# Ilves (football)

Tampereen Ilves (pronounced; Finnish for "Lynx"; Swedish: Ilves Tammerfors), commonly referred to as Ilves, is a Finnish professional football club based in Tampere. They currently play in the Veikkausliiga, the highest level of professional football in Finland.

## History

They were formed in 1975 as a merger between Ilves-Kissat Tampere and Tampellan Palloilijat, and joined the Premier Division in 1979.
Ilves won the Finnish League championship in 1983 and the Finnish Cup on four occasions in 1979, 1990, and 2019 and 2023.
In the late 1990s, Ilves suffered financial trouble and its professional team was reformed into Tampere United before the 1999 season. The initial plan was to join Ilves with TPV, but TPV decided to continue as its own team. As a result, Tampere United inherited Ilves' place in the second highest division, and Ilves dissolved their men's team. Thus the club did not have a men's team from 1999 to 2007.
Their home ground is Tammelan Stadion. Between 2020 and 2023, they played at Tampere Stadium, while waiting for the new Tammelan stadion to be built.

## Honours

* Mestaruussarja/Veikkausliiga
** Champions: 1983
** Runners-up: 2024
* Finnish Cup
** Winners: 1979, 1990, 2019, 2023

## Season to season

Season to Season :
| Season | Level | Division | Section | Administration | Position | Movements |
| 1932-38 Tampere District Leagues |
| 1939-42 No men's team. |
| 1945-46 | Tier 3 | SPL Maakuntasarja (Third Division) | Group Häme | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 2nd | |
| 1946-47 | Tier 3 | SPL Maakuntasarja (Third Division) | Group Tampere | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 3rd | |
| 1948-74 Tampere District Leagues |
| 1975 | Tier 2 | I Divisioona (First Division) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 3rd | Received league position from Ilves-Kissat |
| 1976 | Tier 2 | I Divisioona (First Division) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 4th | |
| 1977 | Tier 2 | I Divisioona (First Division) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 5th | |
| 1978 | Tier 2 | I Divisioona (First Division) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 1st | Promoted |
| 1979 | Tier 1 | Mestaruussarja (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 10th | Relegation Group 1st |
| 1980 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 6th | Championship Group 6th |
| 1981 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 7th | Championship Group 5th |
| 1982 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 4th | Championship Group 7th |
| 1983 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 2nd | Championship Group 1st - Champions |
| 1984 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 4th | Championship Playoffs 3rd |
| 1985 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 4th | Championship Playoffs 2nd |
| 1986 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 6th | |
| 1987 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 4th | |
| 1988 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 8th | Relegation Group 3rd |
| 1989 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 6th | Championship Group 6th |
| 1990 | Tier 1 | Futisliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 9th | |
| 1991 | Tier 1 | Futisliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 6th | |
| 1992 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 8th | |
| 1993 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 12th | Relegation Group 6th |
| 1994 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 12th | |
| 1995 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 7th | |
| 1996 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 10th | Relegation Group 4th - Relegated |
| 1997 | Tier 2 | Ykkönen (First Division) | North Group | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 8th | Relegation Group North 2nd |
| 1998 | Tier 2 | Ykkönen (First Division) | North Group | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 2nd | Relegation Group 5th, Promotion Playoff. First team continued as TamU |
| 1999-2007 No men's team. |
| 2008 | Tier 3 | Kakkonen (Second Division) | Group B | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 5th | Received league spot from KooVee |
| 2009 | Tier 3 | Kakkonen (Second Division) | Group B | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 3rd | |
| 2010 | Tier 3 | Kakkonen (Second Division) | Group B | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 1st | Promotion Group 3rd |
| 2011 | Tier 3 | Kakkonen (Second Division) | Group B | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 2nd | Promotion Playoff |
| 2012 | Tier 3 | Kakkonen (Second Division) | Group West | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 1st | Promotion Playoff - Promoted |
| 2013 | Tier 2 | Ykkönen (First Division) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 4th | |
| 2014 | Tier 2 | Ykkönen (First Division) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 3rd | Promoted |
| 2015 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 8th | |
| 2016 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 5th | |
| 2017 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 3rd | |
| 2018 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 5th | |
| 2019 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 4th | |
| 2020 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 5th | |
| 2021 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 5th | |
| 2022 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 9th | |
| 2023 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 8th | |
| 2024 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga (Premier League) | | Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) | 2nd | |

## European record

| Season | Competition | Round | Club | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Aggregate |
| 1980–81 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | Feyenoord | 1–3 | 2–4 | 3–7 |
| 1984–85 | European Cup | 1R | Juventus | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–6 |
| 1986–87 | UEFA Cup | 1R | Rangers | 0–4 | 2–0 | 2–4 |
| 1991–92 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | Glenavon | 2–3 | 2–1 | 4–4 |
| 1991–92 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 2R | Roma | 1–1 | 2–5 | 3–6 |
| 2018–19 | UEFA Europa League | 1QR | PFC Slavia Sofia | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 |
| 2020–21 | UEFA Europa League | 1QR | Shamrock Rovers | 2–2 (11–12 p) | 2–2 (11–12 p) | 2–2 (11–12 p) |
| 2024–25 | UEFA Conference League | 2QR | Austria Wien | 2–1 | 3–4 (a.e.t.) | 5–5 (5–4 p) |
| 2024–25 | UEFA Conference League | 3QR | Djurgården | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–4 |
| 2025–26 | UEFA Conference League | 2QR | | | | |

## Current squad

    As of 8 March 2025
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 | Otso Virtanen |
| 3 | DF | FIN | Matias Rale |
| 4 | DF | BRA | David Oliveira |
| 5 | DF | FIN | Sauli Väisänen |
| 7 | MF | FIN | Joona Veteli |
| 8 | MF | FIN | Maksim Stjopin |
| 9 | FW | FIN | Teemu Hytönen |
| 10 | FW | FIN | Roope Riski |
| 12 | GK | BIH | Faris Krkalić |
| 13 | DF | FIN | Kalle Wallius |
| 14 | MF | FIN | Anton Popovitch |
| 15 | MF | FIN | Lauri Ala-Myllymäki |
| 16 | DF | FIN | Tatu Miettunen (captain) |
| 17 | MF | FIN | Marius Söderbäck |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | FW | FIN | Vincent Ulundu |
| 19 | FW | FIN | Oiva Jukkola |
| 20 | MF | FIN | Otto Tiitinen |
| 21 | MF | FIN | Jaakko Moisio |
| 22 | DF | FIN | Aapo Mäenpää |
| 23 | MF | FIN | Noel Hasa |
| 24 | DF | FIN | Ville Kumpu |
| 26 | DF | FIN | Tomas Sovelius |
| 27 | FW | NGA | Adeleke Akinyemi |
| 28 | MF | FIN | Topi Ala |
| 31 | MF | FIN | Oskari Multala |
| 32 | GK | FIN | Lucas Väyrynen |
| 42 | DF | FIN | Felipe Aspegren |
| 44 | FW | LVA | Nils Veinbergs |

### 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.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | FIN | Arttu Tulehmo (at KTP until 31 December 2025) |
| — | DF | FIN | Jere Riissanen (at Jazz until 31 December 2025) |
| — | DF | FIN | Matias Kivikko Arraño (at IFK Mariehamn until 31 December 2025) |
| — | GK | FIN | Johannes Viitala (at IFK Mariehamn until 31 December 2025) |
| — | FW | FIN | Danila Bulgakov (at Haka until 31 December 2025) |

## Management and boardroom
### Management

Active departments of Ilves :
| Floorball | Football (Men's) | Football (Women's) |
| Futsal (Men's) | Futsal (Women's) | Ice hockey (Women's) |
| Ringette | Ice hockey (Men's) | |
As of 3 November 2023.
| Name | Role |
| Joonas Rantanen | Head coach |
| Joni Lehtonen | Coach |
| Pasi Tuutti | Coach |
| Marko Pirilä | Goalkeeping coach |
| Iikka Miettinen | Reserve team coach |
| Heli Rekimies | Fitness coach / Physiotherapist |
| Ville Niemelä | Kit manager / Team manager |
| Jonne Väisänen | Doctor |

### Scouting

As of 28 August 2024
| Name | Role |
| Jyrki Ahola | Scout |
| Henri Määttä | Scout |
| Simon Garnier | Scout |

### Boardroom

As of 31 July 2020
| Name | Role |
| Pentti Kuusela | Chairman |
| Risto Niklas-Salminen | CEO |
| Toni Hevonkorpi | Development Director / Vice CEO |
| Miika Takkula | Sporting director |

## Ilves/2

Ilves/2 is the reserve team of Ilves. The team plays in Kakkonen in 2025 season. It is coached by Iikka Miettinen.

## Managers

* Raimo Vasama [fi] (1975)
* Martti Halme (1976–1977)
* Pertti Mäkipää (1978–1981)
* Jussi Ristimäki (1982–1984)
* Turo Flink [fi] (1985–1986)
* Harri Holli [fi] (1987–1989)
* Jussi Ristimäki (1990)
* Ian Crawford (1991–1992)
* Matti Paatelainen (1993)
* Markku Wacklin [fi] (1993–1994)
* Esa Kuusisto (1995–1996)
* Arto Uimonen [fi] (1997)
* Ari Hjelm (1997)
* Kari Nikkilä (1998)
* Janne Salovaara / Jarmo Virtanen (2001)
* Veijo Visuri (2008–2009)
* Valeri Popovitch (2010–11)
* Mika Malinen [fi] (2012–2014)
* Keith Armstrong (2015)
* Jarkko Wiss (2016–2021)
* Toni Kallio (2021–2023)
* Joni Lehtonen (2023)
* Joonas Rantanen (2023–present)