Football in Finland, unlike in most European countries, is not the most popular spectator sport, as it falls behind ice hockey, which enjoys a huge amount of popularity in the country. Football tops ice hockey in the number of registered players (115 000 vs. 60 000) and as a popular hobby (160 000 vs. 90 000 in adults and 230 000 vs. 105 000 in youth). It is the most popular hobby among 3-18-year olds, whereas ice hockey is 9th. Football's standing is constantly increasing, especially among girls and women, where the yearly growth rate has lately been over 10 percent. In season 2006–07 19,9 percent of registered players were female. The Football Association of Finland (Palloliitto) has approximately a thousand clubs as its members. According to a Gallup poll, nearly 400 000 people include football in their hobbies.
Read more about Football In Finland: History, Domestic Club Competitions, National Team
Famous quotes containing the word football:
“You can’t be a Real Country unless you have A BEER and an airline—it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a BEER.”
—Frank Zappa (1940–1993)