2026 Veikkausliiga

Veikkausliiga
Season2026
Dates4 April – 8 November 2026
Matches0
Goals0
← 2025
2027 →

The 2026 Veikkausliiga is the 96th season of top-tier football in Finland, scheduled to take place from April to November 2026. KuPS enter the season as the defending champions.[1] Veikkaus continues as the league's primary sponsor. The competition features 12 teams, concluding with a Championship Series and a Relegation Series to determine the final standings.[2]

Teams

The league consists of twelve teams: ten teams remaining from the 2025 season, and two teams promoted from the Ykkösliiga.

Team changes

Relegated to
2026 Ykkösliiga 		Promoted from
2025 Ykkösliiga
KTP
Haka 		Lahti
TPS

Lahti were promoted as champions of the 2025 Ykkösliiga, returning to the top flight after one year of absence. They replaced KTP and Haka, who were relegated to the second tier.[3] TPS were also promoted after winning the promotion play-offs, marking their return to the Veikkausliiga for the first time since 2020.[4]

Stadiums and locations

Location of teams in 2026 Veikkausliiga
Club Location Stadium Turf Capacity
IF Gnistan Oulunkylä, Helsinki Mustapekka Areena Artificial 2,700
HJK Töölö, Helsinki Bolt Arena Artificial 10,770
Ilves Tampere Tammelan Stadion Artificial 8,000
FC Inter Turku Turku Veritas Stadion Artificial 9,372
FF Jaro Jakobstad Jakobstads Centralplan Natural 5,000
KuPS Kuopio Väre Areena Artificial 4,778
Lahti Lahti Lahti Stadium Natural 7,465
IFK Mariehamn Mariehamn Wiklöf Holding Arena Artificial 1,650
AC Oulu Oulu Raatti Stadium Natural 5,000
SJK Seinäjoki OmaSP Stadion Artificial 6,075
TPS Turku Veritas Stadion Artificial 9,372
VPS Vaasa Hietalahti Stadium Artificial 6,005

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer
AC Oulu Mikko Isokangas Craft
FC Inter Vesa Vasara Nike
FC Lahti Gonçalo Pereira Hummel
FF Jaro Jens Karlsson Puma
IF Gnistan Jussi Leppälahti Puma
HJK Joonas Rantanen Adidas
IFK Mariehamn Gary Williams Puma
Ilves Joonas Rantanen Adidas
KuPS Miika Nuutinen Puma
SJK Jarkko Wiss Adidas
TPS Ivan Piñol Puma
VPS Jussi Nuorela Nike

[5][6]

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of departure Incoming manager Date of appointment Ref
KuPS Jarkko Wiss End of contract 31 December 2025 Miika Nuutinen 1 January 2026 [7]
SJK Stevie Grieve Mutual consent December 2025 Jarkko Wiss 1 January 2026 [8]
FF Jaro Niklas Vidjeskog End of contract 31 December 2025 Jens Karlsson 1 January 2026 [9]
Ilves Joonas Rantanen Signed with HJK 30 November 2025 Joni Lehtonen 1 January 2026
HJK Miika Nuutinen Signed with KuPS 31 December 2025 Joonas Rantanen 1 January 2026 [10]

Regular season

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Gnistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for the Championship Round
2 HJK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Ilves 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 Inter Turku 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 Jaro 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 KuPS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Lahti 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for the Relegation Round
8 IFK Mariehamn 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 AC Oulu 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 SJK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 TPS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 VPS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: April 2026. Source: Veikkausliiga
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

Results

Home \ Away GNI HJK ILV INT JAR KPS LAH MAR OUL SJK TPS VPS
Gnistan —
HJK —
Ilves —
Inter Turku —
Jaro —
KuPS —
Lahti —
IFK Mariehamn —
AC Oulu —
SJK —
TPS —
VPS —
First match(es) will be played: 4 April 2026. Source: Veikkausliiga
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship round

The top six teams advanced from the regular season. Teams played each other once.

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Flashscore
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points in regular season; 3) Head-to-head points in regular season; 4) Head-to-head goal difference in regular season; 5) Head-to-head goals scored in regular season; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored in regular season (if two teams tied); 7) Goal difference; 8) Goals scored; 9) Fair play ranking; 10) Drawing of lots.

Relegation round

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for the Veikkausliiga play-off
6 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Relegation to the Ykkösliiga
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Flashscore
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points in regular season; 3) Head-to-head points in regular season; 4) Head-to-head goal difference in regular season; 5) Head-to-head goals scored in regular season; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored in regular season (if two teams tied); 7) Goal difference; 8) Goals scored; 9) Fair play ranking; 10) Drawing of lots.


Results by round

Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627
KuPS
Inter Turku
Ilves
SJK
HJK
Gnistan
Jaro
IFK Mariehamn
VPS
AC Oulu
Lahti
TPS
Updated to match(es) played on TBD 2026. Source: veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish)
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose

Season statistics

Top scorers

As of 20 January 2026
Rank Player Club Goals[11]

Top assists

As of 20 January 2026
Rank Player Club Assists

Awards

Annual awards

Award Winner Club
Player of the Year
Goalkeeper of the Year
Defender of the Year
Midfielder of the Year
Striker of the Year

Attendances

The clubs are listed by average home league attendance. Data for the 2026 season will be updated after the commencement of the league in April 2026.[12]

No. Club Average attendance vs '25 Highest
Gnistan
HJK
Ilves
Inter Turku
Jaro
KuPS
Lahti
IFK Mariehamn
AC Oulu
SJK
TPS
VPS

See also

References

  1. ^ "Veikkausliiga 2026: Live scores, results and standings". Sofascore. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  2. ^ "Veikkausliiga 2026 Results & Fixtures". Flashscore. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  3. ^ "FC Lahti palaa Veikkausliigaan – mestaruus ratkesi Ykkösliigan päätöskierroksella". Yle Urheilu. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  4. ^ "TPS juhlii nousua Veikkausliigaan – karsintasarja päättyi turkulaisten juhliin". MTV Uutiset. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  5. ^ "Veikkausliigan joukkueet ja valmentajat 2026". Yle Urheilu. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  6. ^ "Veikkausliiga-seurojen kapteenistot nimetty kaudelle 2026". MTV Uutiset. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  7. ^ "Miika Nuutinen KuPS:n perasimeen". Veikkausliiga.com. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  8. ^ "Jarkko Wiss palaa päävalmentajaksi". Veikkausliiga.com. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  9. ^ "Jens Karlsson FF Jaron uusi päävalmentaja". MTV Uutiset. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  10. ^ Joonas Rantanen palaa kotiin, hjk.fi, 30 November 2025
  11. ^ "Veikkausliiga Player Statistics - Goals". Veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  12. ^ "Average attendance Finland". European Football Statistics. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
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