Fixtures

Finland Ykkonen 07/07 15:30 13 OLS vs RoPS - View
Finland Ykkonen 07/12 13:00 14 RoPS vs MP - View
Finland Ykkonen 07/19 13:00 15 RoPS vs UMF Afturelding - View
Finland Ykkonen 07/25 16:00 16 Tampere Utd vs RoPS - View
Finland Ykkonen 08/02 13:00 17 RoPS vs JJK - View
Finland Ykkonen 08/06 15:30 18 KPV vs RoPS - View

Results

Finland Ykkonen 07/02 15:00 12 [5] PK Keski-Uusimaa v RoPS [10] W 0-4
Finland Ykkonen 06/28 19:15 11 [11] RoPS v Atlantis [12] D 1-1
Finland Ykkonen 06/15 12:00 10 [7] KUPS Akatemia v RoPS [12] D 1-1
Finland Ykkonen 06/08 13:00 9 [8] FC Jazz v RoPS [10] L 3-1
Finland Ykkonen 06/01 12:00 8 [11] RoPS v EPS [9] W 2-0
Finland Ykkonen 05/24 13:00 7 [11] RoPS v KPV [6] D 2-2
Finland Ykkonen 05/18 12:00 6 [8] Anders Eriksson v RoPS [7] L 5-0
Finland Ykkonen 05/10 13:00 5 [7] RoPS v Tampere Utd [1] L 0-2
Finland Cup 05/07 15:30 10 KPV v RoPS L 6-5
Finland Ykkonen 05/03 10:00 4 [9] FC Inter II v RoPS [5] L 2-0
Finland Ykkonen 04/26 16:00 3 [9] RoPS v OLS [10] W 4-1
Finland Ykkonen 04/19 12:00 2 [11] MP v RoPS [12] W 0-1

Stats

 TotalHomeAway
Matches played 28 12 16
Wins 9 5 4
Draws 7 3 4
Losses 12 4 8
Goals for 38 20 18
Goals against 45 20 25
Clean sheets 6 1 5
Failed to score 9 3 6

Wikipedia - Rovaniemen Palloseura

Rovaniemen Palloseura (RoPS) is a football club founded in 1950 and based in Rovaniemi, Finland. RoPS played in the Finnish Premier Division, (Veikkausliiga) for 32 years, from 1981-2021. In 2021 RoPS withdrew from professional football and voluntarily relegated to the amateur Kakkonen third division. The club plays home games at the Rovaniemen Keskuskenttä in the Arctic Circle of Lapland.

History

Keskuskenttä, home ground of RoPS

RoPS have won the Finnish Cup on two occasions, in 1986 and 2013, and were runners-up in 1962. They placed third in the Finnish Premier Division in 1988 and 1989, before finishing as runner-up in 2015, losing out on the title by 1 point to eventual champions SJK. The club's most notable international achievement was reaching the quarter-finals of the European Cup-Winners' Cup in 1987–88 against Marseille.

Match fixing allegations and scandal

Throughout the 2000s, RoPS became infamous for suspected involvement in match fixing.

In spring 2011 the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation started a large investigation into match fixing. On February 25 Singaporean businessman Wilson Raj Perumal, a convicted match fixer, was arrested after entering Finland with a fake passport. The National Bureau of Investigation suspected that over 30 games between 2008 and 2011, mostly from the Finnish premier league, had been fixed or manipulated.

On July 19, 2011, the Rovaniemi Court of Appeal convicted Perumal and nine RoPS players of match-fixing. Altogether 24 games had been manipulated, and the intended score had been achieved in 11 of them. Perumal was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to return 150,000 euros deemed to be match-fixing profits. The bribes ranged from 500 euros offered to one player to a total of 80,000 euros offered to eight players. The highest total of bribes for one individual was slightly over 40,000 euros. The players received suspended sentences. The sentenced players were six Zambian and two Georgian players: Godfrey Chibanga, Chileshe Chibwe, Francis Kombe, Stephen Kunda, Christopher Musonda, Chanda Mwaba, Nchimunya Mweetwa, Pavle Khorguashvili, and Valter Khorguashvili.

Domestic history

Season to season of RoPS
Season Level Division Section Administration Position Movements Finnish Cup League Cup
1955 Tier 4 Piirinsarja (District League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) Qualifiers for 3rd Tier
1956 Tier 4 Aluesarja (Area Division) Group 12 Lapland Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Promoted
1957 Tier 3 Maakuntasarja (Regional League) North Group II Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 5th
1958 Tier 3 Maakuntasarja (Regional League) Group 9 Northern Finland Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 3rd
1959 Tier 3 Maakuntasarja (Regional League) Group 9 Northern Finland Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Promoted
1960 Tier 2 Suomensarja (Finland Series) North Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 11th Relegated
1961 Tier 3 Maakuntasarja (Regional League) Group 9 Northern Finland Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd
1962 Tier 3 Maakuntasarja (Regional League) Group 9 Northern Finland Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Promoted
1963 Tier 2 Suomensarja (Finland Series) North Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 8th
1964 Tier 2 Suomensarja (Finland Series) North Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 10th Relegated
1965 Tier 3 Maakuntasarja (Regional League) Group 9 Northern Finland Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 5th
1966 Tier 3 Maakuntasarja (Regional League) Group 9 Northern Finland Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 3rd
1967 Tier 3 Maakuntasarja (Regional League) Group 10 Northern Finland Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd
1968 Tier 3 Maakuntasarja (Regional League) Group 8 Northern Finland Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Promoted
1969 Tier 2 Suomensarja (Finland Series) North Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 10th Relegated
1970 Tier 3 3. Divisioona (Third Division) Group 8 Northern Finland Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Promoted
1971 Tier 2 2. Divisioona (Second Division) North Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 9th
1972 Tier 2 2. Divisioona (Second Division) North Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 11th Relegated
1973 Tier 4 3. Divisioona (Third Division) Group 9 Northern Finland Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Promoted
1974 Tier 3 2. Divisioona (Second Division) North Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 3rd
1975 Tier 3 2. Divisioona (Second Division) North Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd
1976 Tier 3 2. Divisioona (Second Division) North Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd
1977 Tier 3 2. Divisioona (Second Division) North Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 9th
1978 Tier 3 2. Divisioona (Second Division) North Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Promoted
1979 Tier 2 1. Divisioona (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 6th
1980 Tier 2 1. Divisioona (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd Promotion/Relagtion Group 2nd - Promoted
1981 Tier 1 SM-Sarja (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 10th Promotion/Relagtion Group 5th - Relegated
1982 Tier 2 1. Divisioona (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd Promotion/Relagtion Group 1st - Promoted
1983 Tier 1 SM-Sarja (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 8th
1984 Tier 1 SM-Sarja (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 6th
1985 Tier 1 SM-Sarja (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 7th
1986 Tier 1 SM-Sarja (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 4th
1987 Tier 1 SM-Sarja (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 5th
1988 Tier 1 SM-Sarja (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 3rd
1989 Tier 1 SM-Sarja (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 3rd
1990 Tier 1 Futisliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd Championship Playoff - Quarter-finals
1991 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 7th
1992 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 7th
1993 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 7th Runners-up
1994 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 5th
1995 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 9th 9th Round
1996 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 9th - Relegation Group 2nd 7th Round
1997 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 6th Semi-finals
1998 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 8th
1999 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 8th 7th Round
2000 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 9th
2001 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 12th Relegated 6th Round
2002 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Northern Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 5th Quarter-finals
2003 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd Promotion Playoff - Promoted 6th Round
2004 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 12th Quarter-finals
2005 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 13th Relegation Playoff - Relegated
2006 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 7th
2007 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd Promotion Playoff - Promoted
2008 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 10th 6th Round
2009 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 14th Relegated 6th Round
2010 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Promoted 4th Round
2011 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 12th Relegated 5th Round
2012 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Promoted 5th Round
2013 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 11th Winners
2014 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 9th 6th Round
2015 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd 6th Round
2016 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 6th 6th Round
2017 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 7th Group Stage - 2nd - Quarter-final Qualifiers
2018 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd Group Stage - 3rd
2019 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 10th Group Stage - 4th - Quarter-finals
2020 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 12th Relegated Group Stage - 6th
2021 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd Promotion Playoff. Gave up league spot due to financial difficulties Group Stage - 2nd
2022 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) Group C Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 6th 4th Round
2023 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) Group C Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 3rd Qualifiers for Ykkönen - Qualified 4th Round
2024 Tier 3 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 5th 3rd Round
2025 Tier 3 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)
  • 32 seasons in Veikkausliiga
  • 16 seasons in Ykkösliiga
  • 19 seasons in Ykkönen
  • 3 seasons in 4th Tier

European history

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1987–88 Cup Winners' Cup 1R Glentoran 0–0 1–1 1–1(a)
2R Vllaznia 1–0 1–0 2–0
QF Marseille 0–1 0–3 0–4
1989–90 UEFA Cup 1R GKS Katowice 1–1 1–0 2–1
2R Auxerre 0–5 0–3 0–8
1990–91 UEFA Cup 1R 1. FC Magdeburg 0–1 0–0 0–1
2014–15 UEFA Europa League 2Q Asteras Tripoli 1–1 2–4 3–5
2016–17 UEFA Europa League 1Q Shamrock Rovers 1–1 2–0 3–1
2Q Lokomotiva 1–1 0–3 1–4
2019–20 UEFA Europa League 1Q Aberdeen 1–2 1–2 2–4
Notes
  • 1R: First round
  • 2R: Second round
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • QF: Quarter-finals
RoPS, or Rovaniemen Palloseura, is a professional soccer team based in Rovaniemi, Finland. Founded in 1950, the club has a rich history and is known for its passionate fan base and commitment to developing local talent. RoPS competes in the Veikkausliiga, the top tier of Finnish football, and has made a name for itself with its competitive spirit and resilience on the pitch.

The team's colors are red and white, which are prominently featured in their home kit. RoPS plays its home matches at the Rovaniemen Keskuskenttä, a stadium that provides an intimate atmosphere for fans to support their team. The club has a strong focus on community engagement and youth development, often integrating local players into their squad.

Over the years, RoPS has achieved notable successes, including Finnish Cup victories and strong league performances, making it a respected name in Finnish football. The team's motto reflects its dedication to hard work, teamwork, and the pursuit of excellence, embodying the spirit of the northern Finnish culture. With a commitment to both competitive success and community involvement, RoPS continues to be a vital part of the Rovaniemi sports landscape.