Will it be business as usual in a league which has only seen two different winners in the last eight seasons, or is now the time for a new name to rise to the top?
2024 champions KuPS ended four years of HJK dominance, but the team from the capital have made the headline signing of the summer in a bid to regain their top dog status.
The first test of the Helsinki side’s credentials will be the season curtain-raiser on Saturday in a tough away fixture at Ilves, but before that, here is everything you need to know ahead of the 2025 Veikkausliiga season.
Can KuPS withstand Pukki power?
Having won the title by two points last year, KuPS are out to achieve a first for the club in 2025. Despite winning seven top-flight titles in their history, the club from Kuopio has never retained the Veikkausliiga trophy.
The winter has seen a reasonable amount of upheaval at Vare Areena, with promising youngster Matias Siltanen leaving for Djurgarden for €1.2 million among a handful of departures, while 10 new players have come in, including Finland under-21 international Doni Arifi from Ilves.
Manager Jarkko Wiss will be hoping his team is following the tried and tested model of improving while on top, but sneaking through the Liiga Cup quarter-finals against AC Oulu before a 3-1 loss to HJK in the semi-finals suggests some time for the squad to bed in is needed.
By far the highest profile arrival ahead of the 2025 Veikkausliiga is the return of Teemu Pukki, Finland’s all-time leading goalscorer, who has joined HJK 14 years after his last stint in the country with the same club.
At 35, Pukki averaged around one goal every three games in the MLS with Minnesota United, and is likely to provide a significant threat in a league where he holds the highest market value.
HJK have promoted plenty of youth players to the first team for 2025, and having also brought in another 30-plus Finnish international, Alexander Ring, Toni Korkeakunnas’ side are attempting to blend youth and experience in their bid to win a 34th league title after a disappointing third place in 2024.
Who is in the European mix?
HJK’s fall to third last time out was down to Ilves pipping them to second late on in the campaign. It was a significant improvement on 10th in 2023 for the team from Tampere, and though the loss of Arifi will be felt, the signings of Matias Rale and Sauli Vaisanen should improve what was already a mean defence.
Consistency has been key for SJK, who have finished in the Championship Round places every year since it was introduced in 2021. Another similar season is on the cards, but they will have to do it without last season’s Veikkausliiga joint-top scorer, Jaime Moreno, as the Nicaraguan international has returned to his country of birth, Venezuela.
As a replacement, the team from Seinäjoki have looked to a similar neck of the woods, bringing in Honduran Alenis Vargas from Sporting Kansas City.
A team who look ready to challenge higher this season is Inter Turku, who narrowly missed out on the Championship Round last term, but have made a great start to 2025 by beating HJK on penalties in a fascinating Liiga Cup final which ended 4-4 after 90 minutes. Vesa Vasara’s side have lost 2024 top scorer Darren Smith, but new arrival Loic Essomba will be one to watch.
The challenge for VPS and Haka is to finish in the top six once again after fifth and sixth-place finishes last time, but Haka have not helped themselves by losing Maissa Fall to the Vaasa club after he contributed 11 goal involvements in 2024. One Liiga Cup win in five for Haka suggests the Senegalese’s absence is already being felt.
The battle at the bottom
The fresh faces for the 2025 Veikkausliiga are KTP, who are back in the top flight after just a year away, and Jaro, who finished as Ykkosliiga runners-up to return after a nine-year absence. Having some of their best talent pinched by other Veikkausliiga clubs has not helped KTP, while Jaro have added some much-needed attacking options, at least one of which will have to hit the ground running to give them a chance of staying up.
The 12 goals of Englishman Ashley Coffey played a huge part in Oulu’s survival last season, but his move to China leaves question marks surrounding the Navy Blues in 2025. New arrival Marokhy Ndione scored three times in the Liiga Cup and if he can provide a similar output in the league, they should be fine.
Unlike many others, Gnistan have managed to keep hold of their main attacking outlet, Joakim Latonen, this winter. They were well clear of the drop zone in 2024, having been promoted in 2023, but if the threat of Latonen can be stifled, second-season syndrome could be a real danger for Helsinki’s 'other' club.
Mariehamn finished just two points above the drop zone in 2024 and have utilised the loan market, bringing in two players each from HJK and Ilves, in a bid to have a more comfortable 2025. Manager Gary Williams has also used his knowledge of the English market to sign Admiral Muskwe from Harrogate Town to improve the lowest scoring of the 10 teams who stayed up.
How does it all work?
The 12 teams face each other home and away between Saturday’s first round and the 22nd and final round at the end of August.
Then, the division splits into two - the top six head to the Championship Round and the bottom six play the Relegation Round, which both consist of another five matches, one against the other teams in the round. Points from the regular season are carried over.
After those five matches, the champions are crowned, the bottom side are relegated, the 11th-placed side plays a Playoff against the runners-up from the Ykkosliiga and the teams finishing fourth to eighth overall battle it out for the final European place.
What’s happening in Round One?
All 12 teams will be in action tomorrow, April 5th, when HJK will have the first chance to get one over Ilves in the curtain-raiser, while the champions start out against the Liiga Cup champions, Inter Turku.
Here are the opening day fixtures in full (17:00 Finnish time unless stated):