Tampereen Palloilijat or TaPa is a Finnish football club based in Tampere. In the 2025 season the club played in Nelonen, the sixth tier of football in Finland. In the past the club has also played ice hockey and the club participated in the first ever Finnish ice hockey championship in 1928 and won the championship in 1931.
History Tampereen Palloilijat was founded in July of 1921 by eleven youngsters interested in football. In 1924 the members of the club built the first grass pitch of inner Finland in the Kaleva district of Tampere. In the opening match of the pitch Tampereen Palloilijat won HIFK 3–2. In January of 1928 Tampereen Palloilijat made history after playing the first ever official ice hockey match in the history of Finland and in 1931 the club won its first championship in ice hockey after beating HJK. Doing so, the club also became the first one to bring the ice hockey championship to Tampere.
TaPa was promoted to the Mestaruussarja, the top tier of Finnish football in 1960. In the 1961 season of the Mestaruussarja the club made the new attendance record of the Tampere Stadium after attracting 8000 people to the stands of the stadium in a game against local rivals FC Haka. In the 1962 season the club achieved third place in the Mestaruussarja. In 1968 the club merged together with Tampellan Pallo after hitting financial difficulties creating the club Tampellan Palloilijat which played in the Mestaruussarja for one season in 1971. Soon after in 1974 Tampellan Palloilijat and Ilves-Kissat merged together into Ilves which made a comeback to the Finnish football scene after having no football department for almost three decades. After the merger into Ilves Tampereen Palloilijat re-established its junior department in 1980 but after the merger TaPa have no longer played in the upper tiers of Finnish football.
Season to season
SeasonLevelDivisionSectionAdministrationPositionMovements1930Tier 2 B-Sarja (Second Division)Cup formatFinnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)Semi-finals1931-34Häme District competitions 1935Tier 2 B-Sarja (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)4th1936Tier 2Itä-Länsi-sarja (Second Division)West LeagueFinnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)5th1937Tier 2Itä-Länsi-sarja (Second Division)West LeagueFinnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)5th1938Tier 2Itä-Länsi-sarja (Second Division)West League, North GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)4th1939Tier 2Itä-Länsi-sarja (Second Division)West League, Group 3Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)1stPromotion Group West 4th1940-41Tier 2 B-Sarja (Second Division)Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)6th1945-46Tier 3Maakuntasarja (Third Division)SatakuntaFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)1stPromotion Playoff1946-47Tier 3Maakuntasarja (Third Division)TampereFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)2nd1947-48Tier 3Maakuntasarja (Third Division)SatakuntaFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)3rd1948Tier 3Maakuntasarja (Third Division)West Group AFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)1stPromotion Playoff1949Tier 3Maakuntasarja (Third Division)West Group BFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)6thRelegated1950Tier 4Piirisarja (District League)WestTampere District (SPL Tampere)Promotion Playoff 1951Tier 4Piirisarja (District League)WestTampere District (SPL Tampere)Promotion Playoff 1952Tier 4Piirisarja (District League)Tampere District (SPL Tampere)Promotion Playoff 1953-54Piirisarja (District League)Tampere District (SPL Tampere)1955Tier 4Piirisarja (District League)Tampere District (SPL Tampere)Promotion Playoff - Promoted1956Tier 3Maakuntasarja (Third Division)West Group IFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)6th1957Tier 3Maakuntasarja (Third Division)West Group IIFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)3rd1958Tier 3Maakuntasarja (Third Division)Group 5Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)2nd1959Tier 3Maakuntasarja (Third Division)Group 6Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)1stPromoted1960Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)North GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)1stPromoted1961Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)8th1962Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)3rd1963Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)11thRelegated1964Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)1stPromoted1965Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)12thRelegated1966Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)6th1967Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)6th1968Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)5th1969Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)8thTampellan Palloilijat1970Tier 2II Divisioona (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)4thTampellan Palloilijat1971Tier 2II Divisioona (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)1stPromotion Group 2nd - Promoted,Tampellan Palloilijat1972Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)8thTampellan Palloilijat1973Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)12thRelegated Tampellan Palloilijat1974Tier 2I Divisioona (First Division)Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)8thRelegated, merged with Ilves-Kissat to join Ilves1975-97No team1998Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Tampere District (SPL Tampere)6th1999Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Tampere District (SPL Tampere)2000Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)SouthTampere District (SPL Tampere)2001Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)NorthTampere District (SPL Tampere)2nd2002Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)SouthTampere District (SPL Tampere)2nd2003Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)NorthTampere District (SPL Tampere)2ndPromoted2004Tier 5Nelonen (Fourth Division)NorthTampere District (SPL Tampere)9th2005Tier 5Nelonen (Fourth Division)NorthTampere District (SPL Tampere)11th2006Tier 5Nelonen (Fourth Division)NorthTampere District (SPL Tampere)9thRelegated2007Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Group 1Tampere District (SPL Tampere)11thRelegation Playoff2008Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Group 3Tampere District (SPL Tampere)6th2009Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Group 2Tampere District (SPL Tampere)5th2010Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Group 2Tampere District (SPL Tampere)7th2011Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Group 1Tampere District (SPL Tampere)9th2012Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Group 2Tampere District (SPL Tampere)4th2013Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Group 1Tampere District (SPL Tampere)11thRelegated2014Tier 7Kutonen (Sixth Division)Group 3Tampere District (SPL Tampere)2ndPromotion Playoff - Promoted2015Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Group 1Tampere District (SPL Tampere)2nd2016Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Group 2Tampere District (SPL Tampere)3rd2017Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Tampere District (SPL Tampere)3rd2018Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Tampere District (SPL Tampere)6th2019Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Tampere District (SPL Tampere)2ndPromoted2020Tier 5Nelonen (Fourth Division)Group BWestern District (Suomen Palloliitto)9th2021Tier 5Nelonen (Fourth Division)Group BWestern District (Suomen Palloliitto)10th2022Tier 5Nelonen (Fourth Division)Group BWestern District (Suomen Palloliitto)5th2023Tier 5Nelonen (Fourth Division)Group BWestern District (Suomen Palloliitto)8th2024Tier 6Nelonen (Fourth Division)Group BWestern District (Suomen Palloliitto)8th2025Tier 6Nelonen (Fourth Division)Group BWestern District (Suomen Palloliitto) 6 seasons in Mestaruussarja 16 seasons in Ykkönen 9 seasons in Maakuntasarja 4 seasons in Piirisarja 8 seasons in Nelonen 20 seasons in Vitonen 1 season in Kutonen
Ice Hockey TaPa played in the first SM-sarja season. TaPa played a total of 4 seasons in the SM-sarja (1928, 1929, 1931 and 1932).
The best result for TaPa was the winning of SM-sarja in 1931
Notable players Niilo Tammisalo Risto Tiitola
References
External links Official website Finnish Wikipedia