Rovaniemen Palloseura
Rovaniemen Palloseura is a football club founded in 1950 and based in Rovaniemi, Finland. RoPS played in the Finnish Premier Division, for 32 years, from 1981 to 2021. In 2021, RoPS withdrew from professional football and voluntarily relegated to the amateur Kakkonen division. The club plays home games at the Rovaniemen Keskuskenttä in the Arctic Circle of Lapland.
History
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 | Level | Division | Section | Administration | Position | Movements | Finnish Cup | League Cup |
| 1955 | Tier 4 | Piirinsarja | Finnish FA ' | Qualifiers for 3rd Tier | ||||
| 1956 | Tier 4 | Aluesarja ' | Group 12 Lapland | Finnish FA ' | 1st | Promoted | ||
| 1957 | Tier 3 | Maakuntasarja ' | North Group II | Finnish FA ' | 5th | |||
| 1958 | Tier 3 | Maakuntasarja ' | Group 9 Northern Finland | Finnish FA ' | 3rd | |||
| 1959 | Tier 3 | Maakuntasarja ' | Group 9 Northern Finland | Finnish FA ' | 1st | Promoted | ||
| 1960 | Tier 2 | Suomensarja ' | North Group | Finnish FA ' | 11th | Relegated | ||
| 1961 | Tier 3 | Maakuntasarja ' | Group 9 Northern Finland | Finnish FA ' | 2nd | |||
| 1962 | Tier 3 | Maakuntasarja ' | Group 9 Northern Finland | Finnish FA ' | 1st | Promoted | ||
| 1963 | Tier 2 | Suomensarja ' | North Group | Finnish FA ' | 8th | |||
| 1964 | Tier 2 | Suomensarja ' | North Group | Finnish FA ' | 10th | Relegated | ||
| 1965 | Tier 3 | Maakuntasarja ' | Group 9 Northern Finland | Finnish FA ' | 5th | |||
| 1966 | Tier 3 | Maakuntasarja ' | Group 9 Northern Finland | Finnish FA ' | 3rd | |||
| 1967 | Tier 3 | Maakuntasarja ' | Group 10 Northern Finland | Finnish FA ' | 2nd | |||
| 1968 | Tier 3 | Maakuntasarja ' | Group 8 Northern Finland | Finnish FA ' | 1st | Promoted | ||
| 1969 | Tier 2 | Suomensarja ' | North Group | Finnish FA ' | 10th | Relegated | ||
| 1970 | Tier 3 | 3. Divisioona ' | Group 8 Northern Finland | Finnish FA ' | 1st | Promoted | ||
| 1971 | Tier 2 | 2. Divisioona ' | North Group | Finnish FA ' | 9th | |||
| 1972 | Tier 2 | 2. Divisioona ' | North Group | Finnish FA ' | 11th | Relegated | ||
| 1973 | Tier 4 | 3. Divisioona ' | Group 9 Northern Finland | Finnish FA ' | 1st | Promoted | ||
| 1974 | Tier 3 | 2. Divisioona ' | North Group | Finnish FA ' | 3rd | |||
| 1975 | Tier 3 | 2. Divisioona ' | North Group | Finnish FA ' | 2nd | |||
| 1976 | Tier 3 | 2. Divisioona ' | North Group | Finnish FA ' | 2nd | |||
| 1977 | Tier 3 | 2. Divisioona ' | North Group | Finnish FA ' | 9th | |||
| 1978 | Tier 3 | 2. Divisioona ' | North Group | Finnish FA ' | 1st | Promoted | ||
| 1979 | Tier 2 | 1. Divisioona ' | Finnish FA ' | 6th | ||||
| 1980 | Tier 2 | 1. Divisioona ' | Finnish FA ' | 2nd | Promotion/Relagtion Group 2nd - Promoted | |||
| 1981 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja ' | Finnish FA ' | 10th | Promotion/Relagtion Group 5th - Relegated | |||
| 1982 | Tier 2 | 1. Divisioona ' | Finnish FA ' | 2nd | Promotion/Relagtion Group 1st - Promoted | |||
| 1983 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja ' | Finnish FA ' | 8th | ||||
| 1984 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja ' | Finnish FA ' | 6th | ||||
| 1985 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja ' | Finnish FA ' | 7th | ||||
| 1986 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja ' | Finnish FA ' | 4th | ||||
| 1987 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja ' | Finnish FA ' | 5th | ||||
| 1988 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja ' | Finnish FA ' | 3rd | ||||
| 1989 | Tier 1 | SM-Sarja ' | Finnish FA ' | 3rd | ||||
| 1990 | Tier 1 | Futisliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 2nd Championship Playoff - Quarter-finals | ||||
| 1991 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 7th | ||||
| 1992 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 7th | ||||
| 1993 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 7th | Runners-up | |||
| 1994 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 5th | ||||
| 1995 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 9th | 9th Round | |||
| 1996 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 9th - Relegation Group 2nd | 7th Round | |||
| 1997 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 6th | Semi-finals | |||
| 1998 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 8th | ||||
| 1999 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 8th | 7th Round | |||
| 2000 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 9th | ||||
| 2001 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 12th | Relegated | 6th Round | ||
| 2002 | Tier 2 | Ykkönen ' | Northern Group | Finnish FA ' | 5th | Quarter-finals | ||
| 2003 | Tier 2 | Ykkönen ' | Finnish FA ' | 2nd | Promotion Playoff - Promoted | 6th Round | ||
| 2004 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 12th | Quarter-finals | |||
| 2005 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 13th | Relegation Playoff - Relegated | |||
| 2006 | Tier 2 | Ykkönen ' | Finnish FA ' | 7th | ||||
| 2007 | Tier 2 | Ykkönen ' | Finnish FA ' | 2nd | Promotion Playoff - Promoted | |||
| 2008 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 10th | 6th Round | |||
| 2009 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 14th | Relegated | 6th Round | ||
| 2010 | Tier 2 | Ykkönen ' | Finnish FA ' | 1st | Promoted | 4th Round | ||
| 2011 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 12th | Relegated | 5th Round | ||
| 2012 | Tier 2 | Ykkönen ' | Finnish FA ' | 1st | Promoted | 5th Round | ||
| 2013 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 11th | Winners | |||
| 2014 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 9th | 6th Round | |||
| 2015 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 2nd | 6th Round | |||
| 2016 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 6th | 6th Round | |||
| 2017 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 7th | Group Stage - 2nd - Quarter-final Qualifiers | |||
| 2018 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 2nd | Group Stage - 3rd | |||
| 2019 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 10th | Group Stage - 4th - Quarter-finals | |||
| 2020 | Tier 1 | Veikkausliiga ' | Finnish FA ' | 12th | Relegated | Group Stage - 6th | ||
| 2021 | Tier 2 | Ykkönen ' | Finnish FA ' | 2nd | Promotion Playoff. Gave up league spot due to financial difficulties | Group Stage - 2nd | ||
| 2022 | Tier 3 | Kakkonen ' | Group C | Finnish FA ' | 6th | 4th Round | ||
| 2023 | Tier 3 | Kakkonen ' | Group C | Finnish FA ' | 3rd | Qualifiers for Ykkönen - Qualified | 4th Round | |
| 2024 | Tier 3 | Ykkönen ' | Finnish FA ' | 5th | 3rd Round | |||
| 2025 | Tier 3 | Ykkönen ' | Finnish FA ' |
- 32 seasons in Veikkausliiga
- 16 seasons in Ykkösliiga
- 19 seasons in Ykkönen
- 3' seasons in 4th Tier''
European history
;Notes1R: First round2R: Second round1Q: First qualifying roundQF: Quarter-finalsHonours
Management and boardroom
Management
As of 18 February 2020.BoardroomAs of 18 February 2020
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