Kuopion Palloseura
| File:KuPS logo.svg | ||||
| Full name | Kuopion Palloseura | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Keltamusta (The Yellow-Black) Kanarialinnut (The Canaries) | |||
| Founded | 1923 | |||
| Ground | Väre Areena Kuopio | |||
| Capacity | 5,000 (2,700 seated) | |||
| Chairman | Ari Lahti | |||
| Manager | Jarkko Wiss | |||
| League | Veikkausliiga | |||
| 2025 | Veikkausliiga, 1st of 12 (champions) | |||
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Kuopion Palloseura, commonly referred to as KuPS, is a Finnish professional football club based in Kuopio. KuPS competes in Veikkausliiga, the top flight of Finnish football. The team plays its home matches at Kuopio Football Stadium.
KuPS has won seven Finnish championship titles, the Finnish Cup five times and the Finnish League Cup once. The club is placed fourth in the all-time Finnish Premier League honor table.[1]
History
[edit | edit source]The club was officially founded on 16 March 1923, at Kuopion Seurahuone. The club was named Kuopion Palloseura ("Kuopio Football Club") with an abbreviation of KPS, which was later changed to KuPS.[2]
The club spent the majority of the 1920s playing friendly games against other local clubs. In the 1930s and early 1940s, the club played in the second highest tier of Finnish football. KuPS was first promoted to Mestaruussarja in 1947, but were relegated at the end of their first season. The club was promoted again in 1949 and this time remained in the top tier for 44 consecutive seasons.[2]
During the club’s early years, KuPS played in black and green shirts with vertical stripes, white shorts and black socks. In 1935, the colors were changed to a yellow shirt, black shorts and yellow and black socks. At the same time, the club's abbreviation changed from KPS to KuPS.[3][2]
KuPS golden era took place between the 1950s and 1970s, when the club won five league titles, finished runner up on eight occasions, and third once. The club also won the Finnish Cup for the first time in 1968.[2]
KuPS played in the top flight without significant success in the 1980s. However, the 1980s ended with the club's second Finnish Cup triumph in 1989.[2]
In the 1990s, KuPS had financial problems and even dropped to the third tier for the first time.[3] In the early 2000s, KuPS spent seasons in both the First Division and in Veikkausliiga. The club have been in the top-flight since 2008.[4]
As of 2024, the club hasn’t finished lower than 3rd in the league table since 2017. In the 2019 season KuPS won its sixth league title, coached by Jani Honkavaara. In 2021 and 2022 the club won the Finnish Cup for the third and fourth times. In the 2024 season, KuPS won its first-ever league and cup double, after winning the Finnish Championship and the Finnish Cup titles, led again by coach Honkavaara and captain Petteri Pennanen.
In February 2025, it was announced that KuPS had signed a co-operation deal with Ghana Premier League club Dreams FC.[5]
In April 2025, as a result of their league title success in 2024, KuPS added a star above their badge in recognition of the club as a whole achieving 10 league titles. 7 of these titles have been achieved by the men’s side, with 3 won by the women’s side. They are the second team in Finland to have adopted badge stars based on the success of both the men’s and women’s sides, with HJK updating their badge from 2 stars to 5 stars in 2020 with a league title win which meant the men’s side had achieved 3 stars, combining 3 stars from the men’s side and 2 from the women’s for a total of 5 stars. In Finland, a club can add a star to their badge for every 10 league titles.[6]
On 14 August 2025, KuPS secured the place in the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League league phase, their first-ever spot in the European competition league phase, after defeating Latvian RFS 3–1 on aggregate in the 3rd qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.
Season to season
[edit | edit source]Season to Season
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European campaigns
[edit | edit source]UEFA club competition record
[edit | edit source]- As of 28 August 2025
| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 29 |
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League | 33 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 30 | 66 |
| UEFA Conference League | 24 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 41 | 33 |
| Total | 72 | 19 | 19 | 34 | 80 | 135 |
Competitions
[edit | edit source]
UEFA coefficient
[edit | edit source]- As of 19 December 2025
The following list ranks the current position of KuPS in UEFA club ranking:
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 108 |  Strasbourg |
15.000 |
| 109 | Cyprus APOEL | 14.750 |
| 110 | Finland KuPS | 14.000 |
| 111 | Finland HJK | 14.000 |
| 112 |  Hapoel Be'er Sheva |
14.000 |
Transfers
[edit | edit source]In the last few decades, KuPS have produced numerous local players for Veikkausliiga and a few who have transferred abroad. The four biggest incoming transfer fees KuPS have received came from local mostly homegrown players. The club’s record incoming transfer fee was for then 17-year old Matias Siltanen, who departed for Djurgården following a great debut season for KuPS in 2024.
Record transfers
[edit | edit source]| Rank | Player | To | Fee | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Finland Matias Siltanen |  Djurgården |
€1.2 million | 2025[9] |
| 2. | Finland Ilmari Niskanen |  FC Ingolsdtadt |
€370,000 | 2020[10] |
| 3. | Finland Urho Nissilä |  Zulte Waregem |
€275,000 | 2018[11] |
| 4. | Finland Tony Miettinen | Norway Odd | €180,000 | 2024[10] |
| 5. |  Nana Boateng |
 CFR Cluj |
€125,000 | 2021[12] |
Current squad
[edit | edit source]- As of 5 August 2025[13]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
[edit | edit source]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Management
[edit | edit source]As of 22 July 2025[13]
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Boardroom
[edit | edit source]As of 22 October 2024
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Jonni Heikkinen escapes from a PK-37 player in Finnish Cup 5th Round, 2006
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Miikka Turunen near the corner flag in Finnish League Cup, 2008
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Arto Lindberg trying to keep Tuomas Haapala away
Honours
[edit | edit source]
- Mestaruussarja/Veikkausliiga
- Finnish Cup
- Finnish League Cup
- Champions (1): 2006
- Runners-up (1): 2024
- Ykkönen (second tier)
- Kakkonen (third tier)
- Champions (1): 1998
Managers
[edit | edit source]- Finland Aaro Heikkinen (1945–57)
Imre Nagy (1947)- Finland Martti Kosma (1958)
- Finland Reino Miettinen (1959)
- Finland Veijo Pehkonen (1960)
- Finland Asser Väisänen (1960)
- Finland Aaro Heikkinen (1961–65)
- Finland Gunnar Boman (1966–68)
- Finland Veikko Jokinen (1969–71)
- Finland Unto Nevalainen (1969–71)
- Finland Martti Räsänen (1972–79)
- Finland Matti Terästö (initial term) (1980)
- Finland Jarmo Flink (final season) (1980)
- Finland Ari Savolainen (1981)
- Finland Matti Väänänen (1982)
- Poland Bogusław Hajdas (1983–85)
- Finland Jouko Pasanen (1986)
- Finland Jouko Pasanen (1987)
- Finland Aarre Miettinen (July 1987)
- Finland Heikki Turunen (1988)
- Finland Aarre Miettinen (1988)
- Finland Heikki Turunen (1989)
- Finland Markku Hyvärinen (May 1989)
- Finland Olavi Rissanen (May 1989)
- Finland Martti Räsänen (1990–91)
- Finland Olavi Rissanen (1990–91)
- Finland Martti Räsänen (1992)
- Finland Jouni Jäntti (Sept 1992)
- Finland Markku Hyvärinen (Sept 1992)
- Finland Keijo Voutilainen (1993–1994)
- Finland Hannu Turunen (1995–96)
- Finland Atik Ismail (1995–96)
- Finland Jouni Jäntti (1997–98)
- Finland Ensio Pellikka (1998)
- Finland Heikki Turunen (1999)
- Finland Esa Pekonen (2000–2001)
- Finland Jari Pyykölä (1 January 2002 – 6 June 2003)
- Finland Ismo Lius (June 2003)
- Finland Juha Malinen (2005–2006)
- Finland Kai Nyyssönen (1 January 2007 – 13 June 2009)
- Finland Esa Pekonen (14 June 2009 – 24 April 2014)
- Finland Marko Rajamäki (2 May 2014 – 2016)
- Finland Jani Honkavaara (2017–2019)
- Norway Arne Erlandsen (2020)
- Finland Simo Valakari (2021– 19 January 2023)
- Finland Pasi Tuutti (19 January 2023 – 20 April 2023)
- Finland Jani Honkavaara (21 April 2023– 31 December 2024)
- Finland Jarkko Wiss (1 January 2025 – present)
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ "Finnish League Premier Division All-Time Tables 1930–2007". rsssf.org Archived 28 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine. (12 March 2008)
- ^ a b c d e Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ KuPS ja ghanalainen Dreams FC yhteistyöhön, 8 February 2025
- ^ KuPS LISÄÄ TÄHDEN LOGOON – 10 MESTARUUTTA KRUUNAA PITKÄN HISTORIAN, kups.fi, 3 April 2025
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Jättisiirto! Matias Siltanen Ruotsin suurseuraan, Ilta-Sanomat, 22 January 2025
- ^ a b Tony Miettisestä muhkea korvaus – Se kuitenkin kalpenee KuPSin ennätyssiirroille, Savon Sanomat, 7 February 2024
- ^ SS: KuPS myy timanttinsa seurahistoriansa suurimmalla siirtokovauksella, suomifutis.com, 15 June 2018
- ^ Tähtipelaajan lähtö yllätti KuPSin täydellisesti – mestaruushaaveille raskas isku, Ilta-Sanomat, 3 September 2021
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]
- Lua error in Module:Official_website at line 94: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). (in Finnish)
- Banzai – Supporters of KuPS, club's website (in Finnish) (archived).