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VPS

Full name	Vaasan Palloseura
Nickname(s)	Vepsu, Raita (the Stripe)
Founded	1924; 100 years ago (1924)
Ground	Hietalahti, Vaasa, Finland
Capacity	6,005
Chairman	Timo Harri
Manager	Jussi Nuorela
League	Veikkausliiga
2024	Veikkausliiga, 5th of 12
Website	http://vepsu.fi/
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Vaasan Palloseura, commonly referred to as VPS, is a Finnish football club, based in Vaasa. It currently plays in the first tier of Finnish football (Veikkausliiga). The club's current manager is Jussi Nuorela. The club plays its home matches at Hietalahti. VPS played twice in the UEFA Cup in 1998–99 and in 1999–00, but were knocked out in the 2nd Qualifying Round by Grazer AK of Austria and in the 1st Qualifying Round by St Johnstone of Scotland.

In spring of 2015 it was announced that the construction of VPS's new stadium would start soon. The construction of the new stadium began in the summer of 2015 and was completed in August 2016.

Achievements

• Mestaruussarja/Veikkausliiga
  • Winners (2): 1945, 1948
  • Runners-up (5): 1932, 1940–41, 1949, 1997, 1998
  • Third place (2): 1938, 2013, 2023
• Ykkönen:
  • Winners (1): 2021
• Finnish Cup:
  • Runners-up (1): 1972
• Finnish League Cup:
  • Winners (2): 1999, 2000
  • Runners-up (2): 1997, 2014

European campaigns

Season	Competition	Round	Club	1st Leg	2nd Leg	Aggregate
1998–99	UEFA Cup	1Q	HB Tórshavn	0–2	4–0	4–2
		2Q	Grazer AK	0–0	0–3	0–3
1999–00	UEFA Cup	QR	St Johnstone	1–1	0–2	1–3
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	1Q	IF Brommapojkarna	2–1	0–2	2–3
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	1Q	AIK Fotboll	2–2	0–4	2–6
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Olimpija Ljubljana	1–0	1–0	2–0
		2Q	Brøndby IF	0–2	2–1	2–3
2024–25	UEFA Conference League	1Q	Žalgiris	1–2	0–1	1−3

Season to season

Current squad

As of 27 August 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  FIN Teppo Marttinen 2 DF  FIN Josep Nuorela 4 DF  FIN Jesper Engström 7 DF  ENG Alfie Cicale 11 FW  DEN Mads Borchers 12 GK  FIN Lauri Vetri 15 FW  AUS Luka Smyth 19 DF  FIN Martti Haukioja 21 MF  GHA Prosper Ahiabu 23 DF  FIN Miika Niemi 24 GK  FIN Rasmus Leislahti 25 MF  FIN Samuel Lindeman 26 MF  FIN Antonio Almen

No. Pos. Nation Player 27 DF  FIN Gabriel Sillanpää 29 DF  GNB Pedro Justiniano 30 MF  FIN Joonas Vahtera 31 DF  FIN Deng Madut 33 MF  FIN Akon Kuek 34 MF  FIN Antti-Ville Räisänen 36 DF  FIN Felix Friberg 77 FW  FIN Samu Alanko — MF  FRA Yassine El Ouatki — DF  SWE Vilmer Rönnberg — MF  NGA Mmenie-Abasi Etok 36 FW  FIN Olli Jakonen

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Management and boardroom

Management

As of 10 March 2024

Name	Role
Jussi Nuorela	Head Coach
Henri Sillanpää	Coach
Kari Salmi	Fitness Coach
Vesa Kumpula	Goalkeeper Coach
Tommi Helminen	Video Analyst
Loai Mohamed	Video Analyst
Jouko Jokinen	Team Manager
Timo Jääskä	Kit Manager

Boardroom

As of 24 September 2020

Name Role Timo Harri Chairman Riku Asukas Vice Chairman Tommi Pikkarainen Sporting director

Managers

• Nuutti Lintamo (1945–46)
• Heikki Kultti (1945–48)
• Géza Toldi (1948–49)
• Tauno Koistinen (1950)
• Jussi Sillanpää (1951)
• Tauno Koistinen (1952–53)
• Martti Häyhä (1954–58)
• Ole Stolpe (1959)
• Erkki Riihimäki (1960–62)
• Niilo Kinnunen (1963)
• Jussi Sillanpää (1964–68)
• Jovan Jevtić (1969–70)
• Kari Dahlsten (1970–72)
• Raimo Hudd (1973)
• Eero Tuhkanen (1974–77)
• Pekka Mäkelä (1978)
• Erkki Myllyaho (1979)
• Esa Virta (1980–82)
• Raimo Hudd (1983)
• Jarmo Meltoranta (1984)
• Jerzy Wojtowicz (1985–87)
• Jarmo Meltoranta (1988–89)
• Markku Myötänen (1989–90)
• Boguslaw Hajdas (1991–92)
• Jerzy Wojtowicz (1993)
• Bogusław Hajdas (1993–95)
• Tomasz Arceusz (1995)
• Heikki Suhonen (1995)
• Hannu Touru (1996–98)
• Sören Cratz (1999)
• Kimmo Lipponen (1999)
• Jukka Ikäläinen (2000–01)
• Keijo Paananen (2002)
• Stephen Ward (2003–04)
• Jari Pyykölä (1 January 2006 – 9 June 2007)
• Mika Koivumäki (2007)
• Janne Lindberg (18 June 2007 – 31 December 2007)
• Tomi Kärkkäinen (1 January 2008 – 15 May 2009)
• Petri Vuorinen (1 January 2009 – 15 May 2009)
• Tommi Pikkarainen (2010–11)
• Petri Vuorinen (10 January 2011 – 28 July 2011)
• Olli Huttunen (1 January 2012 – 29 June 2015)
• Petri Vuorinen (29 June 2015 – 8 July 2019)
• Christian Sund (8 July 2019 – 31 December 2020)
• Jukka Karjalainen (1 January 2021 – 17 June 2021)
• Jussi Nuorela (18 June 2021–)

References

1. "Design: Hietalahden Stadion – StadiumDB.com". stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
2. Draamaa Vaasassa - VPS nousi voittoon ja pronssille lisäajalla, HJK:n mestaruusjuhlat siirtyivät, helsinginsanomat.fi, 8 October 2023
3. Jalkapallokirjat 1946–>, Suomen Palloliitto, ISSN 0787-7188
4. Helsingin Sanomat, Volumes 1979-1987
5. "Tulostus". www.urheilumuseo.fi. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
6. "VPS - Vaasan Palloseura. Vepsun viralliset kotisivut. Since 1924! - Joukkue". VPS - Vaasan Palloseura. Vepsun viralliset kotisivut. Since 1924!. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
7. "VPS 2023" (in Finnish). VPS. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
8. "Timo Harrista VPS Oy:n hallituksen uusi puheenjohtaja" (in Finnish). VPS. Retrieved 24 September 2020.

External links

• Official website (in Finnish)

• Vaasan Palloseura
• Football clubs in Finland
• Association football clubs established in 1924
• Sports clubs and teams in Vaasa
• 1924 establishments in Finland