# Ykkönen

Ykkönen (Finnish for 'Number One'; Swedish: Ettan, previously I divisioona) is the third highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga and Ykkösliiga), managed by the Football Association of Finland. Until the end of 2023, Ykkönen was the second-highest level in Finland, but after the creation of new second-tier Ykkösliiga, it was dropped down one level in the league pyramid.

## History

The first league format competition in the second level of Finnish football was called Suomensarja, which was founded in 1936. Before the inauguration of the Suomensarja, from 1930 to 1935, there had been special qualification matches for the right to play in the Mestaruussarja.
In the autumn of 1969, the Finnish football underwent a league system reform, and the Suomensarja was renamed II divisioona, or 2nd Division, with regional sections.
In 1973, this level of football in Finland became nationwide, and the new name was 1. divisioona (First Division). The name Ykkönen has been used since 1995.
The new nation-wide third-tier Ykkönen will start running in 2024, as the first ever nation-wide third-tier league in Finland.

## Competition

Like the Veikkausliiga and Ykkösliiga, Ykkönen is played mainly during the summer. It comprises 12 clubs, all of whom play 27 matches. After 22 games the division is divided to teams who finished 1-6 and 7-12. These teams play against each other once. The winner of the Ykkönen qualifies directly for promotion to Ykkösliiga. The teams that finish second, third, and fourth play a one legged playoff, with the second placed team playing against the winner of the match between the third and fourth placed team. The winner of the matches enters a two-legged playoff against the second to last team in the Veikkausliiga for promotion. The bottom 2 clubs are directly relegated to Kakkonen.

## Clubs

The clubs in the Ykkönen for the 2024 season are:
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| Atlantis FC | Helsinki | Algeco Areena | | Tiago Santos |
| EPS | Espoo | Espoonlahden urheilupuisto | | Sven Pierre Aumaitre |
| FC Jazz | Pori | Pori Stadium | 12,300 | Ville Ulanen |
| FC Vaajakoski | Vaajakoski, Jyväskylä | Panda Areena | 1,000 | Antti Neuvonen |
| JJK Jyväskylä | Jyväskylä | Harjun stadion | 7,000 | Brian Page |
| Klubi 04 | Helsinki | Bolt Arena | 10,770 | Aleksi Lalli |
| KPV | Kokkola | Kokkolan keskuskenttä | 3,000 | Jyrki Ahola |
| KuPS II | Kuopio | Väre Areena | 5,000 | Juho Neuvonen |
| AC Oulu/OLS | Oulu | Castrén | 1,000 | Mikko Isokangas |
| PK Keski-Uusimaa | Tuusula, Kerava, Järvenpää | Kalevan Urheilupuisto, Kerava | 2,500 | Rami Hakanpää |
| RoPS | Rovaniemi | Rovaniemen keskuskenttä | 2,800 | Jari Alamäki |
| Vasa IFK | Vaasa | Hietalahti Stadium | 6,009 | Max Peltonen |

## Champions and top scorers of second-tier Ykkönen, 1973–2023

| Season | Champion | League promotions | Top scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1973 | MiPK | MiPK, FC Haka | Matti Paatelainen | FC Haka | 21 |
| 1974 | MyPa | MyPa, VPS | Kari Lehtolainen | HPS | 19 |
| 1975 | GBK | GBK, OPS | Christian Nyman | GBK | 16 |
| 1976 | Kiffen | Kiffen, OTP | Jarmo Lindahl | Kiffen | 15 |
| 1977 | KPT | KPT, Pyrkivä | Raimo Kuuluvainen | FC Ilves | 17 |
| 1978 | FC Ilves | FC Ilves, KTP | Ari Tissari | KPT | 21 |
| 1979 | MP | OTP, Sepsi-78 | Tuomo Hakala | RoPS | 19 |
| 1980 | MP | MP, RoPS, MiPK | Keijo Kousa | FC Kuusysi | 21 |
| 1981 | FC Kuusysi | FC Kuusysi, KPV, Elo | Władysław Dąbrowski | OTP | 26 |
| 1982 | Reipas | Reipas, RoPS | Craig Ramsay | FF Jaro | 18 |
| 1983 | MP | MP, KePS, PPT | Arto Keisalo Jukka Mykkänen | HPS MP | 14 |
| 1984 | OTP | OTP | Hannu Tiilikainen | Elo | 18 |
| 1985 | MP | MP | Jukka Rautakallio | FinnPa | 17 |
| 1986 | Reipas | Reipas | Jari Aaltonen | TPV | 18 |
| 1987 | OTP | OTP | Kalle Lehtinen | FC Kontu | 18 |
| 1988 | FF Jaro | FF Jaro | Juha Lahtinen | VaKP | 19 |
| 1989 | KPV | KPV, Kumu | Mauri Keskitalo | MyPa | 18 |
| 1990 | PPT | PPT, FF Jaro | Janne Murtomäki Jari Vanhala | FC Kontu Grankulla IFK | 14 |
| 1991 | MyPa | MyPa | Igor Danilov | Kumu | 17 |
| 1992 | TPV | TPV, FinnPa | Tomasz Arceusz Oleg Ivanov Valeri Popovitch | VPS TPV TPV | 16 |
| 1993 | KuPS | KuPS, FC Oulu | Kimmo Savolainen | KePS | 17 |
| 1994 | Ponnistus | Ponnistus, VPS | Mika Riutto | Reipas | 15 |
| 1995 | FC Inter | FC Inter | Mika Marjamaa | KePS | 18 |
| 1996 | TP-Seinäjoki | TP-Seinäjoki | Luciano Martins | FC Kuusysi | 18 |
| 1997 | FC Haka | FC Haka, PK-35 | Valeri Popovitch | FC Haka | 25 |
| 1998 | FC Lahti | FC Lahti, KTP, Inter, TPV | Ismo Lius | FC Lahti | 18 |
| 1999 | Tampere United | Tampere United | Dionísio | Tampere United | 24 |
| 2000 | KuPS | KuPS, Atlantis FC | Niclas Grönholm | Hangö IK | 25 |
| 2001 | FC Hämeenlinna | FC Hämeenlinna FF Jaro | Jani Myllyniemi | HIFK | 18 |
| 2002 | KuPS | KuPS, FC Jokerit, FC KooTeePee | Janne Kauria | FC Honka | 17 |
| 2003 | TP-47 | TP-47, RoPS | Mikko Mäkelä | PP-70 | 15 |
| 2004 | KuPS | KuPS, IFK Mariehamn | Miikka Oinonen | MP | 15 |
| 2005 | FC Honka | FC Honka, VPS | Dawda Bah Rami Louke | KPV VPS | 16 |
| 2006 | FC Viikingit | FC Viikingit, AC Oulu | Petteri Kaijasilta | PK-35 | 19 |
| 2007 | KuPS | KuPS, RoPS | Petteri Kaijasilta | PK-35 | 18 |
| 2008 | JJK Jyväskylä | JJK | Babatunde Wusu | JJK | 22 |
| 2009 | AC Oulu | AC Oulu | Pekka Sihvola | FC Hämeenlinna | 20 |
| 2010 | RoPS | RoPS | Irakli Sirbiladze | KPV | 16 |
| 2011 | FC Lahti | FC Lahti | Ville Salmikivi | FC Viikingit | 20 |
| 2012 | RoPS | RoPS | Aleksandr Kokko | RoPS | 15 |
| 2013 | SJK | SJK | Jussi Aalto | Haka | 15 |
| 2014 | HIFK | HIFK, FC KTP, FC Ilves | Kalle Multanen | Haka | 30 |
| 2015 | PS Kemi | PS Kemi, PK-35 Vantaa | Kalle Multanen | Haka | 19 |
| 2016 | JJK | JJK | Aristote M'Boma | AC Oulu | 18 |
| 2017 | TPS | TPS, FC Honka | Kalle Multanen Felix de Bona | Haka EIF | 14 |
| 2018 | HIFK | HIFK, KPV | Alberto Alvarado Morín | AC Oulu | 17 |
| 2019 | Haka | Haka, TPS | Salomo Ojala | Haka | 23 |
| 2020 | AC Oulu | AC Oulu, KTP | Darren Smith | EIF | 18 |
| 2021 | Vaasan Palloseura | VPS | Douglas Caé | Gnistan | 14 |
| 2022 | KTP | KTP | Mika | KTP | 15 |
| 2023 | EIF | EIF, Gnistan | Joakim Latonen | Gnistan | 19 |

## Champions and top scorers of third-tier Ykkönen, 2024–

| Season | Champion | League promotions | Top scorer | Club | Goals |
| 2024 | Klubi 04 | Klubi 04 | Aaron Lindholm | PKKU | 18 |