The Finnish Football Show

IN THIS EPISODE... In 2022, Susanna Liljander conducted a survey among female members of SJK Seinäjoki's supporters group, Klopit. This survey formed the basis of her Master's thesis which was recently published and shared on the Klopit Facebook group: "Women's experiences of supporting men's club football: A case study of Seinäjoki Football Club supporter group, Klopit." Mark W's wife, Lady Satu,...

IN THIS EPISODE... The FFS team is down to its bare bones for this episode, as Mark W & Keke get together to look at recent developments in the Finnish Football world. First up, the first few results in the revamped Liigacup. Then a discussion on the exodus of players from the Veiikausliiga and worry about a talent drain, although this does mean more Finns playing overseas, for Keke to track!  The...

IN THIS EPISODE... Mark W, Rich, Keke and Ally return after a longer-than-expected winter break. And having gorged on too much football the Qatar World Cup – and too much ham & turkey at Christmas – they now turn their attention back to Finnish football in 2023. They look forward to the winter training camp in Potugal, discuss the squad selection and the opponents, Sweden & Estonia.  They...

On the sad news of the passing of young, Finnish footballer Roni Peiponen, Keke Myllari shares a few thoughts and an important message to anyone who's struggling, especially during these dark, winter months. RIP Roni Peiponen 9.4.1997 – 1.12.2022 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roni_Peiponen ----more---- If you are in Finland and struggling with mental health, these resources offer advice and suppor...

IN THIS EPISODE... Rich, Keke and Ally reconvened to tie up the 2022 Veikkausliiga season in a bow. Looking at the final games and the play offs, they celebrate the winners, commiserate with the losers and deride Lahti, again. Next, they turn their attention to the Helmarit squad selection for the upcoming friendly against Wales and give props to retiring Helmari, Tuija Hyyrynen. They discuss VAR...

IN THIS EPISODE... Rich and Keke (enhanced by Producer Mark in post-production) discuss the upcoming Veikkausliiga play offs, as 5 teams enter an 8-match bun fight for the final Europa Conference place. They look again at the restructuring of the Finnish league in 2024, as a few more details are released and make everything clearer (erm!) The chaps also pay a tribute to Essi Sainio, who retires fr...

IN THIS EPISODE... UEFA Nations League B3, Game 6 Finland's sixth and final Nations League game was quite something. Two days of heavy rain, topped-off by a continuing deluge during the game, was not enough to calm Montenegro's passion. This resulted in an early-red card, several first-half substitutions and, ultimately, a two-goal victory for Finland and a nearly heroic performance from Antman (O...

UEFA Nations League B3, Game 5 On Friday night, Finland were held to a frustrting 1-1 draw by Romania, in an open game in which both teams created good chances to score but, ultimately, could not score that elusive winning goal. The result leaves both teams with everything to play for in the final group games on Monday 26th October, with Finland needing to get a better result against Montenegro, t...

IN THIS EPISODE... They say size doesn't matter, but 1 hour 18 minutes of FFS action may just change your mind! Mark W, Rich, Keke & Ally get together to preview the autumn 2023 Nations League games for Finland against Romania and Montenegro. They also look at teh situation in the Veikkausliiga, now it has split into the Mestaruussarja and the Haastajasarja for the final five rounds of matches. Al...

IN THIS EPISODE... Mark W, Keke and Rich bring you a selection of recent news from the world of Finnish football including a proposed restructuring of the Finnish league in 2024, the Womens World Cup qualifying campaign and the Suomen Cup semi-finals played this week. We also talk in more detail about the current state of play in the Veikkausliiga, with 20 games played and 'the split' (into the Ch...

IN THIS EPISODE... Rich, Keke & Ally talk through some of the latest news in Finnish football, including transfers involving Finnish players, how Finnish teams are getting on in European club competition (includes a Zoom-bombing from Mark W, fresh out of SJK Seinäjoki vs Lillestrøm SK). Finally, they discuss the current situation at HIFK Helsinki, compounded by the departure of fiery goalkeepr, Be...

IN THIS EPISODE... As the Helmarit exit the Euros at the group stage, the FFS team reconvene to look at the performances in the three group games. Rich, Keke & Ally give their perspectives from the stands at Stadium MK, where Finland lost to Spain (1-4), Denmark (0-1) and Germany (0-3), but provided hope for the future – possibly a future in which they are led by a new manager 🤔 Blog: show notes...

IN THIS EPISODE... Keke had the opportunity to attend the Helmarit Media Day during the Women's Euro 2022. Never one to miss a chance of mingling with his heroes, Keke headed out to deepest Buckinghamshire (not far from Stadium MK where Finland play their 3 games in the Euros). In this episode, you will hear Keke speaking with three Helmarit, Linda Sällström, Jenny Danielsson and Eveliina Summanen...

Naisten laji – Kirja jalkapallosta IN THIS EPISODE... In this special episode ahead of the 2022 Women’s Euros beginning this week in England, Rich spoke with author Johanna Ruohonen about her new book Naisten Laji, the origins of women’s football in Finland and Europe and how things have changed – and where inequality still remains. Johanna describes how the book came about, speaking with female p...

IN THIS EPISODE... The summer of Finnish football continues apace, so Mark W, Rich & Keke got together to bring you an update on the Veikkausliiga season, now at the halfway stage. We also previewed the Women's Euro 2022 competition, as Finland prepares to take on Spain, Denmark and Germany. The Suomen Cup is now at the quarter final stage, so we look back at the 6th round and preview the quarter...

In this episode... In this episode, Keke, Rich and Mark W are joined by Huuhkajat star, Robert Ivanov. A Finland international player who has recently cemented himself into the Huuhkajat starting 11, was a member of the Euro 2020 squad and who looks certain will be commanding the Finnish defence for years to come. Roba tells us how it felt to grow up and progress through the Finnish league system,...

UEFA Nations League B3, Game 4 Finland completed this period of four games in eleven days with a postive performance, marred only by wasteful finishing that cost them dearly, as Bosnia-Herzegovina took all the points with a 3-2 vistory. Blog: show notes and links https://finnishfootballshow.com/2022/06/17/match-report-bosnia-herzegovina-3-2-finland/ ----more---- FFS MERCH 👕 Apparel, cases, bags,...

UEFA Nations League B3, Game 3 On Saturday evening an aggressive Romania side bullied their way to victory against a profligate Finland at the Stadion Rapid - Giuleşti, Bucharest. Blog: show notes and links https://finnishfootballshow.com/2022/06/14/match-report-romania-1-0-finland/ ----more---- FFS MERCH 👕 Apparel, cases, bags, badges https://www.teepublic.com/user/finnish-football-show ☕️ Mugs...

UEFA Nations League B3, Game 2 Finland followed up their opening Nations League draw at the weekend with a comfortable 2-0 win over Montenegro on Tuesday evening. Featuring a very special guest, Finland international defender, Robert Ivanov, who gives us a very close-up perspective of the game 🦉 Blog: show notes and links https://finnishfootballshow.com/2022/06/09/match-report-finland-2-0-montene...

UEFA Nations League B3, Game 1. Finland kicked off their latest Nations League campaign with a frustrating 1-1 draw against familiar foe, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Blog: show notes and links https://finnishfootballshow.com/2022/06/05/match-report-finland-1-1-bosnia-herzegovina/ Mark W's Facebook Live video, recorded pre-match at Finland vs Bosnia-Herzegovina https://www.facebook.com/105704167565399/vide...

IN THIS EPISODE... Nations League. Helsinki, Bucharest, Zenica – 4-14th June 2022 The domestic football season in Finland now pauses for three weeks, as the men's national team, the Huuhkajat takes centre stage. The third edition of the Nations League is about to start, with a breath-taking schedule of four games in ten days. Mark W, Rich and Keke get together to talk through the Finland squad, it...

IN THIS EPISODE... The FFS team was at full-strength again for this episode, which is handy  as Mark W, Rich, Keke and Mark H had a very full agenda to get through – and that was before Keke invented the new 'extra time' segment 🤦🏻‍♂️ Once again, we have a broad update from across various aspects of football, Finland-style: we start with a Veikkausliiga update and further discussion of SJK Seinä...

IN THIS EPISODE... The FFS team was selected from a full squad for this episode as Mark W, Rich, Keke & Mark H reconvene to bring you an update across the world of football in Finland. We start by looking at the current state of play in Veikkausliiga 2022, where all the teams have played four games. We also discuss Helsinki IFK's tough start to the season, their new manager (already!) Mixu Paatela...

IN THIS EPISODE... A 'Finnish Football Show Lite' episode, as Rich and Keke get together to look back at Keke's trip to Murcia for the Huuhkajat training camp, which included a seat in the press box for the two practice games against Iceland and Slovakia. They also look forward to the Helmarit World Cup qualifiers, against Slovakia and Georgia. They wrap up by looking at the first weekend of Veikk...

In this episode... We have a full team for this episode, which is just as well, as we also have a full agenda. We start by lauding Honka for winning the first trophy of the 2022 season, before looking forward to Keke's trip to Murcia to watch the Huuhkajat take on Iceland & Slovakia. We also discuss the Palloliitto's innovative marketing for the upcoming Helmarit match vs. Georgia and salute the n...