Tampereen-Viipurin Ilves-Kissat is a Finnish football club from Tampere. The club plays in Group B1 of Vitonen, the seventh tier of Finnish football. As of 2025, the club has 269 registered players.
History
The club was originally founded as Urheilu-Pojat in Viipuri in the year 1932. The name of the club was changed to Viipurin Ilves (‘Lynx of Viipuri’) in 1934 and as a result of the Winter War, the club was relocated to Tampere in 1940. However, there was a club called Ilves in Tampere, so the club had to change its name to Ilves-Kissat in December of 1944.History of Tampereen-Viipurin Ilves-Kissat.
Ilves-Kissat were promoted to the Mestaruussarja, the top flight of Finnish football, for the 1949 season and were champions in 1950. The club was relegated in 1951. In 1970 Ilves-Kissat became the first club in Tampere to play in a European tournament when they played against Sturm Graz as a part of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
In 1974 Ilves-Kissat and Tampellan Palloilijat merged with Ilves Tampere, which became fully involved in football. Ilves-Kissat discontinued its activities in the sport but on the lower tiers of Finnish football the club was, in a way, represented by its sister club called Kissalan Pojat (namesake of the Katzenjammer Kids).
Ilves-Kissat guild was founded in 1975 to preserve the clubs roots in Viipuri and the guild has arranged trips to Viipuri after the fall of the Soviet Union. In the autumn of 1986 former players and supporters of Ilves-Kissat decided to re-establish the club and Ilves-Kissat started playing in the lower divisions of Finnish football.
In the autumn of 2004 with the clubs football team in the 6th Division, the management of the club decided to make a push for higher tiers and in the autumn of 2010 the club achieved promotion to Kakkonen, the third tier of Finnish football. For the 2011 season Ilves-Kissat entered an arrangement whereby they became the farm team for FC Haka of Valkeakoski, but the season ended with relegation to the 3rd Division.Farm team deal between Haka and Ilves-Kissat.
After the 2023 season in Kakkonen, reports about the clubs financial troubles emerged. The club had to get 18 000 € in under two weeks of the announcement and ultimately failed in achieving that. However, Ukrainian Pavlo Ostrenko decided to acquire the club and saved the club from bankruptcy. Ilves-Kissat played the 2024 season in Kakkonen and was relegated to Kolmonen at the end of the season.
During the 2024 season suspicions about the club being involved in match fixing started to appear. After a risk assessment by the Finnish national gambling company Veikkaus, the company decided not to allow gambling on games where Ilves-Kissat was playing. The possible match fixing committed by the club has been evaluated to be up to millions of euros. After the relegation from Kakkonen, the owner of the club Pavlo Ostrenko decided to stop funding the club and ceased the clubs first teams operations. After 2024, the club is mainly focused on junior football but it also has an amateur team in Vitonen which is the seventh tier of football in Finland.
Season to season
SeasonLevelDivisionSectionAdministrationPositionMovements1936Tier 3Maakuntasarja (Third Division)EastFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) Promotion Playoff1937Tier 3Maakuntasarja (Third Division)EastFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1938Tier 2Itä-Länsi-Sarja (Second Division)East League, Southern GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd 1939Tier 2Itä-Länsi-Sarja (Second Division)East League, Southern GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)3rd 1940-1944 Wartime - No participation1945Tier 2SPL Suomensarja (Second Division)Groub BFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 3rdFirst season in Tampere - Relegated1945-46Tier 3Maakuntasarja (Third Division)Häme GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)1stPromotion Playoff - Promoted1946-47Tier 2SPL Suomensarja (Second Division)South GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 5th1947-48Tier 2SPL Suomensarja (Second Division)North GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2ndPromotion Group 3rd1948Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)South GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1stPromoted1949Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)7th1950Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)1stChampions1951Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)10thRelegated1952Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 10thRelegated1953Tier 3Maakuntasarja (Third Division)West Group BFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)1stPromotion Group West 2nd - Promoted1954Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)East GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd1955Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1stPromoted1956Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)4th1957Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)5th1958Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)8thRelegation Playoff - Relegated1959Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 4th1960Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)North GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 6th1961Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 7th1962Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 2nd1963Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1stPromoted1964Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)7th1965Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)7th1966Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)8th1967Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)12thRelegated1968Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)South GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1stPromotion Group 2nd - Promoted1969Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)6th1970Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)10th1971Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)14thRelegated1972Tier 2Suomensarja (Second Division)West GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1stPromoted1973Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)10th1974Tier 1Mestaruussarja (Premier League)Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)12thRelegated1975-86Merged with TaPa1987Tier 4III Divisioona (Third Division)Group 5 - Tampere & Central FinlandTampere District (SPL Tampere) 6th1988Tier 4III Divisioona (Third Division)Group 4 - Tampere & SatakuntaTampere District (SPL Tampere) 9th1989Tier 4III Divisioona (Third Division)Group 5 - Tampere & Central FinlandTampere District (SPL Tampere) 9th1990Tier 4III Divisioona (Third Division)Group 5 - Tampere & Central FinlandTampere District (SPL Tampere) 6th1991Tier 4III Divisioona (Third Division)Group 5 - Tampere & Central FinlandTampere District (SPL Tampere) 12th1992Tampere District (SPL Tampere) Unknown1993Tampere District (SPL Tampere)Unknown1994Tier 8Seiska (Seventh Division)Tampere District (SPL Tampere)8th1995Tampere District (SPL Tampere)Unknown1996Tampere District (SPL Tampere)Unknown1997Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)North GroupTampere District (SPL Tampere)9th1998Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Tampere District (SPL Tampere)11th1999Tampere District (SPL Tampere)Unknown2000Tampere District (SPL Tampere)Unknown2001Tier 7Kutonen (Sixth Division)Group 2Tampere District (SPL Tampere)6th2002Tier 7Kutonen (Sixth Division)Group 2Tampere District (SPL Tampere)10th2003Tampere District (SPL Tampere)Unknown2004Tier 7Kutonen (Sixth Division)Group 2Tampere District (SPL Tampere)1stPromoted2005Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)South GroupTampere District (SPL Tampere)8th2006Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)North GroupTampere District (SPL Tampere)5th2007Tier 6Vitonen (Fifth Division)Group 3Tampere District (SPL Tampere)1stPromoted2008Tier 5Nelonen (Fourth Division)Tampere District (SPL Tampere)2ndPromoted2009Tier 4Kolmonen (Third Division)Tampere District (SPL Tampere) 3rd2010Tier 4Kolmonen (Third Division)Tampere District (SPL Tampere) 1stPromotion Playoff - Promoted2011Tier 3Kakkonen (Second Division)Group BFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)11thRelegated2012Tier 4Kolmonen (Third Division)Tampere & SatakuntaTampere District (SPL Tampere) 3rd2013Tier 4Kolmonen (Third Division)Tampere & SatakuntaTampere District (SPL Tampere) 1stPromoted2014Tier 3Kakkonen (Second Division)Western GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)7th2015Tier 3Kakkonen (Second Division)Southern GroupFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)9thRelegated2016Tier 4Kolmonen (Third Division)Tampere & SatakuntaTampere District (SPL Tampere) 2nd2017Tier 4Kolmonen (Third Division)TampereTampere District (SPL Tampere) 2nd2018Tier 4Kolmonen (Third Division)TampereTampere District (SPL Tampere) 3rd2019Tier 4Kolmonen (Third Division)TampereTampere District (SPL Tampere) 2nd2020Tier 4Kolmonen (Third Division)Western Group BFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 1stPromotion Playoff - Promoted2021Tier 3Kakkonen (Second Division)Group BFinnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)10th
15 seasons in Veikkausliiga 16 seasons in Ykkönen 8 seasons in Kakkonen 14 seasons in Kolmonen 1 seasons in Nelonen 5 seasons in Vitonen 3 seasons in Kutonen 1 seasons in Seiska
Further reading Matti Wacklin: Sydämenasiana Ilves. Tampere: Ilves ry, 2006.
References
External links Ilves-Kissat football team home page