2018 Veikkausliiga

Veikkausliiga
Season 2018
Champions HJK
← 2017
2019 →

The 2018 Veikkausliiga is the eighty-eighth season of top-tier football in Finland. HJK are the defending champions.

Fixtures for the 2018 season were announced on 17 January 2017. The season started on 7 April 2018 and will end on 27 October 2018.[1]

Teams

JJK were relegated to Ykkönen after finishing at the bottom of the 2017 season. Their place was taken by Ykkönen champions TPS.

HIFK as 11th-placed team lost their Veikkausliiga spot after losing to second-placed Ykkönen team FC Honka in a relegation/promotion playoff.

Stadia and locations

Club Location Stadium Turf Capacity
FC Honka Espoo Tapiolan Urheilupuisto Natural 6,000
FC Inter Turku Veritas Stadion Natural 10,000
FC Lahti Lahti Lahden Stadion Natural 15,000
HJK Helsinki Telia 5G -areena Artificial 10,770
IFK Mariehamn Mariehamn Wiklöf Holding Arena Natural 4,000
Ilves Tampere Tammelan Stadion Natural 5,040
KuPS Kuopio Savon Sanomat Areena Artificial 5,000
PS Kemi Kemi Sauvosaaren Urheilupuisto Natural 4,500
RoPS Rovaniemi Rovaniemen keskuskenttä Artificial 4,000
SJK Seinäjoki OmaSP Stadion Artificial 6,000
TPS Turku Veritas Stadion Natural 10,000
VPS Vaasa Elisa Stadion Artificial 6,000

Personnel and kits

Club Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Sponsors
FC Honka Finland Vesa Vasara Finland Tommi Saarinen Puma
FC Inter Wales John Allen Finland Timo Furuholm Nike Alfons Håkans
FC Lahti Finland Toni Korkeakunnas Finland Mikko Hauhia Umbro Halton
Lahti Energia
Prima Power
HJK Finland Mika Lehkosuo Brazil Rafinha Adidas Apu
IFK Mariehamn Finland Peter Lundberg Finland Kristian Kojola Puma Hotell Arkipelag
Ilves Finland Jarkko Wiss Finland Mika Hilander Adidas LähiTapiola
Pihlajalinna
Kiilto
KuPS Finland Jani Honkavaara Finland Petteri Pennanen Puma LähiTapiola
PS Kemi Scotland David Hannah Colombia Julián Guevara Craft Various
RoPS Finland Toni Koskela Finland Antti Okkonen Puma
SJK Russia Alexei Eremenko Sr. Estonia Mihkel Aksalu Adidas LähiTapiola
Prima Power
Elisa
TPS Finland Mika Laurikainen Finland Sami Rähmönen Puma OP Turun Seutu
Silja Line
LähiTapiola
VPS Finland Petri Vuorinen Finland Sebastian Strandvall Puma Various

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming manager Date of appointment Table
RoPS Finland Juha Malinen Signed by Finland U19 31 October 2017 Finland Toni Koskela 1 November 2017 [2] Pre-season
SJK Scotland Brian Page
Finland Toni Lehtinen		 End of caretaker spell 31 October 2017 Finland Tommi Kautonen 1 November 2017 [3]
SJK Finland Tommi Kautonen Sacked 21 May 2018 Russia Alexei Eremenko Sr. 22 May 2018 [4] 9th
FC Inter Italy Fabrizio Piccareta Resigned 9 June 2018 Wales John Allen 10 June 2018 [5] 8th
PS Kemi Finland Jari Åhman Sacked 30 June 2018 Scotland David Hannah 1 July 2018 [6] 12th

    League table

    Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
    1 HJK (C) 31 22 6 3 56 19 +37 72 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
    2 RoPS 31 16 8 7 39 24 +15 56 Qualification for the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 2]
    3 KuPS 31 15 7 9 52 35 +17 52
    4 Honka 31 13 13 5 46 32 +14 52
    5 Ilves 31 14 7 10 45 39 +6 49
    6 VPS 31 10 11 10 35 38 −3 41
    7 Inter Turku 31 10 9 12 35 40 −5 39 Qualification for the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 2]
    8 Lahti 31 8 13 10 28 36 −8 37
    9 SJK 31 8 7 16 26 34 −8 31
    10 IFK Mariehamn 31 8 7 16 36 55 −19 31
    11 TPS 31 7 8 16 36 49 −13 29 Qualification for the relegation play-offs
    12 PS Kemi Kings (R) 31 4 6 21 25 58 −33 18 Relegation to the Ykkönen
    Updated to match(es) played on 7 October 2018. Source: Veikkausliiga (in 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; (R) Relegated.
    Notes:
    1. ↑ HJK qualified for the Champions League first qualifying round
    2. 1 2 Inter Turku qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2017-18 Finnish Cup

    References

    1. ↑ "Veikkausliigan otteluohjelma 2018 julkaistu". www.veikkausliiga.com. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
    2. ↑ "Juha Malinen siirtyy Suomen U21 poikamaajoukkueen päävalmentajaksi". Rovaniemen Palloseura (in Finnish). Rovaniemen Palloseura. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
    3. ↑ "Tommi Kautonen SJK:n päävalmentaja kaudesta 2018". SJK (in Finnish). SJK. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
    4. ↑ "Alexei Eremenko sr. korvaa Tommi Kautosen". SJK (in Finnish). SJK. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
    5. ↑ "Tiedote: Fabrizio Piccareta jättää FC Interin". FC Inter (in Finnish). FC Inter. 10 June 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
    6. ↑ "PS Kemi vapautti Jari Åhmanin tehtävistään – David Hannah uusi päävalmentaja". PS Kemi (in Finnish). PS Kemi. 30 June 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
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