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The Glory Days Are Back
I remember walking to the Kuopio Market Square for a cup of coffee every time I visited my mother at the start of my summer holidays. The Market Square, or “tori” as we call it in Finnish, sits in the heart of Kuopio and is the place where you can hear the “truth” and the “rumours” of what is going on in town.
TEXT ARI LAHTI PHOTOS ARI LAHTI AND JUHA LESKINEN
Mr Ari Lahti hopes that the success of KuPS team gives young locals a reason to be proud of their home town.
Football was always a common topic of conversation at the coffee tables there. The weekend match of KuPS, the local football team, was analysed thoroughly down to the finest detail. The team and its success were always compared to the 1970s KuPS team. Why? Because the 1970s was the golden age of football in Kuopio.
When I took over ownership of the KuPS team in 2006, I found this slightly annoying. Not because I did not respect the achievements in the 1970s, but because football has developed a lot in Finland in the last 40 years or so. Just as it has everywhere in the world. For example, in the 1970s KuPS only used local players. They were excellent players as such, but football has since become a more competitive sport worldwide and players move from country to country, from continent to continent.
I then started to wonder if it would be possible to regain the former success and relive the glo-
The women’s team of KuPS was crowned the Finnish Champion in the National League in 2021.
ry days of football in Kuopio. We wanted KuPS to succeed and play not only in Finland but also in European competitions. We got down to work in the club, building the capabilities of the management, the coaching team and the players. We started to actively gather knowledge and tried to improve year after year. We trained talented home-grown players in addition to bringing in players from Europe, Africa and the Americas.
Today, the glory days of football in Kuopio are back! KuPS won the championship in 2019 and has been one of the top three teams in the Finnish Football League for the past five years. KuPS also won the Finnish FA Cup title in 2021.
But this is only half of the story when it comes to Kuopio’s success in football. The women’s team of KuPS was crowned the Finnish Champion in the National League in 2021!
Football has brought fame to Kuopio also in European stadiums. The men’s team of KuPS has played against 15 European teams in UEFA competitions since 2010 and next summer both the men’s and women’s teams will play in Europe. This is our concrete way of reinforcing the international image of Kuopio as a sports city. What does this success "We wanted KuPS to mean for Kuopio? I hope it succeed and play gives young locals a reason to be proud of their home town. not only in Finland." And keep them running after the ball – i.e. living a healthier life. As for older people, I hope the success will bring new memories to talk about around the coffee tables of “tori” in the years to come.
