The history

The year was 1976, and the Finnish sports scene was totally different from today. In that year's Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Juha Mieto, Helena Takalo and co scooped medals. Lasse Viren ran to two Olympic golds in July in Montreal. Only a couple of weeks earlier, at the Northern fringe of the sporting world, the first Helsinki Cup ever was played.

The Helsinki Cup already surpassed expectations at the first try. Organisation of the tournament had already been considered for several years, and by the end of the competition we realised that there was a need for this kind of junior event. At the same time, we also became aware that the tournament planned to be held at two-year intervals should be arranged annually.

Despite the enthusiastic reaction of the juniors, the competition organisers would have scarcely believed in their wildest dreams that the tournament would grow over the years to more than 800 teams and almost 2,500 matches to become a mega event.

The idea of the tournament survived through the decades

The world has changed a lot since 1976, and also the Helsinki Cup has had to adapt during its journey. The age groups have changed, there has been fine tuning to the competition rules, and results are no longer added up for the two youngest age groups. However, the essence of the tournament has remained the same since those early years. The Helsinki Cup, which has already been going for three decades, has been a week-long event for boy and girl football players that provides both competitive drama and an Everyone Will Play atmosphere. The Helsinki Cup is living proof that there is room for different approaches with the round ball.

During its three-decade journey, 50,000 matches have been played in the Helsinki Cup and 200,000 goals scored. In July, on the turf of Helsinki, countless shouts of delight have been heard, tears of defeat have been shed, and penalty shoot-outshave been endured. A few incredible mishaps have taken place too.

The HelsinkiCup would never have risen to its current status without its international aspect. There have been rises and falls in the number of foreign teams, butover three decades, representatives of 78 countries have come to Helsinki. In addition to the neighbouring countries, the footballing power Brazil, inparticular, has been strongly represented over the years. People have come to the football pitches of Helsinki from exotic countries, such as Gambia,Djibouti, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, The Seychelles, New Zealand and many other countries.

The stars of the future shine on the pitches of the Helsinki Cup

Many currentand former stars of national teams have experienced their first major victories in the Helsinki Cup. The list of those selected as the best players of their age group includes, for example, Mika Aaltonen, Sixten Boström, Simo Valakari, Mika Väyrynen, Mikael Forssell, Aki Riihilahti, Janne Saarinen and Paulus Roiha. The stars of the national women's team receiving the same accolade include Anne Mäkinen, Laura Kalmari and Satu Kunnas, among others. The NHL star Saku Koivu was chosen as the best in his age group in 1986.

However, these star players are only a tiny sample of that huge number of players, who have trodden on the turf of Ravis, Bollis, Tali and other tournament grounds from year to year. The Helsinki Cup has taught countless Finnish juniors the culture and etiquette of football: fair play, tolerance, teamwork, communicating with people from abroad, jubilation in victory, coping with defeat... The Helsinki Cup has been, in many ways, building Finnish football culture, particularly at grass-roots level, which will ensure the most solid base for broader growth.

The July tournament has indelibly sunk into the memories of many generations of juniors.The oldest footballers to have played in the Helsinki Cup are almost fifty years old, and their grandchildren will be participating in the tournament soon. The importance of junior football will not diminish in the future either,so the future of the Helsinki Cup seems bright.