5 most popular sports in Finland

The Finnish are a sport-loving nation with the country at the forefront in many sports categories. The country has an interesting mix of traditional and modern sports. From its national sport, pesäpallo, a Finnish version of baseball, to modern sports like ice hockey, football, and winter sports, you will see the locals indulging in a wide variety of sporting activities. While some forms of sports are popular as spectator sports, mostly ice hockey, others, like cycling and skiing, are preferred as participatory sports.

With so many games played and watched in the country, it is hard to pick just a few. However, here is a brief account of some of the most popular sports in Finland.

Ice Hockey in Finland

Unlike most European countries, ice hockey happens to be more popular in Finland than football. It is mostly popular as a spectator sport. It is estimated that almost 70% of the Finnish population watched the World Championship final in 2016, in which Finland lost to Canada. However, there is also no shortage of players in the country. Currently, there are more than 60,000 registered ice hockey players in Finland. 

Winter sports have always taken precedence over other sports in the country, and although football is riding up the popularity scale, ice hockey is holding firmly to the number one position. 

A major reason for the sport’s popularity is the international success of the national team. The team has won the World Championship thrice in 1995, 2011, and 2019 respectively, and is considered one of the Big Six, the top six countries in the field of ice hockey include Finland, the Czech Republic, the United States, Sweden, Russia, and Canada.

Football in Finland

Next on our list is football. The sport’s popularity seems to be on the rise in recent years, and the number of registered players for football is 115,000, significantly more than the count for ice hockey. 

The numbers indicate that while ice hockey may be the most popular spectator sport, football is gaining traction as a participatory sport. The locals love to play football for recreation and in clubs and prefer it over ice hockey. It is the most popular hobby among individuals aged 3 to 18, while ice hockey ranks 9^th. 

The Finnish national football team currently ranks 58 in FIFA and has not qualified for any major tournament except UEFA Euro Cup in 2020, where it lost in the group stage. Finland has more than 1000 clubs registered with the Football Association of Finland.

Floorball in Finland

The next sport we will be highlighting here is Floorball. It may not be very popular in most countries around the world, but it is certainly a very popular activity in Finland. It is an indoor game where sticks are used to toss a plastic ball around.

Finland was one of the three founding members of the International Floorball Federation. The country’s national team has won the World Championship four times in 2008, 2010, 2016, and 2018. It was also the runners up six times, making it one of the most successful teams in the world.

Finland has also hosted the men’s Floorball World Championship three times in 2002, 2010, and 2020. With so much success and exposure to the sport, its consistent popularity in the country is not surprising. Finland currently has around 66000 registered floorball players.

Motorsport in Finland

Motorsports rose to popularity in Finland with the introduction of rallying competitions in the country in the 1950s. Soon, Finnish drivers, including Timo Makinen, Pauli Toivonen, and Rauno Aaltonen, dominated international motorsports and made Finals one of the most accomplished countries in the World Rally Championships. Finnish motorsport participants brought honour to their country by winning the championship seven times, the latest win in 2022, when Kalle Rovanpera dominated the event.

Finland also hosts the Rally Finland, a WRC event that draws around half a million spectators annually. The most popular motorsport variant is Formula 1 Racing. In 1982 Keke Rosenberg became Finland’s first Formula One World Driver’s champion. Another popular variant is Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

Bandy in Finland

The last sport on our list is Bandy. You may not even be aware of the game, but it happens to be quite popular in Finland. In fact, it was the first team sport for which a national championship was held in Finland. After ice hockey, it is the second most popular winter sport in Finland. 

The game is a winter ball sport. It is played between two teams who try to score by putting the ball in the opponent team’s goal. The game is played on ice, and players wear ice skates. Finland has its national team, which is governed by the Finnish Bandy Association. Finland also won the world championship in 2004. The top bandy league in the country is the Bandyliga. 

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