Pallo-Iirot

Pallo-Iirot

Full name	Pallo-Iirot
Nickname(s)	P-Iirot
Founded	1930
Ground	Äijänsuon stadion, Rauma Finland (Capacity: 2,000)
Chairman	Tarmo Salvi
Head Coach	Pasi Lehtonen
Coach	Saku Peltonen
League	Kakkonen
2009	5th - Kakkonen (Group B)
Home colours Away colours

Pallo-Iirot (abbreviated Pallo-Iirot) is a football club from Rauma in Finland. The club was formed in 1930 and their home ground is at the Äijänsuon stadion. The men's first team currently plays in the Kakkonen (Second Division). The Chairman of Pallo-Iirot is Tarmo Salvi.

Background

The club was known as Iirot when it was established in 1930 and it has since taken a number of forms:

• Iirot Rauma until 1968
• Hakrit Rauma from 1969 to 1981 (merger with Lukko Rauma)
• Pallo-Iirot Rauma since 1982^[1]

At the beginning of the 1990s the leading football clubs in Rauma, namely Rauman Pallo and Pallo-Iirot, merged to form Rauman Pallo-Iiroiksi. A few years later the name reverted back to Pallo-Iirot. The other club based in the town is FC Rauma.

Since 1982 Pallo-Iirot has played 14 seasons in the Ykkönen (First Division), the second tier of Finnish football, in the periods 1984-85, 1991, 1993–2001 and 2004-05.^[2]

They also have had six spells in the third tier, the Kakkonen (Second Division), covering 12 seasons from 1983, 1986–87, 1990, 1992, 2002–03 and 2006 to the present day.^[3]

The club has approximately 1,000 members comprising both boys and girls and offers the whole family the possibility to engage in football.

Season to season

Season Level Division Section Administration Position Movements 2000 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) North Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 7th Relegation Group - 7th 2001 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) North Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 9th Relegated 2002 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) West Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 8th 2003 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) West Group Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1st Play-Offs - Promoted 2004 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 10th 2005 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 14th Relegated 2006 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) Group B Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 6th 2007 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) Group B Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 9th 2008 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) Group B Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 6th 2009 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) Group B Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 5th 2010 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) Group B Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 4 seasons in Ykkönen 7 seasons in Kakkonen

Junior Section

Pallo-Iirot has the Seal of approval for football which is an acknowledgement for quality of its youth activities in Finland. The club's youth team's programme is based on the active participation of the parents. P-Iirot welcomes the parents together with their children to join the club activities by becoming the youth teams' coaches, and managers or to otherwise support their children's team's activities.

The Nappulaliiga (Little league) offers sports and games, emphasising football, twice a week for the ages of 3 to 11 years. The programme runs from April until September.

Club Structure

Pallo-Iirot currently has 2 men's teams, 1 ladies team, 9 boys teams and 4 girls teams. In the winter the club practices at Äijänsuo indoor hall and on the heated astro-turf.

2010 season

P-Iirot Men's Team are competing in Group B (Lohko B) of the Kakkonen administered by the Football Association of Finland (Suomen Palloliitto) . This is the third highest tier in the Finnish football system. In 2009 Pallo-Iirot finished in fifth position in their Kakkonen section.

P-Iirot 2 are participating in the Kolmonen section administered by the Satakunta SPL.

P-Iirot Ladies Team are competing in Group B (Lohko B) of the Kakkonen (Second Division) administered by the Football Association of Finland (Suomen Palloliitto) .

Current Squads for the 2010 Season

First team

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Jani Tuomala 2 DF Iiro Aalto 3 DF Eetu Setänen 4 DF Antti Horjanheimo 5 MF Ville Kukkanen 6 MF Peetu Peltonen 7 FW Kimmo Hörkkö (C) 8 MF Joona-Matti Vainiola 9 MF Oskar Nyholm 10 MF Sami Vahanto 11 MF Juho Torkkeli (VC) 12 GK Mikko Laaksonen 13 FW Janne Tahvanainen

No. Position Player 14 MF Niklas Kuusio 15 MF Juho Lehtovaara 16 DF Saku Peltonen 17 DF Verneri Salminen 18 MF Kasper Nyholm 19 MF Juho Hyysalo 20 MF Patrick Urmson 21 FW Nico Rinne 22 DF Vasile Marchiş 23 GK Jere Narkko 26 MF Roope Raunio 27 MF Jussi-Pekka Savolainen 28 FW Juho Patola (VC)

Reserve Team

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 3 Hannu Reinvall 6 Harri Määttä (captain) 8 Kari Ketola 11 Tommi Hyötylä 16 Jaakko Myllymaa 18 Esa Kariaho 19 Veli-Pekka Varho 22 Sami Koivunen

No. Position Player 24 Niko Yrjälä 25 Erkki Korri 27 Juho Kauppi 29 Jussi Railio 31 Hannu Lehtinen 32 Timo Vuento 37 Mikko Koivuviita

Ladies Team

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player Sanna Aro-Heinilä Jessica Arvo Sonja-Maria Heino Johanna Hätilä Sanni Kämäräinen Emmi Lehtonen Laura Laitonen Minna Lyyra Maria Merimaa Viivi-Veronica Mäkinen Krista Pihala Helmi Sipilä Katri Suistio

No. Position Player Noora Tallila Kati Vastamäki Miia Viljanen Tytti Virtanen Tatja Hussa Janiina Jalonen Enni Mäkitalo Maria Nordlund Katri Rajala Pauliina Vahander Katja Vastiala Katri Juhola Heidi Moilanen

Notable former players

Mark Allen (1984) Chris Cutler (1983), (1985) Joonas Laurikainen (2004) Ville Lehtinen (2000) Jussi-Pekka Savolainen (Pallo-Iirot Juniors) Ari Valvee (1990–92) Howard Wong (2010) Vitali Papadopulo (1991) Iñigo Calafell (2010) Daniel Antunez (2009) Matt Glaeser (2009)

References and sources

• Official Website
• Finnish Wikipedia
• Suomen Cup
• Pallo-Iirot Facebook

Footnotes

1. ^ "Finland - Divisional Movements 1930-2009". RSSSF Archives. 2010. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesf/finall.html. Retrieved 2010-05-14. 
2. ^ "Finland - Divisional Movements 1930-2009". RSSSF Archives. 2010. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesf/finall.html. Retrieved 2010-05-14. 
3. ^ "Finland - Divisional Movements 1930-2009". RSSSF Archives. 2010. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesf/finall.html. Retrieved 2010-05-14.