Ykkönen

The first league format competition in the second level of Finnish football was called Suomensarja, which was founded in 1936.[1] 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.[2]

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.[1]

The new nation-wide third-tier Ykkönen will start running in 2024, as the first ever nation-wide third-tier league in Finland.

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.

The clubs in the Ykkönen for the 2024 season are:

Club	Location	Stadium	Capacity	Manager
Atlantis FC	Helsinki	Pukinmäen liikuntapuisto	500	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

• League information; at the Football Association of Finland
• List of League Second Level tables since 1930
• League321.com - Finnish football league tables, records & statistics database. (in English)
• Football scores for Finnish Football Leagues
• Ykkönen, standings, results & fixtures