Ykkösliiga is a men’s football league in Finland, established in 2024. This page includes the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Visitors can follow live scores, fixtures, results, standings, and player and team statistics on this page, bringing match information and competition performance data together in one place for ongoing reference across the available seasons.
Upcoming matches, Ykkösliiga
Group Stage
-
- Group Stage
Haka
Klubi-04
-
- Group Stage
JäPS
EIF
-
- Group Stage
MP
JIPPO
Mikkelin Urheilupuisto -
- Group Stage
PK-35
Kooteepee
-
- Group Stage
SJK Akatemia
KäPa
OmaSP Stadion -
- Group Stage
Kooteepee
MP
Arto Tolsa Areena
-
- Group Stage
KäPa
Haka
-
- Group Stage
EIF
SJK Akatemia
-
- Group Stage
JIPPO
PK-35
-
- Group Stage
Klubi-04
JäPS
Bolt Arena
Latest played matches, Ykkösliiga
Group Stage
Ykkösliiga Standings
| Rank | Club | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Last 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Kooteepee | 23 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 41 | 21 | 20 | 54 | WWWWW |
| 2 |
|
PK-35 | 23 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 41 | 15 | 26 | 48 | WDWWD |
| 3 |
|
Haka | 23 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 43 | 26 | 17 | 41 | DLLWW |
| 4 |
|
JIPPO | 23 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 32 | 20 | 12 | 40 | WLWWL |
| 5 |
|
JäPS | 23 | 10 | 2 | 11 | 21 | 34 | -13 | 32 | LWDLL |
| 6 |
|
EIF | 23 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 28 | 35 | -7 | 28 | DDLLW |
| 7 |
|
MP | 23 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 25 | 34 | -9 | 25 | DWLLL |
| 8 |
|
Klubi-04 | 23 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 28 | 34 | -6 | 20 | LDWWD |
| 9 |
|
KäPa | 23 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 24 | 41 | -17 | 18 | LDDLL |
| 10 |
|
SJK Akatemia | 23 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 37 | -23 | 13 | DLLLW |
Ykkösliiga Statistics
Top scorers 2026
| # | Player | Goals |
|---|
Top assists 2026
| # | Player | Assists |
|---|
Top key passes
Top tackles
Top yellow cards
Top red cards
Ykkösliiga About
Ykkösliiga is Finland’s second-highest men’s football league and a nationwide professional competition positioned directly below the Veikkausliiga. Established in its current form in 2024, it provides the main sporting bridge between Finland’s top division and the third-tier Ykkönen, combining promotion ambition, relegation pressure and a demanding platform for Finnish and international players.
Role in Finnish football
The competition is a league administered by the Football Association of Finland (Suomen Palloliitto). Its purpose is to give clubs a clear, merit-based route towards top-flight football while maintaining a competitive national level beneath the Veikkausliiga. Clubs from different regions of Finland meet in the same division, making the Ykkösliiga an important part of the country’s professional football structure and player-development pathway.
The modern competition was created during the restructuring of the Finnish league system in 2024. It replaced the former second-tier use of the Ykkönen name, while Ykkönen moved to the third level. The second tier itself has deeper roots: it was originally established in 1973 as the I divisioona and was known as Ykkönen from 1994 until the 2024 reorganisation. The name Finnish Ykkösliiga is also used to identify the competition in English-language contexts.
Clubs, licensing and access
Entry is determined through sporting merit within Finland’s promotion and relegation pyramid. Clubs can arrive from the Veikkausliiga after relegation or rise from Ykkönen through promotion. Sporting achievement alone is not sufficient, however. Participation is subject to the national club-licensing framework, which covers areas such as financial stability, stadium facilities and youth-development standards.
The division is limited to 10 clubs. This compact membership creates a schedule in which teams meet repeatedly and makes each fixture significant across the long season. A club’s ability to compete therefore depends on both its results on the pitch and its compliance with the requirements for professional national competition.
Competition format and season structure
The league uses a multi-stage format. The opening main series is played as a double round-robin: each club faces every other club once at home and once away, producing 18 matches per team. The standings then determine the fixture arrangement for a third meeting against every opponent.
That final phase adds nine matches, bringing the standard total to 27 games for each club. The distribution of home fixtures in the third round is based on the main-series standings: the top five clubs receive five home matches, while the bottom five receive four. This arrangement creates a final sprint in which the early table position influences the balance of remaining home and away fixtures, while the championship, promotion and relegation races remain open.
The regular league table is governed by the standard football points system: three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a defeat. When clubs finish level on points, the classification rules use goal difference and goals scored before head-to-head criteria, including head-to-head points and head-to-head goal difference. These rules help separate closely matched clubs during a competition in which repeated fixtures can produce very narrow margins.
Promotion and relegation stakes
The title is accompanied by the most important sporting reward: automatic promotion to the Veikkausliiga. The team finishing second has a further route to the top flight through a promotion play-off against the relevant Veikkausliiga club. At the other end of the table, the 10th-placed team is directly relegated to Ykkönen, while the ninth-placed side enters a relegation play-off against a leading Ykkönen challenger.
Play-off arrangements are distinct from the regular league table. They may involve two-legged ties or other knockout-style matches, with extra time and a penalty shoot-out used when a deciding match remains level after 90 minutes. The exact sporting pathway is therefore separate from the 27-match league programme and is designed to settle movement between divisions.
Calendar and wider significance
Ykkösliiga follows Finland’s northern European spring-to-autumn football calendar. The league normally begins in April and concludes in October, with decisive fixtures and play-offs scheduled before the most difficult winter conditions. Clubs may also take part in the Ykkösliigacup during the winter pre-season, but that competition is separate from the league championship.
For clubs, success means more than a trophy. Promotion brings the opportunity to compete in Finland’s elite division, with greater visibility, stronger commercial prospects and the possibility of pursuing the country’s route towards UEFA competition through the top flight. For players, the league offers a demanding national stage; for supporters, its compact format ensures that every point can influence the race for promotion or the fight to remain in the professional pyramid.