FC Haka

Haka
Full nameValkeakosken Haka
NicknameHaka
Founded1934
GroundTehtaan kenttä, Valkeakoski
Capacity3,516
ChairmanOlli Huttunen
ManagerKari Martonen
LeagueYkkösliiga
2025Veikkausliiga, 12th of 12 (relegated)
Websitefchaka.fi

FC Haka, originally Valkeakosken Haka, commonly known as Haka, is a Finnish professional football club based in the industrial town of Valkeakoski. The club was founded in 1934 and competes in Finland's premier division, the Veikkausliiga. It is one of the most successful clubs in Finland, with nine Finnish championships and 12 Finnish Cup wins.

History

Haka has historically had close ties with the paper industry in the Valkeakoski area, and is still sponsored by UPM Kymmene.

The club was founded as Valkeakosken Haka in 1934, with significant support from paper entrepreneur Juuso Walden. In 1949 it was promoted to Finland's top division Mestaruussarja (now known as Veikkausliiga), and in 1955 won the inaugural Finnish Cup.

The 1960s was the most successful era in Haka's history, with the club winning both the league and cup three times, including the first double in Finnish football history in 1960. The club was relegated in 1972, but came straight back, and won the double again in 1977.

The club's name was changed to FC Haka in the early 1990s. Haka won the title again 1995, but was relegated the next season. Keith Armstrong was hired as the new coach, and the club came straight back again, winning three straight championships from 1998 to 2000.[1] Goalkeeping legend Olli Huttunen succeeded Armstrong as coach in 2002, and led the club to the championship (2004) and two cups (2002 and 2005).

Haka's best performance in UEFA competition was in the 1983–1984 season when they reached the quarterfinals of the Cup Winners' Cup, losing to eventual champions Juventus 0–2 on aggregate. The club was involved in European competition every year between 1998 and the 2008–2009 season.

In subsequent years the club's financial situation deteriorated on two occasions, like many other small market teams in Veikkausliiga. The first was the 2008–09 season when a group of investors led by local businessman and restaurateur Sedu Koskinen (owner and founder of a nationwide night-club chain) formed FC Haka Oy to help an essentially bankrupt team to finish the season. In 2010 Sedu Koskinen left, after having invested around €1 million of his own money in the club.

Since then the club's operations have been reformed to make it financially sounder. The team, having been one of the most successful and prestigious in Finland, ran at a loss for several years during the 2000s. At the same time the overall global economic situation and sponsorship payments from UPM Kymmene diminished. This forced the club to rationalize its operations and adopt a new role as one of the smaller clubs in Finnish top flight football. The situation at the start of 2012 Finnish football season was described by the chairman and board members as difficult but stable.

These times of financial struggles saw the club move from perennial championship challengers to a team usually poised for relegation. In both 2011 and 2012 pre-season media predictions placed the club in the bottom three. Haka finished last in the standings in 2012 and were relegated to the second tier (then known as Ykkönen, but rebranded in 2023 as Ykkösliiga). The club finally won promotion back to the Veikkausliiga for the 2020 season following a near perfect campaign in the 2019 Ykkönen, where they dropped only 7 points and finished 19 points ahead of second-place TPS.

In December 2025, a fan-started fire destroyed the historic 400-seat wooden stand at FC Haka’s Tehtaan Kenttä Stadium, causing significant damage to the nearly century-old ground soon after the club’s relegation from the Veikkausliiga.[2][3][4]

Honours

European campaigns

Season Competition Round Country Club Score Agg.
1961–62 European Cup First round Standard Liège 1–5, v 0–2 1–7
1963–64 European Cup Preliminary round Jeunesse d'Esch 4–1, v 0–4 4–5
1964–65 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Skeid Fotball 0–1, v 2–0 2–1
Second round AC Torino 0–1, v 0–5 0–6
1966–67 European Cup First round RSC Anderlecht 1–10, v 0–2 1–12
1970–71 European Cup Winners' Cup First round CSKA Sofia 0–9, v 1–2 1–11
1977–78 UEFA Cup First round Górnik Zabrze 3–5, v 0–0 3–5
1978–79 European Cup First round Dynamo Kiev 0–1, v 1–3 1–4
1981–82 UEFA Cup First round IFK Göteborg 2–3, v 0–4 2–7
1983–84 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Sligo Rovers 1–0, v 3–0 4–0
Second round Hammarby IF 1–1, v 2–1(aet) 3–2
Quarter-finals Juventus 0–1, v 0–1 0–2
1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup First round FC Torpedo Moscow 2–2, v 1–3 3–5
1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Ferencvárosi TC 1–5, v 1–1 2–6
1996–97 UEFA Cup First qualifying round FC Flora Tallinn 2–2, v 1–0 3–2
Second qualifying round Legia Warszawa 0–3, v 1–1 1–4
1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Qualifying round Bangor City 2–0, v 1–0 3–0
First round Panionios FC 0–2, v 1–3 1–5
1999–2000 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round HB Tórshavn 1–1, v 6–0 7–1
Second qualifying round Rangers 1–4, v 0–3 1–7
2000–01 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round Linfield 1–2, v 1–0 2–2 (a)
Second qualifying round Inter Bratislava 0–0, v 0–1(aet) 0–1
2001–02 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round Valletta FC 0–0, v 5–0 5–0
Second qualifying round Maccabi Haifa 0–1, v 3–0[5] 3–1
Third qualifying round Liverpool 0–5, v 1–4 1–9
2001–02 UEFA Cup First round 1. FC Union Berlin 1–1, v 0–3 1–4
2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup First round FK Obilić 2–1, v 1–1 3–2
Second round Fulham 0–0, v 1–1 1–1 (a)
2003–04 UEFA Cup Qualifying round Hajduk Split 2–1, v 0–1 2–2 (a)
2004–05 UEFA Cup First qualifying round Etzella Ettelbruck 2–1, v 3–1 5–2
Second qualifying round Stabæk IF 1–3, v 1–3 2–6
2005–06 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round Pyunik F.C. 1–0, v 2–2 3–2
Second qualifying round Vålerenga IF 0–1, v 1–4 1–5
2006–07 UEFA Cup First qualifying round Levadia Tallinn 0–2, v 1–0 1–2
2007–08 UEFA Cup First qualifying round Rhyl 1–3, v 2–0 3–3 (a)
Second qualifying round FC Midtjylland 1–2, v 2–5 3–7
2008–09 UEFA Cup First qualifying round Cork City 2–2, v 4–0 6–2
Second qualifying round Brøndby IF 0–4, v 0–2 0–6
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League First qualifying round Crusaders 2–2, v 0–1 2–3

Divisional movements

  • Top Level (60 seasons): 1945, 1950–72, 1974–96, 1998–2012, 2020–
  • Second Level (18 seasons): 1938–43/44, 1945/46–49, 1973, 1997, 2013–2019[6]

Season to season

Current squad

As of 1 September 2025[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  NIR Liam Hughes
3 DF  FIN Niklas Friberg
4 DF  SCO Jordan Houston
5 DF  BRA Nicolas Gianini Dantas
6 MF  VEN Elías Romero
7 FW  FRA Jean-Pierre Da Sylva
8 MF  FIN Simon Lindholm
9 FW  ENG James Akintunde
10 FW  BRA Lucas Cini
11 FW  FIN Roni Hudd (on loan from HJK)
12 GK  FIN Anton Lepola
13 MF  FIN Oskari Sallinen
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF  FIN Mikael Almén
16 FW  FIN Danila Bulgakov (on loan from Ilves)
17 FW  FIN Kalle Multanen
18 MF  FIN Eetu Mömmö (on loan from Lecce)
19 MF  GHA Abraham Okyere
22 GK  FIN Kasperi Silen
23 FW  ARG Juan Lescano
24 DF  FIN Michael Boamah (on loan from HJK)
30 DF  FIN Valentin Purosalo
64 FW  BER Djair Parfitt
66 DF  FIN Riku Selander
99 MF  KOS Arlind Sejdiu

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  FIN Oliver Heino (at Jazz until 31 December 2025)
2 DF  FIN Nikolas Talo (at GIF Sundsvall until 30 November 2025)
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 FW  FIN Akusti Jalasvaara (at JJK Jyväskylä until 31 December 2025)
26 MF  FIN Akseli Lehtomäki (at HJS until 31 December 2026)

Management and boardroom

Management

As of 15 February 2021[9]

Name Role
Head Coach
Sander Guerreiro Coach
Mikko Manninen Coach
Pauli Jussila Goalkeeping Coach
Alejandro Peris Mora Fitness Coach
Janne Hannu Fitness Coach
Jonna Kauppinen Team Manager
Jari Jalava Kit Manager
Juuso Niemenpää Doctor
Kalle Myyrä Masseur

Boardroom

As of 15 February 2021[10]

Name Role
Marko Laaksonen Chairman
Olli Huttunen CEO

Managers

References

  1. ^ Karel Stokkermans (17 June 2018). "English Energy and Nordic Nonsense". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  2. ^ Thakur, Prince (2025-12-12). "Teenagers burn down football stadium in Finland after club suffers relegation – WATCH". News9live. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  3. ^ "Haka Stadium: Finnish police confirm stand at Tehtaan Kentta destroyed in arson attack | Flashscore.com". www.flashscore.com. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  4. ^ Sportstar, Team (2025-12-12). "Teenagers set stadium on fire after club suffers relegation from top flight in Finland". Sportstar. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  5. ^ The original result of the second leg was a 4-0 victory to Maccabi Haifa, but Haka were awarded a 3–0 walkover victory after it was determined that Haifa had fielded two ineligible players.
  6. ^ "Finland – Divisional Movements 1930–2009". RSSSF. 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  7. ^ "Football Archive - Index of SPL Finnish League Suomen Cup Seasons".
  8. ^ "Edustusjoukkue". fchaka.fi/ (in Finnish). FC Haka. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
  9. ^ "Hakan edustusjoukkue" (in Finnish). FC Haka. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Yhteystiedot". FC Haka (in Finnish). Retrieved 15 February 2021.
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