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.
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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

SeasonLevelDivisionSectionAdministrationPositionMovementsFinnish CupLeague Cup
1955Tier 4Piirinsarja Finnish FA 'Qualifiers for 3rd Tier
1956Tier 4Aluesarja 'Group 12 LaplandFinnish FA '1stPromoted
1957Tier 3Maakuntasarja 'North Group IIFinnish FA '5th
1958Tier 3Maakuntasarja 'Group 9 Northern FinlandFinnish FA '3rd
1959Tier 3Maakuntasarja 'Group 9 Northern FinlandFinnish FA '1stPromoted
1960Tier 2 Suomensarja 'North GroupFinnish FA '11thRelegated
1961Tier 3Maakuntasarja 'Group 9 Northern FinlandFinnish FA '2nd
1962Tier 3Maakuntasarja 'Group 9 Northern FinlandFinnish FA '1stPromoted
1963Tier 2 Suomensarja 'North GroupFinnish FA '8th
1964Tier 2 Suomensarja 'North GroupFinnish FA '10thRelegated
1965Tier 3Maakuntasarja 'Group 9 Northern FinlandFinnish FA '5th
1966Tier 3Maakuntasarja 'Group 9 Northern FinlandFinnish FA '3rd
1967Tier 3Maakuntasarja 'Group 10 Northern FinlandFinnish FA '2nd
1968Tier 3Maakuntasarja 'Group 8 Northern FinlandFinnish FA '1stPromoted
1969Tier 2 Suomensarja 'North GroupFinnish FA '10thRelegated
1970Tier 33. Divisioona 'Group 8 Northern FinlandFinnish FA '1stPromoted
1971Tier 2 2. Divisioona 'North GroupFinnish FA '9th
1972Tier 2 2. Divisioona 'North GroupFinnish FA '11thRelegated
1973Tier 43. Divisioona 'Group 9 Northern FinlandFinnish FA '1stPromoted
1974Tier 32. Divisioona 'North GroupFinnish FA '3rd
1975Tier 32. Divisioona 'North GroupFinnish FA '2nd
1976Tier 32. Divisioona 'North GroupFinnish FA '2nd
1977Tier 32. Divisioona 'North GroupFinnish FA '9th
1978Tier 32. Divisioona 'North GroupFinnish FA '1stPromoted
1979Tier 2 1. Divisioona 'Finnish FA '6th
1980Tier 2 1. Divisioona 'Finnish FA '2ndPromotion/Relagtion Group 2nd - Promoted
1981Tier 1 SM-Sarja 'Finnish FA '10thPromotion/Relagtion Group 5th - Relegated
1982Tier 2 1. Divisioona 'Finnish FA '2ndPromotion/Relagtion Group 1st - Promoted
1983Tier 1 SM-Sarja 'Finnish FA '8th
1984Tier 1 SM-Sarja 'Finnish FA '6th
1985Tier 1 SM-Sarja 'Finnish FA '7th
1986Tier 1 SM-Sarja 'Finnish FA '4th
1987Tier 1 SM-Sarja 'Finnish FA '5th
1988Tier 1 SM-Sarja 'Finnish FA '3rd
1989Tier 1 SM-Sarja 'Finnish FA '3rd
1990Tier 1 Futisliiga 'Finnish FA '2nd Championship Playoff - Quarter-finals
1991Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '7th
1992Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '7th
1993Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '7thRunners-up
1994Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '5th
1995Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '9th9th Round
1996Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '9th - Relegation Group 2nd7th Round
1997Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '6thSemi-finals
1998Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '8th
1999Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '8th7th Round
2000Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '9th
2001Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '12thRelegated6th Round
2002Tier 2 Ykkönen 'Northern GroupFinnish FA '5thQuarter-finals
2003Tier 2 Ykkönen 'Finnish FA '2ndPromotion Playoff - Promoted6th Round
2004Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '12thQuarter-finals
2005Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '13thRelegation Playoff - Relegated
2006Tier 2 Ykkönen 'Finnish FA '7th
2007Tier 2 Ykkönen 'Finnish FA '2ndPromotion Playoff - Promoted
2008Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '10th6th Round
2009Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '14thRelegated6th Round
2010Tier 2 Ykkönen 'Finnish FA '1stPromoted4th Round
2011Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '12thRelegated5th Round
2012Tier 2 Ykkönen 'Finnish FA '1stPromoted5th Round
2013Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '11thWinners
2014Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '9th6th Round
2015Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '2nd6th Round
2016Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '6th6th Round
2017Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '7thGroup Stage - 2nd - Quarter-final Qualifiers
2018Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '2ndGroup Stage - 3rd
2019Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '10thGroup Stage - 4th - Quarter-finals
2020Tier 1 Veikkausliiga 'Finnish FA '12thRelegatedGroup Stage - 6th
2021Tier 2 Ykkönen 'Finnish FA '2ndPromotion Playoff. Gave up league spot due to financial difficultiesGroup Stage - 2nd
2022Tier 3Kakkonen 'Group CFinnish FA '6th4th Round
2023Tier 3Kakkonen 'Group CFinnish FA '3rdQualifiers for Ykkönen - Qualified4th Round
2024Tier 3Ykkönen 'Finnish FA '5th3rd Round
2025Tier 3Ykkönen 'Finnish FA '

European history

;Notes1R: First round2R: Second round1Q: First qualifying roundQF: Quarter-finals

Honours

Management and boardroom

Management

As of 18 February 2020.

Boardroom

As of 18 February 2020

Rovaniemi Football Academy

Rovaniemi Football Academy is the reserve team of RoPS. The team plays in Kakkonen in 2020 season. It is coached by Aleksi Tanner.

Managers