The 2023 Veikkausliiga was the 93rd season of top-tier football in Finland, which takes place from April to November.
The winners (HJK, their fourth successive title win and thirty-third overall) qualified for the Champions League first qualifying round. The 2023 Finnish Cup winners (Ilves) qualified for the Conference League second qualifying round. The second-placed team (KuPS) and Conference League play-off winners (VPS) qualified for the Conference League first qualifying round. The eleventh-placed team (Mariehamn) qualified for the Veikkausliiga play-off, winning to retain their place in the league. The bottom-placed team (KTP) were relegated to the 2024 Ykkösliiga. The fifth-placed team (Honka) were demoted to the 2024 Kakkonen due to financial issues.
Teams The league consisted of twelve teams; the top eleven teams from the previous season, and one team promoted from the Ykkönen. After 22 games, the season split into a championship/relegation round.
HJK were the defending champions. HJK drew an average home attendance of 5,631 in the 2023 Veikkausliiga, the highest in the league.https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/fin/avefin23.htm Veikkaus was the league’s sponsor.
Promoted from2022 YkkönenRelegated to2023 YkkönenKTPHIFK
Stadia and locations
ClubLocationStadiumTurfCapacityAC OuluOuluRaatti StadionNatural5,000FC HakaValkeakoskiTehtaan kenttäArtificial3,516FC HonkaEspooTapiolan UrheilupuistoNatural6,000FC InterTurkuVeritas StadionNatural9,372FC LahtiLahtiLahden StadionNatural7,465HJKHelsinkiBolt ArenaArtificial10,770IFK MariehamnMariehamnWiklöf Holding ArenaArtificial1,650IlvesTampereTampere StadiumNatural16,800KTPKotkaArto Tolsa AreenaArtificial4,780KuPSKuopioSavon Sanomat AreenaArtificial2,700SJKSeinäjokiOmaSP StadionArtificial5,817VPSVaasaHietalahtiArtificial6,005
Regular season League table
Results
Championship Round League table
Results
Relegation Round League table
Results
Play-offs Conference League play-off Teams placed 3rd-7th (Honka, Inter Turku, Oulu, SJK, and VPS) entered play-off matches for the second spot in the Conference League first qualifying round. The third-placed team (VPS) received a bye to the final. The quarter-finals and semi-finals are held over one leg (with the higher-placed team gaining home advantage), while the final is held over two legs.
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final First leg
Second leg
Veikkausliiga play-off The eleventh-placed team (Mariehamn) qualified for a play-off alongside the second, third, and fourth-placed teams from the 2023 Ykkönen (Gnistan, MP, and SJK Akatemia). The third and fourth-placed Ykkönen teams entered the quarter-finals, with the winners facing the second-placed Ykkönen team in the semi-finals. The semi-final winners then face the eleventh-placed Veikkausliiga team, with the winners securing the final place in the 2024 Veikkausliiga. For the quarter and semi-finals, the higher-placed team gained home advantage.
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final First leg
Second leg
Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Bojan RadulovićHJK182 Peter Godly MichaelVPS173 Ashley CoffeyOulu134 Jaime MorenoSJK115 Juan LescanoHaka96 Darren SmithInter Turku8 Santeri HaaralaIlves Rasmus KarjalainenOulu9 Jeremiah StrengSJK7 Elias MastokangasHaka Tuomas OllilaHJK Niklas JokelainenOulu
Attendances
No. Club Average Highest 1 HJK 5,631 10,121 2 SJK 3,069 5,016 3 Inter Turku 3,024 5,012 4 KuPS 2,816 5,423 5 VPS 2,678 4,626 6 KTP 2,550 3,332 7 Haka 2,541 3,347 8 Ilves 2,534 6,588 9 Honka 2,183 3,443 10 Lahti 2,175 2,890 11 Oulu 1,942 3,312 12 Mariehamn 1,173 1,571
Source:https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/fin/avefin23.htm
References
External links Official website Veikkausliiga 2023 Regular Season at Soccerway Flashscore