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HIFK

Coordinates: 60°10′40″N 24°55′28″E / 60.1777045°N 24.9245096°E / 60.1777045; 24.9245096
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Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors
AbbreviationHIFK
FormationOctober 1897; 127 years ago (1897-10)
FounderGeorges Doubitsky
Founded atKruununhaka
TypeNonprofit
Registration no.0624253-7[1]
Legal statusRegistered association
HeadquartersDöbelnsgatan 2 B
00260 Helsinki
Finland
Location
Coordinates60°10′40″N 24°55′28″E / 60.1777045°N 24.9245096°E / 60.1777045; 24.9245096
FieldsAthletics, bandy and rink bandy, bowling, floorball, football, handball, ice hockey
Membership≈ 3000[2] (in 2016)
Official languages
Swedish (official)
Finnish
President
René Österman
Secretary
Kimmo Niemistö
Treasurer
Tom Ståhlberg
Members
  • Niclas Berg
  • Tom Nybondas
  • Christoffer Perret
Websiteifk.fi

HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf[3] (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on the initiative of Georges Doubitsky and fellow students of the Svenska Reallyceum, the Swedish lyceum in Helsinki, it is the oldest continuously-operating Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna (IFK) organization in Finland. HIFK has sections in many sports, including athletics, bandy, bowling, football, ice hockey, and handball.

Bandy

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HIFK Bandy ry oversees the men's and women's representative teams, junior teams and bandy school, and recreational bandy programs. Kauko Rautiainen is chairman of HIFK Bandy ry.

The men's bandy section of HIFK was created in 1907 and the representative team has won the Finnish Championship seventeen times, more than any other club, and the Finnish Cup twice.[4] The team plays in the Bandyliiga and their home arena is Brahenkenttä in the Alppiharju district.[5]

HIFK women's team plays in the Jääpallon naisten SM-sarja (Women's Bandy Finnish Championship Series) and have won the Finnish Championship three times, in 1986, 1987, and 2011.

Ice hockey

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Oy HIFK Hockey Ab is the largest business within the HIFK association, comprising the men’s representative team in the Liiga, the women’s representative team in the Naisten Liiga, an expansive junior organization, and the hREDS eSports team.

eSport

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In November 2016 an esports project was started under the name Helsinki REDS (hREDS).

Athletics

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The Athletics section of HIFK is one of Finland's oldest and most successful athletics clubs.

Handball

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The Handball section of HIFK is one of the pioneers of the sport in Finland. The men's section has won 10 national championships and the women's section 41 national championships. Both teams play their home games at the Helsinki Urheilutalo in the Kallio district of the city.

Football

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The football section of HIFK was established in 1907, and its first team earned promotion to Veikkausliiga for the 2015 season. But was dissolved in January of 2024 due to bankruptcy.

Notes

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References

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Significant content in this article was translated from the existing Finnish Wikipedia article at fi:HIFK and the existing Swedish Wikipedia article at sv:HIFK; see their histories for attribution.

  1. ^ "Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf". YTJ (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Kuriosa om IFK". Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors rf. 2016. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Basic details of the association: Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf". Information Service of the Finnish Register of Associations. Helsinki: Finnish Patent and Registration Office. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Mestaruudet, 1907–2020". Bandyliiga (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  5. ^ Rautiainen, Mikko. "HIFK Bandy – Luonnonjäiltä tekojäiden aikaan". HIFK Bandy (in Finnish). Retrieved 6 November 2020.
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