The big European clubs are driving the development of women’s football and the progress has been both great and fast. Visibility and audience interest are increasing exponentially, but where does Finland’s national league fit into the equation?
The time when clubs like Umeå IK and Turbiner Potsdam dominated women’s football in Europe is over. Nowadays, it is the same big clubs that dominate men’s football that also rule and set the women’s side. The semi-final teams in this year’s Champions League are, for example, Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea and Wolfsburg.
The investments of the big clubs have led to the transfer sums also increasing significantly. Barcelona broke the record last year when they paid 470,000 euros to Manchester City for Keira Walsh.
Comparatively, the player budget for the ten teams in the national league is a total of 731,000 euros.
Minea Lassas, who is the team captain of the league club PK-35, is well aware of the realities. The National League keeps up with the swings only through hard work.
– The game is increasingly faster on the international pitches and the players are increasingly physical. Here in Finland, it is important that we stick to not falling behind in physics. It is so easy to fix, says Lassas and continues:
– With better physique, it is easier to maintain a higher tempo in the game.
Talents have more opportunities than before
The purely athletic is one thing, but there is another side of the coin in everyday life for Finnish league players. Everything around football itself also affects. Lassas is calling for financial investments that would make the players’ everyday life easier.
– Media coverage also plays a big role. This is what attracts more and more audiences, which improves the financial situation, but also encourages the players and gives them more motivation.
– It becomes a positive spiral if you do the right things, says Lassas.
The international boom is a positive thing for Finnish women’s football but something of a double-edged sword for the national league. Young Finnish players have a bigger carrot to bet on football as the possibility of moving abroad to bigger clubs and leagues has increased significantly.
Oona Sevenius moved to Italy after her successful season with HJK last year.
Bild: Antti Lähteenmäki / Yle
HJK Helsinki (women’s team), women’s football
Only 18-year-old Oona Sevenius, who was HJK’s top scorer last year, signed on for AC Milan in January, for example. But it means that the national league is a profile poorer.
Minea Lassas chooses to look at things positively.
– I think the big thing this season is that many promising young players are taking their place in the national league. It will be very interesting to follow players who are now 16-17 years old.
– If they play one or two really good seasons, they can move abroad as 18-19-year-olds. It would be very significant for Finnish football.
The summer WC a great opportunity
Women’s football will get a lot of visibility this summer. All matches from the World Cup tournament in Australia and New Zealand will be broadcast by Yle from the opening match on 20 July.
Minea Lassas does not see the World Cup finals as a threat to the interest in the national league, despite the fact that there is a certain difference in quality between the top national teams and the Finnish clubs.
– The matches are played early, so the Finnish people can watch football around the clock. It’s definitely a possibility. The World Cup will loom large and it encourages juniors to participate in training and tournaments and attend domestic matches on weekends.
– Hopefully there will be a positive boom. I don’t think the WC can bring anything negative with it.
Yle broadcasts 6–7 games in the upcoming national league season. These three televised matches are already set:
April 22, at 14.00 Honka–KuPS
May 21, at 14.15 KuPS–HJK
June 10, at 16.30 HJK–TPS
