsport held on a mixed-surface circuit (racing), racing circuit using modified production touring automobile, cars or prototype racing cars. It began in the 1960s as a cross between rallying and autocross ...

File:Markku Alén - 1987 RAC Rally.jpg,

Markku Alén Markku Allan Alén (born 15 February 1951) is a Finland, Finnish former Rallying, rally and race car driver. He drove for Fiat, Lancia, Subaru World Rally Team, Subaru and Toyota Team Europe, Toyota in the World Rally Championship, and held the ...

with his

Lancia Delta The Lancia Delta (stylized Lancia Delta (letter), δ) is a small family car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Lancia in three generations. The first generation (1979–1994) debuted at the 1979 Frankfurt Motor Show#1979, Frankfurt Motor ...

at the 1987 WRC season File:Kimi Raikkonen 2009 Turkey 3.jpg, Kimi Räikkönen driving for

Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari (; ), currently racing under Scuderia Ferrari HP, is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "the Pranc ...

at the 2009 F1 season File:Valtteri Bottas 2017 Malaysia FP1.jpg, Bottas driving for Mercedes at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix

Bandy

Bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

is played throughout Finland. It was the first team sport with a national Finnish championship. The Bandyliiga is still popular. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, Finland won the Bandy World Championship. The game consists of two teams whose goal is to put a single ball in opposing team's goal to score. The game is played on ice, with both teams on skates. In terms of licensed athletes, it is the second biggest winter sport in the world. Finland's Bandy Association (Finnish: Suomen Jääpalloliitto, Swedish: FinlandsBandyförbund) is the governing body for the sport of bandy in Finland.

Pesäpallo

Developed by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s and often considered as a national sport of Finland,

pesäpallo Pesäpallo (; ; , colloquially known in Finnish as pesis and also referred to as Finnish baseball) is a fast-moving bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland and has some presence in other ...

has a steady popularity around the country, especially in the Ostrobothnia region. The main national league,

Superpesis The Superpesis is the highest level of the Finnish pesäpallo league system. Contested by 13 clubs in men's league and 12 clubs in women's league, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Ykköspesis. Seasons usually run from ...

, has an attendance average of about 1,600 in men's and 500 in the women's league.

Ringette

In 1979, Juhani Wahlsten introduced

in Finland. Wahlsten created some teams in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

. Finland's first ringette club was Ringetteläisiä Turun Siniset, and the country's first ringette tournament took place in December, 1980. In 1979 Juhani Wahlsten invited two coaches, Wendy King and Evelyn Watson, from

Dollard-des-Ormeaux Dollard-des-Ormeaux (; commonly referred to as D.D.O. or simply Dollard) is a city and a predominantly English-speaking suburb of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is the most populous suburb on the Island of Montreal. The town was na ...

, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to teach girls of various ages how to play ringette. The Ringette Association of

was established in 1981 and several Canadian coaches went there to initiate the training and help establish the sport. The ski national week then organized an annual tournament to bring together all the ringette teams. Internationally

and Finland have always been the most active ambassadors in the International Ringette Federation. Canada and Finland regularly travel across various countries to demonstrate how ringette is played.

Ice cross downhill

Racers are typically athletes with a background in ice hockey, however competitors from the sports of bandy and ringette have also competed with great success, such as Salla Kyhälä from Finland's national ringette team, who also played in Canada's National Ringette League and Mirko Lahti has win Finnish downhill skating championship two times 2020 and 2021. Junior World championship 2017-2018 and Men`s World championship 2022-23.

Synchronized Skating

Inline skating originated in Finland in the 1980s and was initially known as group patterning. The first Finnish Synchronized skating team, The Rockets (HTK; now Helsinki Rockettes), was founded in 1984. Today, Finland is one of the top countries in figure skating - the teams have done well in international competitions for years. There are more than 100 Synchronized skating teams in Finland.

Skiing

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Seefeld 2019 - Men 15 km Interval Start Classic. Picture shows Iivo Niskanen (FIN). Finland has always produced successful competitors in the disciplines of

nordic skiing Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe to heel. Re ...

. Championship-winning male cross-country skiers from Finland include Veli Saarinen (winner of an Olympic gold and three

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

titles in the 1920s and 1930s), Veikko Hakulinen (who won three Olympic and three World Championship golds in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as a World Championship silver medal in

biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...

) and Juha Mieto (who won an Olympic gold medal in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

and two overall FIS Cross-Country World Cups). Among female athletes, Marjo Matikainen-Kallström won a gold at the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...

, three World Championships and three overall World Cups and

Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi (née Hämäläinen; born 10 September 1955) is a Finnish former cross-country skier. Career She was the big figure at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, winning all three individual cross-country skiing events (5, 10 and ...

won three golds at both the Olympics and World Championships and two overall World Cup titles. Finland has been the most successful nation in Ski jumping at the Winter Olympics, having won ten golds, eight silvers and four bronze medals. Notable names include Matti Nykänen, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, a five time Ski Jumping World Champion, the 1985 winner of the FIS Ski-Flying World Championships, a four-time winner of the overall

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

title, and a double winner of the prestigious Four Hills Tournament. More recently Janne Ahonen has been one of the top competitors in the sport since the mid-1990s, winning five World Championship golds and two overall World Cups. He is also the record holder for wins in the Four Hills Tournament, having won the competition five times. As a country strong in both cross-country skiing and ski jumping Finland has also enjoyed success in

Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...

. Heikki Hasu won golds in Nordic combined in the

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

and 1952 Olympics, as well as a cross-country gold in the 4 x 10 kilometre relay at the 1952 Olympics. He also won a World Championship gold in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

. Eero Mäntyranta won 7 Olympic medals (3 golds, 2 silvers, and 2 bronzes) spread over the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, and

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

Olympics in addition to his five World Championship medals (2 gold, 2 silver and a bronze) spread over the

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

and

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

games. Samppa Lajunen won three Olympic golds at the 2002 Olympics and two FIS Nordic Combined World Cups. Hannu Manninen won the World Cup for four consecutive seasons between 2003/4 and 2006/7. 2020-01-12 IBU World Cup Biathlon Oberhof IMG 2966 by Stepro

2020-01-12 IBU World Cup Biathlon Oberhof IMG 2966 by Stepro

Although traditionally not as strong as Norway, Sweden, Germany and Russia in biathlon, Finland has had world-class competitors in this discipline. Heikki Ikola and Juhani Suutarinen were both highly successful in the 1970s - Ikola won four

golds and Suutarinen won three. In 2011

Kaisa Mäkäräinen Kaisa Leena Mäkäräinen (born 11 January 1983) is a Finnish former world-champion and 3-time world-cup-winning biathlete, who currently competes for Kontiolahden Urheilijat. Outside sports, Mäkäräinen is currently studying to be a Physics t ...

won a World Championship title in the pursuit at the

Biathlon World Championships The first Biathlon World Championships (BWCH) was held in 1958, with individual and team contests for men. The original team event, Team (time), was held for the last time in 1965, to be replaced in 1966 by the team event, Relay (4 × 7.5 km) ...

and was

Biathlon World Cup The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level biathlon season-long competition series. It has been held since the winter seasons of 1977–78 for men and 1982–83 for women. The women's seasons until 1986–87 season were called the European Cup, alt ...

champion. She won her second overall Biathlon World Cup in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, and a third in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. In recent years Finnish skiers have enjoyed success in the technical disciplines of

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

. Kalle Palander was Slalom World Champion in 1999 and World Cup Slalom champion in the 2003 Alpine Skiing World Cup. Tanja Poutiainen won three discipline World Cup titles in Slalom and Giant Slalom in the 2000s.

Athletics

The sport of athletics has historically been an important part of both Finnish sports history and national identity. Hannes Kolehmainen has been said to "run Finland onto the world map" at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

, and from the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Finland was the second most successful country in athletics, as only the

managed to collect more Olympic medals.

Javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

is the only event in which Finland has enjoyed success all the way from the 1900s to this day. Thus, it is currently the most popular athletics event in Finland.

Jukola Relay The Jukola Relay is an orienteering relay race held annually in Finland since 1949. Jukola is the biggest orienteering relay event in the world. The race takes place on a Saturday between 13 and 19 June in sites around Finland. The northern ...

and Venla's Relay are the largest and the most famous

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

events in Finland.

Combat sports

Wrestling

Wrestling was a successful sport for Finns in the early 20th century. The first wrestling club was the Helsingin Atleettiklubi founded in 1891, and the Finnish championship series (SM-kilpailut) were organized for the first time in 1898. Verner Weckman won his series At the 1906 Athens Intermediate Olympics and achieved Finland's first official Olympic victory two years later in London. In total, Finns won 20 Olympic gold medals in wrestling between 1908 and 1936, thirteen of them in Greco-Roman wrestling and seven in freestyle wrestling. From the period after the Second World War, Finland has six wrestling gold medals, five of which are from Greco-Roman wrestling. The last Finnish men's world champion is Marko Yli-Hannuksela from 1997, but the European Finns have won championships even in the 2000s, when women's wrestling became more common, and in 2018 Petra Olli became the first Finnish female wrestler to win the world championship.

Boxing

Finnish boxing championship competitions started in 1923. Finnish Olympic champions are Sten Suvio from 1936 and Pentti Hämäläinen from 1952. However, the most famous Finnish boxer of the 1930s was

Gunnar Bärlund Gunnar Richard Bernhard Bärlund (9 January 1911 – 2 August 1982) was a Finnish heavyweight boxer who won the European amateur title in 1934. He competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics, but lost in the first round to the eventual winner Santiago ...

, who was the second challenger to world champion

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...

in the professional boxing heavyweight rankings. The first Finn to compete in the professional world championship was Olli Mäki, who lost to Davey Moore in the World Championship match at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in August 1962. Mäki is the only Finn who has won both the amateur and professional European championships. The amateur WC medal has been achieved by Tarmo Uusivirta 1978 and 1982, Jyri Kjäll 1993 and Joni Turunen 1995 and 2001. Women's boxing n's biggest star is Eva Wahlström, who in 2015 was the first Finn to win the world championship in professional boxing. Today, Robert Helenius is Finland's most successful boxer.

Mixed martial arts

In judo, Finland's only World Championship medal has been achieved by Juha Salonen, who in 1981 took bronze in the heavyweight category. Jukka-Pekka Väyrynen was the first Finn to win the World Championship in karate in 1982. The most successful Finnish karateka is Sari Laine, who won seven European championships in the years 1987–1996 in addition to her one World Championship in individual series. The first Finn seen in UFC events was Tony Halme, who participated in the UFC 13 event organized on May 30, 1997 in Augusta, Georgia, USA. Halme lost his match in less than a minute to the future star of the sport,

Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American mixed martial arts commentator, actor, former United States Army sergeant, former professional mixed martial artist, and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestlin ...

, by submission after Couture got a choke hold. Another Finn who fought in the UFC was Anton Kuivanen, who fought two fights in the organization in 2012 and one fight in 2013. The third Finn in the organization was Tom Niinimäki who won one and lost three matches. Today, one Finnish citizen, Kurd Makwan Amirkhani, is a member of the organization.

American Football

American football has a long history in Finland. The American Football Association of Finland is the governing body and the Vaahteraliiga founded in 1980, is the highest level in Finland signing import talent from North America and Europe. The Finland national American football team has won five European championships.

Basketball

As Finland appeared at the 2014 Basketball World Cup for the first time, the sport received a huge boost and major public attention. More than 8,000 basketball fans travelled to Spain to support their team. Overall, they booked more than 40 airplanes. For the second time, Finland made it in 2023 Basketball World Cup, for the first time through the qualifiers. Finland has hosted Men's

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

in 1967 and co-hosted 2017 and 2025. As in many countries worldwide, Finland has shown some major improvements in its professionalization of the game of basketball recently. Its

Korisliiga The Korisliiga is the top-tier professional basketball league in Finland, comprising the top 12 teams of the country. In its current format, each team plays all other teams two times in the regular season, once at home and once away, for a total o ...

sends teams to European competitions and has drawn the interest of an increasing number of talents especially from North America but also from Southeastern Europe. Fiba Europe Cup in the 2022-23 season, Karhu Basket become the first Finnish club to advance to the final four.

Volleyball

* Finland men's national volleyball team has often participated in the EuroVolley Championships and succeeded steadily. the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

also made a comeback in

, challenging the big volleyball countries to finish in 9th place. Finland Volleyball League is highest level in Finland. Finland featured a women's national team in

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

that competed at the 2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.

Disc golf

Disc golf is the fastest growing sport in Finland. According to the Finnish Research Institute for Olympic Sports (KIHU), it is more popular among Finns than ball golf,

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

. , there are approximately 700 disc golf courses in Finland. Vippi

Harness racing

Harness racing in Finland is characterised by the use of the coldblood breed

Finnhorse The Finnhorse or Finnish Horse ( , literally "horse of Finland"; , literally "finnish cold-blood") is a horse breed with both riding horse and draught horse influences and characteristics, and is the only breed developed fully in Finland. In E ...

along with modern light trotters such as the

Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing where they compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace its bloodline ...

. In lack of gallop racing culture, harness racing is the main equestrian sport in

. Horses used for harness racing in Finland are exclusively trotters. Racing back home from church had been a tradition long before the first organised race was held in 1817. Modern racing started in the 1960s, when light breeds were allowed to enter the sport and

Parimutuel betting Parimutuel betting, or pool betting, is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the ''house-take'', or ''vigorish'', are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among a ...

gained foothold as pastime. Nowadays harness racing remains popular, with the main events gathering tens of thousands of spectators in the country with a population of some 5 million.

Rugby union

Rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

is a minor but growing sport. With both Men's and Women's 15's teams are represented in world rankings and both Women and Men's Sevens teams competing internationally. Finland Men's 15's team is currently ranked 86th out of 105 by

World Rugby World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

. Finland Women's 15's team is currently ranked 47th out of 56 by

Sport shooting

The Finnish Shooting Sport Federation is the umbrella organization for

sport shooting Shooting sports is a group of competitive sport, competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airg ...

in Finland.

Tennis

Tennis came to Finland in 1881. The first club was Wiborgs lawntennisklubb, founded in 1898. The Finnish Tennis Federation was founded in 1911, and it immediately joined the international tennis federation. The first Finnish championship was won in 1912 by Boris Schildt. in 2023 Finnish team advanced to the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...

final tournament for the first time and knocking out 32-time champions USA to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

Henri Kontinen Henri Kontinen (; born 19 June 1990) is a Finnish former professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. After being forced to end his singles career at a young age due to injuries, having reached a career-high ranking of No ...

has involved in winning Wimbledon Championships – Mixed doubles and Australian Open – Men's doubles,

Harri Heliövaara Harri Heliövaara (born 4 June 1989) is a Finnish professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked by the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP as high as world No. 3 in doubles, achieved on 31 March 2025. He also attained his care ...

has involved in winning US Open – Mixed doubles.

Jarkko Nieminen Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen (born 23 July 1981) is a Finnish former professional tennis player. His highest ranking of world No. 13, achieved in July 2006, is a Finnish record. He has won two ATP singles titles and five doubles titles in his caree ...

is the highest-ranked Finnish tennis player ever in the world and the only Finn to win an ATP singles tournament.

Skittles sports

Finnish skittles Finnish skittles, also known as Karelian skittles, outdoor skittles or ''kyykkä'', is a centuries-old game of Karelian origin. The aim in Finnish skittles is to throw wooden skittle bats at skittles, trying to remove them from the play square u ...

(Kyykkä), is a centuries-old game of Karelian origin. Mölkky is modern version of Kyykkä.

Cue sports

Kaisa or karoliina is a

cue sport Cue or CUE may refer to: Event markers * Sensory cue, in perception (experimental psychology) ** Cueing (medicine), rehabilitation techniques for Parkinson's disease patients to improve walking * Cue (theatrical), the trigger for an action to be c ...

mainly played in Finland and its the most traditional form of billiards in Finland and has been practiced in Finland for several decades before the birth of Finnish billiards association. The sport is still popular in Finland, and 20–30 tournaments under the Finnish Billiards Association are organized every year. In addition to the main series, there are different series, Seniors and Juniors.

Ball hockey

Finland has participated in the sport's

since the 2009 Games. The first Finnish tournament was organized in 2018. Finnish Ball Hockey Federation was founded in 2017 and its belongs to the ISBHF (International Street & Ball Hockey Federation).

Other Sports

* Hobby horsing *

Swamp football Swamp football (also called swamp soccer or suopotkupallo in Finnish) is a variant of association football played in bogs or swamps, characterized by its physically challenging environment. Originating in Finland in 1998, it was initially used as ...

* Mobile phone throwing * Wife-carrying *

Handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

, Finnish Handball League, Finland men's national handball team *

Field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

, Finland men's national field hockey team *

Sledge hockey Sledge hockey, also known as Sled hockey in American English, and Para ice hockey in international competition, is an Parasports, adaptation of ice hockey for players who have a physical disability. The sport was invented in the early 1960s at a ...

, Finland men's national ice sledge hockey team *

Strength athletics Strength athletics is the collection of strength sports which measure physical strength, based on both: non-standard and historical implements as seen in Strongman and Highland games, and standardized and calibrated equipment as seen in Powerlifti ...

, Strength athletics in Finland *

Water Polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

, Playing water polo in Finland started in 1901, and the Finnish championship was played for the first time in 1908. * Winter swimming, Winter Swimming World Championships

Controversies

Arto Halonen Arto Halonen (born 11 January 1964, Joensuu) is a documentary filmmaker from Finland. He was also a teacher of cinematography in Joensuu between 1986-1989. In 2008, China did not give a visa to Arto Halonen to participate 2008 Summer Olympics. H ...

made a documentary about

doping in sport In competitive sports, doping is the use of banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) by athletes, as a way of cheating. As stated in the World Anti-Doping Code by WADA, doping is defined as the occurrence of one or more of the anti-d ...

in Finnish winter sports in 2012. Janne Immonen,

Jari Isometsä Jari Olavi Isometsä (born 11 September 1968) is a Finland, Finnish former cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skier who competed from 1990 to 2006. He won three bronze medals in the 4 × 10 km relay at the Winter Olympics (1992, 1994 ...

and Harri Kirvesniemi were convicted in October 2013 by the Helsinki District Court.ski stars convicted of perjury in decades old doping scandal
18 October 2013

International championships hosted by Finland

References

External links

Finnish Olympic CommitteeSuomen Urheiluliitto
{{Sport in Europe