HIFK Fotboll

HIFK Fotboll or IFK Helsingfors, was the association football section of HIFK, a sports club based in Helsinki, Finland. The men's football team most recently competed in the second tier of Finnish football, Ykkönen. Their home ground was the Bolt Arena. The team operated from 1897 to 2024 and was dissolved due to bankruptcy.

History
Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna i Helsingfors was formed on 15 October 1897 by Georges Doubitsky, a 15-year-old student at the Svenska Reallyceum school in Helsinki. In the early years the club specialised in athletics, football and bandy. The football section was established in 1907, the same year that the Football Association of Finland was founded. HIFK's first football game was at the Kaisaniemi ground on 17 May 1908 where the new team lost 1–2 to Unitas.

In those early years HIFK were runners-up in the Mestaruussarja (then played as a cup competition) on 5 occasions in 1909, 1912, 1928 and 1929. In addition in 1912 the Finnish Football team at the Stockholm Olympics comprised a team of HIFK players.

HIFK won their first Finnish championship (Mestaruussarja) in 1930 a feat that they were to repeat on three other occasions in 1931, 1933 and 1937 in a brilliant decade for the club. HIFK also won the Mestaruussarja in 1947, 1959 and 1961. In total HIFK won the Finnish championship on 7 occasions.

HIFK was one of the most successful football sides in Finland until the early 1970s, when the team were relegated from the Mestaruussarja (Finnish Premier League). After 1972 the team spent time in the lower divisions of Finnish football, and at one point found themselves playing in the Nelonen (Fourth Division), the fifth tier of the Finnish football league system, between 1980–83, and later on between 2003–05, and would only return to the first division in 2006, 43 years later.

Since 1930, HIFK have played 33 seasons in the Mestaruussarja (the top tier), 22 seasons in the second tier and 19 seasons in the third tier. Their best spell in recent decades was from 1999 to 2002, when the club participated in the Ykkönen (First Division). However, the club overstretched themselves which resulted in the withdrawal from the Ykkönen at the end of the 2002 season and taking the place of the second team in the Nelonen (Fourth Division) in 2003. More recently, in 2010, they won the third tier, after defeating FC Santa Claus in the promotional playoff match. This saw them return to the second-tier (Ykkönen) of Finnish football for seasons 2011 and 2012, only to be relegated back to Kakkonen after their 2012 season. Back in Kakkonen, HIFK rehired coach Jani Honkavaara, who managed them when they were first promoted back to the Ykkönen. During his second term they returned to the Ykkönen for a third time within the century, when they beat PS Kemi Kings in the promotion playoffs.

HIFK won Ykkönen in 2014, and therefore were automatically promoted into the highest tier of Finnish football, Veikkausliiga. After securing promotion, HIFK announced that they would play their 2015 season home games at the Telia 5G -areena, the ground which belonged to their local rivals HJK Helsinki. In December 2014 HIFK launched a crowdfunding campaign through Invesdor. HIFK aimed to gather 250.000 – 500.000 euros by selling shares of the club valued at 189,70 euros a piece. According to club chairman René Österman, HIFK was in need of funding for the upcoming Veikkausliiga season and crowdfunding gave a chance for the club's supporters to own a part of the club. The campaign ended successfully in January 2015 and HIFK gathered 335.495 euros from 786 investors.

After three seasons in Veikkausliiga, HIFK were relegated to Ykkönen after finishing 11th in 2017 season and losing relegation play-offs against FC Honka on away goals. However, after a successful 2018 campaign in Ykkönen, HIFK was promoted back to Veikkausliiga for the 2019 season.

On the 4th of January 2024, HIFK Fotboll Ab, the limited liability company under which the men's first team operated since 2012, filed for bankruptcy. The governing body of the club, HIFK Soccer rf, will continue playing in the new fifth-tier league Kolmonen in 2024.

European campaigns
HIFK participated in the European Cup in the 1960–61 and 1962–63 seasons and played in the UEFA cup in 1971–72.

Honours

 * Mestaruussarja
 *  Champions (7): 1930, 1931, 1933, 1937, 1947, 1959, 1961
 * Runners-up (7): 1909, 1912, 1928, 1929, 1934, 1935, 1971
 * Attendance Record: 10,500 (HIFK – HJK, Telia 5G -areena, 10 August 2016)

Divisional movements since 1930

 * Top Level (32 seasons): 1930–45, 1947–49, 1958–66, 1970–72, 2015–2017, 2019–2022
 * Second Level (23 seasons): 1945–46, 1950–57, 1967–69, 1973–74, 1999–02, 2011–12, 2014, 2018, 2023
 * Third Level (19 seasons): 1975–78, 1988–98, 2008–10, 2013

Supporters and rivalries


Historically, HIFK was primarily the club for the Swedish-speaking population in Helsinki. However, the club in modern times was bilingual. The most renowned supporter group of the club was Stadin Kingit (in English: "the kings of Stadi"). Its name was derived from the common slang nickname for Helsinki (Stadi). Many members attend the handball, bandy and ice hockey matches of HIFK as well.

The single most important fixture for HIFK supporters was against the major local rivals, HJK. The fixture was commonly known as the Stadin derby.

Club structure
HIFK Fotboll ran a large number of teams including 3 men's teams, 3 women's teams, 1 men's veterans team, 16 boys' teams and 5 girls' teams.


 * HIFK (Men's First Team) competed in Ykkönen. This used to be the second highest tier in the Finnish football system.
 *  HIFK / 2 competes in Group B of Kolmonen (Fifth tier) administered by the SPL Uusimaa.
 *  HIFK / 3 competes in Group 4 of Vitonen (Seventh tier) administered by the SPL Uusimaa.

Updated as of season 2024.

Management and boardroom
As of 20 April 2022