2016 Veikkausliiga

Veikkausliiga

Season	2016
Champions	IFK Mariehamn 1st title
Relegated	PK-35 Vantaa
Champions League	IFK Mariehamn
Europa League	HJK SJK VPS
Matches played	198
Goals scored	459 (2.32 per match)
Top goalscorer	Roope Riski (17 goals)
Biggest home win	RoPS 5–0 PS Kemi (10 August) SJK 5–0 PK-35 Vantaa (17 October)
Biggest away win	IFK Mariehamn 2–5 HIFK (7 August) HJK 1–4 FC Lahti (12 September)
Highest scoring	PK-35 Vantaa 3–4 RoPS (2 April) IFK Mariehamn 2–5 HIFK (7 August)
← 2015 2017 →

The 2016 Veikkausliiga is the eighty-sixth season of top-tier football in Finland. The season started on 2 April 2016; the regular season ended on 23 October 2016, with a promotion/relegation playoff continuing until 29 October.^[1] SJK were the defending champions.

Teams

FF Jaro were relegated to Ykkönen after finishing at the bottom of the 2015 season. Their place was taken by Ykkönen champions PS Kemi.

KTP as 11th-placed team lost their Veikkausliiga spot after losing to second-placed Ykkönen team PK-35 Vantaa 3–2 on aggregate in a relegation/promotion playoff.

Stadia and locations

Ilves

HIFK
HJK

SJK

KuPS

Mariehamn

Lahti

Inter

PK- 35 Vantaa

PS Kemi

VPS

RoPS

Location of teams in 2016 Veikkausliiga

Club	Location	Stadium	Capacity
FC Inter	Turku	Veritas Stadion	10,000
FC Lahti	Lahti	Lahden kisapuisto	4,000
HIFK	Helsinki	Sonera Stadium	10,770
HJK	Helsinki	Sonera Stadium	10,770
IFK Mariehamn	Mariehamn	Wiklöf Holding Arena	4,000
Ilves	Tampere	Tammela Stadion	5,040
KuPS	Kuopio	Savon Sanomat Areena	5,000
PK-35 Vantaa	Vantaa	Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion	4,500
PS Kemi	Kemi	Sauvosaaren Urheilupuisto	4,500
RoPS	Rovaniemi	Rovaniemen keskuskenttä	4,000
SJK	Seinäjoki	OmaSP Stadion	6,000
VPS	Vaasa	Hietalahti Stadium	4,600

• SJK will move to their new stadium OmaSp Stadion in June 2016 (capacity 6,000).^[2][3]

Personnel and kits

Club	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Sponsors
FC Inter	Kuqi, ShefkiShefki Kuqi	Lehtonen, HenriHenri Lehtonen	Nike	Alfons Håkans
FC Lahti	Korkeakunnas, ToniToni Korkeakunnas	Hauhia, MikkoMikko Hauhia	Umbro	BE Group Lahti Energia Halton
HIFK	Muurinen, AnttiAntti Muurinen	Terävä, EsaEsa Terävä	Kappa/Puma [nb 1]	Aktia Bank
HJK	Lehkosuo, MikaMika Lehkosuo	Sorsa, SebastianSebastian Sorsa	Adidas	Apu
IFK Mariehamn	Virtanen, KariKari Virtanen Lundberg, PeterPeter Lundberg	Lyyski, JaniJani Lyyski	Puma	Hotell Arkipelag
Ilves	Wiss, JarkkoJarkko Wiss	Hynynen, AnttiAntti Hynynen	Adidas	Various
KuPS	Rajamäki, MarkoMarko Rajamäki	Pennanen, PetteriPetteri Pennanen	Puma	Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas
PK-35 Vantaa	Pihamaa, PasiPasi Pihamaa	Raimi, KimKim Raimi	Nike	Vantaan Energia
PS Kemi	Åhman, JariJari Åhman	Ions, BillyBilly Ions	Stanno	Various
RoPS	Malinen, JuhaJuha Malinen	Okkonen, AnttiAntti Okkonen	Puma	Saraware
SJK	Valakari, SimoSimo Valakari	Aksalu, MihkelMihkel Aksalu	Adidas	LähiTapiola EPKK Prima Power
VPS	Vuorinen, PetriPetri Vuorinen	Koskimaa, VilleVille Koskimaa	Puma	Various

1. HIFK switched from Kappa to Puma kits mid-season.^[4]

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Incoming manager	Date of appointment	Table
Ilves	Marco Baruffato	End of contract	n/a	Jarkko Wiss	6 November 2015[5]	Pre-season
IFK Mariehamn	Pekka Lyyski	End of contract	n/a	Kari Virtanen Peter Lundberg	19 November 2015[6]	Pre-season
FC Inter	Job Dragtsma	Mutual termination	26 May 2016	Jami Wallenius (as caretaker)	26 May 2016[7]	7th
PK-35 Vantaa	Shefki Kuqi	Mutual termination	27 July 2016	Pasi Pihamaa	27 July 2016[8]	12th
HIFK	Jani Honkavaara	Sacked	27 July 2016[9]	Antti Muurinen	28 July 2016[10]	11th
FC Inter	Jami Wallenius (as caretaker)	Mutual termination	3 August 2016	Shefki Kuqi	3 August 2016[11]	10th

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	IFK Mariehamn (C)	33	17	10	6	40	25	+15	61	Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
2	HJK	33	16	10	7	52	36	+16	58	Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
3	SJK	33	17	6	10	49	36	+13	57
4	VPS	33	15	8	10	36	27	+9	53
5	Ilves	33	15	7	11	36	35	+1	52
6	RoPS	33	13	11	9	43	33	+10	50
7	KuPS	33	14	7	12	37	31	+6	49
8	Lahti	33	10	12	11	42	43	−1	42
9	PS Kemi Kings	33	10	5	18	29	48	−19	35
10	HIFK	33	8	10	15	35	39	−4	34
11	Inter Turku (O)	33	7	11	15	28	41	−13	32	Qualification to Relegation play-offs
12	PK-35 Vantaa[lower-alpha 2] (R)	33	4	7	22	32	65	−33	13	Relegation to Ykkönen

Source: Veikkausliiga (Finnish), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored; 7) Play-off
(Note: Play-off is only played if need to decide champion, teams for relegation or UEFA competition and will be played on a neutral ground).
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (R) Relegated.
Notes:

1. SJK qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2016 Finnish Cup.
2. PK-35 Vantaa were deducted 6 points for overdue debts.^[12]

Results

Matches 1–22

Home ╲ Away

INT

LAH

HIFK

HJK

MAR

ILV

KPS

PKV

PSK

RPS

SJK

VPS

FC Inter

1–1

1–0

0–0

0–2

1–0

3–1

2–2

0–2

1–2

1–3

0–2

FC Lahti

1–0

2–2

1–2

1–1

3–2

0–0

2–1

1–0

1–2

3–0

4–0

HIFK

1–2

2–2

0–0

0–1

0–1

3–2

1–2

0–0

1–1

1–1

0–1

HJK

3–1

2–2

2–1

2–0

5–1

2–3

4–2

2–0

1–1

2–1

3–1

IFK Mariehamn

0–0

3–0

2–5

0–0

3–1

0–3

0–0

2–0

1–0

1–0

2–2

Ilves

0–0

2–0

3–1

1–0

0–1

1–0

2–0

1–1

1–1

2–1

1–0

KuPS

2–1

2–0

1–0

0–0

1–0

0–1

2–3

2–0

1–1

0–0

1–0

PK-35 Vantaa

3–1

1–1

0–2

1–2

0–2

1–1

1–1

2–2

3–4

0–0

0–2

PS Kemi

3–1

2–1

1–2

1–0

1–2

1–0

0–2

2–1

0–2

3–0^1

0–0

RoPS

2–1

0–0

1–0

2–2

0–0

1–0

0–1

1–0

5–0

2–3

2–0

SJK

1–0

4–1

2–1

2–3

0–1

0–2

1–0

3–2

1–0

3–1

1–0

VPS

0–0

1–0

3–1

3–0

0–2

2–0

3–0

2–1

0–1

1–0

2–1

Updated to games played on 24 August 2016.
Source: veikkausliiga.com
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

1.^ The match originally finished 0–2, but the result was changed to 3–0, as SJK fielded ineligible players.^[13]

Matches 23–33

Home ╲ Away

INT

LAH

HIFK

HJK

MAR

ILV

KPS

PKV

PSK

RPS

SJK

VPS

FC Inter

0–0

3–2

0–1

0–0

1–1

1–1

FC Lahti

1–2

0–0

0–2

0–0

1–1

2–0

HIFK

2–1

0–2

3–1

3–1

0–1

HJK

1–4

1–1

1–0

2–0

2–1

0–0

IFK Mariehamn

1–1

1–0

2–1

4–2

1–0

0–0

Ilves

1–1

1–3

2–0

2–1

0–0

KuPS

0–2

2–1

1–2

3–0

1–0

PK-35 Vantaa

2–1

0–2

1–3

0–1

1–2

PS Kemi

2–4

0–2

3–1

1–3

1–4

RoPS

3–0

0–0

1–1

2–1

1–0

1–1

SJK

1–0

2–2

1–0

4–0

1–0

5–0

VPS

0–1

0–0

1–1

1–0

1–2

Updated to games played on 23 October 2016.
Source: veikkausliiga.com
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation play-offs

---

TPS v Inter Turku

26 October 2016 15:00

TPS	0–0	Inter Turku
	Report

Paavo Nurmi Stadium Attendance: 4,216

---

Inter Turku v TPS

29 October 2016 17:00

Inter Turku	2–0	TPS
Manev  49' Nebihi  89'	Report

Veritas Stadion Attendance: 6,855

Statistics

Top scorers Source: veikkausliiga.com (Finnish) As of 23 October 2016. Rank Player Club Goals 1 Roope Riski SJK 17 2 Njazi Kuqi PK-35 Vantaa / FC Inter 16 Alfredo Morelos HJK 16 4 Gbolahan Salami KuPS 14 5 Billy Ions PS Kemi / SJK 13 6 Dever Orgill IFK Mariehamn 12 7 Robert Taylor RoPS 11 8 Pyry Soiri VPS 10 Jasse Tuominen FC Lahti 10 10 Lauri Ala-Myllymäki Ilves 9 Aleksandr Kokko RoPS 9 Jussi Vasara SJK 9 13 3 players 8 16 5 players 7 21 4 players 6 25 5 players 5 30 10 players 4 40 9 players 3 49 30 players 2 79 72 players 1

Top assists Source: veikkausliiga.com (Finnish) As of 23 October 2016. Rank Player Club Assists 1 Emile Paul Tendeng Ilves 8 2 Dever Orgill IFK Mariehamn 7 3 Santeri Hostikka FC Lahti 6 Ariel Ngueukam SJK 6 Teemu Penninkangas SJK 6 Atomu Tanaka HJK 6 Jussi Vasara SJK 6 Joona Veteli PS Kemi 6 9 Mikko Hauhia FC Lahti 5 Taye Taiwo HJK 5 Janne Saksela RoPS 5 Mikael Soisalo Ilves 5 13 10 players 4 23 25 players 3 48 38 players 2 86 65 players 1

Monthly awards

Month	Coach of the Month	Player of the Month
April[14]	Peter Lundberg (IFK Mariehamn) Kari Virtanen (IFK Mariehamn)	Walter Viitala (IFK Mariehamn)
May[15]	Mika Lehkosuo (HJK)	Taye Taiwo (HJK)
June[16]	Juha Malinen (RoPS)	Roope Riski (SJK)
July[17]	Petri Vuorinen (VPS)	Pyry Soiri (VPS)
August[18]	Jari Åhman (PS Kemi)	Erik Törnros (PS Kemi)
September[19]	Jarkko Wiss (Ilves)	Alfredo Morelos (HJK)
October[20]	Peter Lundberg (IFK Mariehamn) Kari Virtanen (IFK Mariehamn)	Jani Lyyski (IFK Mariehamn)

References

1. Otteluohjelma | Veikkausliiga
2. Seinäjoen stadion nousee ensi kevääksi
3. Seinäjoen stadionille nimi - OmaSp Stadion
4. http://www.veikkausliiga.com/uutiset/2016/08/09/puma-ja-hifk-yhteistyohon
5. "Jarkko Wiss on Ilveksen uusi päävalmentaja". Ilves (in Finnish). Ilves. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
6. "Tränartrio klar för Grönvitt". IFK Mariehamn (in Swedish). IFK Mariehamn. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
7. "Tiedote: Job Dragtsma jättää päävalmentajan tehtävät". FC Inter (in Finnish). FC Inter. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
8. "Shefki Kuqi jättää päävalmentajan tehtävät". PK-35 Vantaa (in Finnish). PK-35 Vantaa. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
9. "HIFK Fotboll vaihtaa päävalmentajaa – lehdistötilaisuus huomenna kello 13.00". HIFK (in Finnish). HIFK. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
10. "Antti Muurinen HIFK:n päävalmentajaksi". HIFK (in Finnish). HIFK. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
11. "Shefki ja Njazi Kuqi FC Interiin". FC Inter (in Finnish). FC Inter. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
12. "PK-35 Vantaalle pisterangaistus ja pelaajasiirtorajoitus" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
13. Päätös koskien SJK:n pelioikeudettomia pelaajia
14. Walter Viitala huhtikuun kuukauden pelaaja (Finnish)
15. Taye Taiwo valittiin kuukauden pelaajaksi (Finnish)
16. Roope Riski kuukauden pelaajaksi (Finnish)
17. Pyry Soiri kuukauden pelaajaksi (Finnish)
18. Erik Törnros kuukauden pelaajaksi (Finnish)
19. HJK:n Morelos kuukauden pelaajaksi (Finnish)
20. Jani Lyyski kuukauden pelaajaksi (Finnish)