Helsinki Roosters

Helsinki Roosters is an American football team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team plays in the Vaahteraliiga in Finland and their home field is the Helsinki Velodrome.

Helsinki Roosters
Established1979
Based inHelsinki, Finland
Home stadiumHelsinki Velodrome
Head coach Juha Hakala
LeagueVaahteraliiga
Colors   
League titles22 Vaahteraliiga titles
1 Eurobowl title
1 Champions League title
Current uniform
Home kit
Away kit

History

Roosters were founded in 1979 and the club is a founding member of the American Football Association of Finland (SAJL). The team has played in every season of the Vaahteraliiga and has only been left out of the playoffs twice. The Roosters have won the regular season 11 times and have gone the whole season unbeaten for five times (in 1983, 1988, 1999, 2002 and 2013).[1] The Roosters have friendly rivalry with local Helsinki Wolverines and Helsinki 69ers.

Roosters have also been successful in international competitions. In 1988 they won the Eurobowl II in London, where the Roosters beat Amsterdam Crusaders 35-14. In 1989 Roosters came third-placed. In 1994, Roosters took part in the Football League of Europe. Roosters participated in the European Club Championship tournament in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999. Roosters tour yearly to play international friendlies and were the first Finnish team ever to play in United States in 1985.[2]

Roosters won the first IFAF Europe Champions League in 2014. They beat Vukovi Beograd 36-29 in the final, held in Elancourt, France.[3][4]

Honours
Helsinki Roosters faced Danube Dragons from Austria in 2011.

Men
  • Vaahteraliiga championship titles: 22
    • 1982, 1983, 1986–1988, 1990, 1995–2000, 2002, 2004, 2012–2019
  • Eurobowl titles: 1
    • 1988
  • IFAF Champions League titles: 1
    • 2014

Women
  • Finnish championship titles: 1
    • 2011

Notable players

Club structure

The Roosters men's first team plays in Vaahteraliiga, the top American football league in Finland. Roosters also have 5 boys' youth teams: U20, U17, U15, U13 and U9.

Rooster Ladies, the women's first team plays in Finnish championship series, the highest tier of American football for women in Finland. The women's team played semi-contact football before, but from 2008 onwards they have played 9-vs-9 full contact football. Roosters have one girls' youth team: U20.[5]

References
  1. "Mestarit". sajl.fi (in Finnish). American Football Association of Finland. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  2. "Historia". helsinkiroosters.com (in Finnish). Helsinki Roosters Ry. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  3. "Helsinki Roosters win it all!". cl.ifafeurope.org. IFAF Europe. 15 July 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  4. Parviainen, Vesa (13 July 2014). "Roosters voitti Champions-liigan". Iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  5. "Naiset - Historia". helsinkiroosters.com (in Finnish). Helsinki Roosters Ry. Retrieved 25 November 2014.


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