 | |||
| Full name | Jalkapalloseura Tampere United ry | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short name | TamU | ||
| Founded | 31 July 1998 | ||
| Ground | Kauppi Football Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 1,000 | ||
| Chairman | Antti Niemistö | ||
| Manager | Topi Priha | ||
| League | Ykkönen | ||
| 2025 | Ykkönen, 6th of 12 | ||
| Website | tampereunited.fi | ||
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Tammelan Stadion, home of Tampere United.
Tampere United is a Finnish football club from the city of Tampere. In the 2026 season, the club plays in Ykkönen, the third highest level of football in Finland.
The club had a team in Veikkausliiga, the premier football league in Finland, until the end of the 2010 season. It was excluded from participating in Finnish football during the 2011 season amid suspicions of money laundering. The club was kept alive by its supporters, who entered a team called TamU-K in Kutonen, the lowest tier of football in Finland, in 2012. The club earned three promotions in four years, and all its teams were taken over by Tampere United in the lead up to the 2016 season. Tampere United is now a fan-owned club and controlled by the same supporters who ran TamU-K.
History
[edit]The club was formed in July 1998. The initial plan was to merge two local football clubs Ilves and Tampereen Pallo-Veikot (TPV), but TPV decided to continue as its own team. Ilves continued to play in the lower divisions and Tampere United inherited its place in the second tier of Finnish football, Ykkönen.
In Tampere United's first season, the 1999 Ykkönen, the club won promotion to the Veikkausliiga, the top tier of Finnish football, 15 months after the formation of the club. During the 2000 season they reached sixth place in the league. On their third season in 2001 they won the Finnish championship.
In 2002, the club finished in fifth place, and in 2003, third place. After the 2003 season the club moved from Tammelan Stadion to Tampere Stadium due to stadium conditions and will to expand the club's activities.[1] In 2006, Tampere United won their second Finnish Championship and one year later, in 2007, they were the champions yet again taking home their third title.
During the 2007 season, Tampere United also reached the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. Tampere United defeated Bulgarian champions Levski Sofia 2–0 on aggregate in the second qualifying round. Tampere United failed to reach the Champions League group stage when Rosenborg BK defeated them 5–0 on aggregate. In the UEFA Cup first round, United lost to Girondins de Bordeaux 4–3 on aggregate.
Exclusion and collapse
[edit]Tampere United had started to face financial difficulties in the late 2000s and in 2009 it was reported, that the club was not able to pay wages due to its financial situation.[2] Attendances had also started to dwindle during the late 2000s, which did not help the situation.
On 14 April 2011 the club was suspended indefinitely by the Football Association of Finland because they had received money from a dubious company based in Singapore, known for involvement in fixed games and money laundering.[3] The club was excluded from the 2011 season of Veikkausliiga.[4] Players under contract were released due to lack of funds.
The club did not officially participate in any competition between 2011 and 2015. In April 2013 the Turku Court of Appeal found the former CEO Deniz Bavautdin and the former chairman of the board Harri Pyhältö guilty of money laundering.[5]
Revival by the supporters
[edit]Supporters of Tampere United had founded a supporters' trust in 2009 after the club had hit financial difficulties. The aim was to help fans gain a voice within the club, help the club's financial situation and to buy shares of the club.
In 2012 the supporters' trust founded a new team named after the supporters' trust, TamU-K. In 2012 the team played in Kutonen, the lowest tier of Finnish football, and gained promotion to Vitonen after their first season. The promotion securing playoff match had an attendance of 441.[6] In 2013 the team was promoted to Nelonen and in 2014, the team made it to penalties in the promotion playoff but ultimately lost.[7] After another season in Nelonen, TamU-K was promoted to Kolmonen.
In the lead up to the 2016 season, Tampere United took over all the teams that played under TamU-K. Thereby, Tampere United made a return to the Finnish football scene as a fan-owned club and played in Kolmonen in 2016. After the 2016 season the club gained promotion to Kakkonen. In 2017 Tampere United finished sixth in Kakkonen Group B and in 2018 it finished ninth in Group C, and remained in Kakkonen in the 2019 season.
Tampere United was relegated from Kakkonen after the 2019 season and played in Kolmonen, the fourth tier of Finnish football at the time, for two seasons. After the 2021 season of Kolmonen Tampere United managed to gain promotion to Kakkonen. The club played in Kakkonen for three seasons, until it managed to secure promotion to the Ykkönen, the third tier of Finnish football, after the 2024 season of Kakkonen. The club finished sixth in the 2025 season of Ykkönen and competes in the league in the 2026 season as well.[8]
Move to Tammelan Stadion and financial difficulties
[edit]After the 2023 season of Kakkonen, Tampere United moved to the brand-new Tammelan Stadion from its old home of Pyynikin urheilukenttä. At first, the move seemed to work as attendances doubled after the move from the average attendance of 468 to 944 from the 2023 to 2024 season.[9] However, the club played in the new stadium for only two seasons, the 2024 season of Kakkonen and 2025 season of Ykkönen, until it had to leave the stadium.[10]
During the time in Tammelan Stadion, the club had started to face financial difficulties due to the high rent compared to Pyynikin urheilukenttä and the difficulty of generating money from match sales. Whereas in Pyynikin urheilukenttä, which is owned by the city, all match sales go directly to the club, in Tammelan Stadion the match sales go through the operator and the club that hosts the match only gets a small commission from these sales.[11]
Due to the reasons listed before, Tampere United will start the 2026 season of Ykkönen in the Kauppi Football Stadium, which got a new main stand in 2025 and has a capacity of 1,000.[12]
Honours
[edit]Finnish Regions’ Cup
- Champions: 2021
Tampere United in Europe
[edit]| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Score (home-away) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | UEFA Champions League | Q1 |  Pyunik F.C.
|
0–4, 0–2 |
| 2003 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1 |  Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț
|
1–0, 1–2 |
| 2 |  FK Sutjeska Nikšić
|
0–0, 1–0 | ||
| 3 |  HNK Cibalia
|
0–2, 1–0 | ||
| 2004 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1 |  CS Grevenmacher
|
0–0, 1–1 |
| 2 |  Khazar Universiteti
|
3–0, 0–1 | ||
| 3 |  OFK Beograd
|
0–0, 0–1 | ||
| 2005 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1 |  Skála ÍF
|
2–0, 1–0 |
| 2 |  R. Charleroi S.C.
|
1–0, 0–0 | ||
| 3 |  SS Lazio
|
1–1, 0–3 | ||
| 2006 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1 |  Carmarthen Town
|
5–0, 3–1 |
| 2 |  Kalmar FF
|
1–2, 2–3 | ||
| 2007–08 | UEFA Champions League | Q1 |  SS Murata
|
2–0, 2–1 |
| Q2 |  PFC Levski Sofia
|
1–0, 1–0 | ||
| Q3 |  Rosenborg BK
|
0–3, 0–2 | ||
| 2007–08 | UEFA Cup | 1 |  Girondins de Bordeaux
|
2–3, 1–1 |
| 2008–09 | UEFA Champions League | Q1 |  FK Budućnost Podgorica
|
2–1, 1–1 |
| Q2 |  FC Artmedia Petržalka
|
1–3, 2–4 |
Season to season
[edit]
|
Current squad
[edit]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Managers
[edit]
Harri Kampman (1999–2000)- Ari Hjelm (2001–2010)
- Jarkko Wiss (2011)
- Antti Pettinen (2011–2012)
- Mika Suonsyrjä (2012–2015)
- Mikko Mäkelä (2016–2018)
Leroy Maluka (2018)- Mourad Seddiki (2019)
- Jukka Listenmaa (2020–2024)
- Tero Suonperä (2024)
References
[edit]- ^ "LYHYESTI, JALKAPALLOILU | Tampere United muuttaa Ratinaan". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 4 November 2003. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "Tampere Unitedin kassa tyhjä - palkkoja maksamatta". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). 13 January 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "Palloliitto sulki TamUn liigasta ja cupeista". Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). 14 April 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "Helsingin Sanomat - International Edition - Sport". Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ "Hovioikeus tuomitsi Tampere Unitedin entiset johtajat". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 25 April 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "New beginnings". When Saturday Comes. December 2012. p. 35.
- ^ Negrin, Matt (1 May 2014). "Fans Lose Soccer Team, Then Build Their Own". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
- ^ "Tampere Unitedin tarina - Tampere United" (in Finnish). 16 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ henri (23 July 2025). "Ottelutapahtumat budjetointia edellä - Tampere United" (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ Teiskonlahti, Riku (4 February 2026). "Nyt se on varmaa: Tampere United lähtee Tammelasta". Aamulehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ Aalto, Pekka (23 January 2026). "Roiman tappion tehnyt Tampere United on jättämässä Tammelan – sai lisenssin Ykköseen: "En usko, että konkurssi uhkaa"". Aamulehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "Kaupin jalkapallokatsomossa on tilaa tuhannelle futisfanille". Tampereen tilapalvelut (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 February 2026.
External links
[edit]- (in Finnish) Official website