The Football Association of Finland (, abbr. SPL; ) is the governing body of football in Finland. It was founded in Helsinki on 19 May 1907. The SPL organises the men's and women's national football teams, and the second and third tiers of national football. The premier division Veikkausliiga is organized by a distinct organisation, and the lower tiers (the fourth tier and below) are organized by the 12 district organisations. The SPL is based in the Finnish capital city of Helsinki. Background The SPL has more than 1,000 member clubs and approximately 140,000 registered players. The Finnish Gallup survey has indicated that football is a popular pastime with around 500,000 Finns interested in the sport. The SPL is Finland's largest amateur sports federation. The association was also the governing body of bandy in Finland until Finland's Bandy Association was founded in 1972. In 1928, it also arranged the first Finland ice hockey championship, before the 1929 establishment of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. District organisations At the more local level Finnish football is administered by the following 12 district organisations of the SPL: Ålands Fotbollförbund SPL Helsingin piiri SPL Itä-Suomen piiri SPL Kaakkois-Suomen piiri SPL Keski-Pohjanmaan piiri SPL Keski-Suomen piiri SPL Pohjois-Suomen piiri SPL Satakunnan piiri SPL Tampereen piiri SPL Turun piiri SPL Uudenmaan piiri SPL Vaasan piiri There were also 12 other district organisations that no longer exist. Publications The association publishes several magazines, including now-defunct monthly magazine Futari. Presidents Walter Flander 1907–1908 John Catani 1909 Uno Westerholm 1910–1911 Carolus Lindberg 1912 Walter Qvist 1913–1917 Erik von Frenckell 1918–1952 Juuso Walden 1953–1963 Osmo P. Karttunen 1963–1974 Ove H. Rehn 1974–1975 Jouko Loikkanen 1975–1983 Lauri Pöyhönen 1983–1987 1987–1997 Pekka Hämäläinen 1997–2009 Sauli Niinistö 2009–2012 Markku Lehtola 2012 (interim) Pertti Alaja 2012–2017 Markku Lehtola 2017–2018 (interim) Ari Lahti 2018 to date References External links Finland at UEFA.com Finland at FIFA.com 1907 establishments in Finland Sports organizations established in 1907 Football in Finland Futsal in Finland Organisations based in Helsinki Finland Football Bandy in Finland Ice hockey in Finland Defunct ice hockey governing bodies Defunct bandy governing bodies Sport in Helsinki Football Federation of Finland