The F-liiga is the top men's floorball league in Finland. The league was founded as Salibandyn SM-sarja (English: Floorball Finnish Champions-Series) in 1986 by the Finnish Floorball Federation (SSBL). It was renamed to Salibandyliiga for the 1994–95 season. The Salibandyliiga was operated by the company SSBL Salibandy Oy, a subsidiary of the Finnish Floorball Federation. The current name F-liiga is used since season 2020–21.[1]
Current season, competition or edition: 2023–24 F-liiga | |
 | |
| Formerly | Miesten Mestaruussarja Miesten Salibandyliiga |
|---|---|
| Sport | Floorball |
| Founded | 1986 |
| First season | Salibandyn SM-sarja 1986–1994 Salibandyliiga 1994–2020 |
| Administrator | Finnish Floorball Federation |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Country | Finland |
| Continent | Europe |
| Most recent champion(s) | Oilers (5th title) (2023–24) |
| Most titles | SSV Helsinki (11 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | YLE TV2 |
| Level on pyramid | Level 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Suomen Cup |
| International cup(s) | Champions Cup |
| Official website | Fliiga.com |
The champion of the league is eligible to compete at the Champions Cup.[2]
Format
editRegular season
editThe regular season is played in a round robin format with each team playing 26 games. The total number of regular season games is 182. The eight teams that finish the regular season at the top of the standings qualify for the playoffs in the spring.
Playoffs
editThe top eight teams from the regular season play for the Finnish Championship. The first placed team from the regular season picks their opponent from the teams that placed fifth through eighth. The second placed team picks their opponent from the remaining three and after that the third placed team makes its pick of the two remaining teams. The last playoff pair is made of two remaining team. The playoffs are played in best-of-seven format.
Playout
editThe playout round was first introduced for 2014–15 season. The teams placed that placed eleventh through fourteenth continue to a playout phase after the regular season. The eleventh placed team picks their opponent, either the thirteenth or fourteenth placed team. The winners of the first round of playout get to keep their spots in Salibandyliiga, but the losing teams face each other in the second round. The winner of the second round of playout faces the second placed team of Divari (English: First Division). The winner of this match-up wins a place in the Salibandyliiga and losing team is relegated. The loser of the second round of playout is also relegated to Divari. The winner of Divari is directly promoted to Salibandyliiga.[3]
Current teams
edit
Teams in 2024–25 season:[4]
Recent champions
edit| Season | Champions | Runner-up | Third Place |
| 2023–24 | Oilers[5] | Classic | Nokian KrP |
| 2022–23 | TPS | Nokian KrP | Oilers |
| 2021–22 | Classic | Nokian KrP | Oilers |
| 2020–21 | Classic[6] | Oilers | Nokian KrP |
| 2019–20 | The season was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[7] | ||
| 2018–19 | Classic | TPS | SPV |
| 2017–18 | Classic | Happee | Nokian KrP |
| 2016–17 | Classic | EräViikingit | SPV |
| 2015–16 | Classic | Oilers | Happee |
| 2014–15 | SPV | Happee | SSV |
| 2013–14 | Happee | Classic | SSV |
| 2012–13 | SPV | SSV | Classic |
| 2011–12 | SPV | SSV | Koovee |
| 2010–11 | SSV | SPV | Oilers |
| 2009–10 | SSV | Erä | SPV |
| 2008–09 | SSV | Erä | SPV |
| 2007–08 | SSV | Classic | Erä |
| 2006–07 | SSV | Classic | Erä |
| 2005–06 | Oilers | SSV | Josba |
| 2004–05 | SSV | Happee | Classic |
List of champions
edit| Team | Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| SSV Helsinki | 11 | 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11 |
| Classic Tampere | 6 | 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22 |
| Oilers Espoo | 5 | 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2023–24 |
| SPV Seinäjoki | 3 | 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15 |
| Josba Joensuu | 2 | 1991–1992, 1993–94 |
| SC Dalmac Helsinki | 2 | 1989–90, 1990–91 |
| ManU Tampere | 2 | 1986–87, 1987–88 |
| TPS | 1 | 2022–23 |
| Happee Jyväskylä | 1 | 2013–14 |
| Viikingit Helsinki | 1 | 1997–98 |
| VFT Vantaa | 1 | 1996–97 |
| BET | 1 | 1988–89 |
| HIFK | 1 | 1999–00 |
All records updated as of season 2023–24.
Records
editRegular season
editGame records
edit- Highest attendance : 3214
- Biggest home win: 21–6
- Biggest away win: 1–17
- Highest scoring game: 34
Individual records
editCareer
edit- Most games played: 450
- Most goals: 415
- Most assists: 327
- Most points: 667
Season
edit- Most goals: 63
Tero Tiitu (Oilers), 2006–07
- Most assists: 68
- Mika Kohonen (Happee), 2004–05
- Most points: 108
- Jaakko Hintikka, (Oilers), 2005–06
Playoffs
editGame records
edit- Highest attendance : 5580
- Biggest win: 14–2
- Highest scoring game: 24
Individual records
editCareer
edit- Most games played: 169
- Most goals: 138
- Most assists: 116
- Most points: 254
Season
edit- Most goals: 20
- Santtu Manner (SSV), 2004–05
- Most assists: 21
- Mika Kohonen (Happee), 2004–05
- Most points: 32
- Mika Kohonen (Happee), 2004–05
All records updated as of season 2013–14. [8]
External links
edit- Official website (in English)
- Official website (in Finnish)
- Finnish Floorball Federation (in Finnish)
References
edit- ^ "Making floorball history: Finland's highest floorball league is now F-Liiga". IFF. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ "IFF Champions Cup". IFF. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- ^ "Sarjan esittely". salibandy.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Floorball Federation. Archived from the original on 2020-06-19. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ "F-liiga miehet – Season 2024-2025". F-liiga. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Ratkaisu viimeisellä minuutilla – Oilers palasi mestariksi 18 vuoden jälkeen". F-liiga (in Finnish). 28 April 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Classic Men's champion in Finland & PSS and SB-Pro in the Women's final". IFF. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ "Coronavirus status update - as of March 16th". IFF. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ "Salibandyliigan ennätykset". salibandy.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Floorball Federation. Archived from the original on 2019-04-24. Retrieved 7 November 2014.