Kuopio Palloseura is the number one favorite of the National League – Europeans color through last season’s champion

The reigning Finnish champion Kuopio Ball Club has been training closely throughout the winter. The winter training season really started in early January. Korona messed up the patterns for a week, but otherwise the rehearsals have gone hard.

At the beginning of March, KuPS lost to Åland United in the semi-finals of the Finnish Cup with 2-4 penalties and the cup race ended in disappointment. In the league, KuPS’s number one issue is new Finnish Championship gold.

KuPS won their first championship last year and the gold team has stayed well together. As many as 26 goals scored last season Gentjana Rochi is playing in Kuopio for the fourth time.

An important player in yellow shirts has also preyed on the powers of 12 + 10 last season Aino Kröger. The KuPS striker, who has already scored 47 goals in his main league career, will also elevate HJK and Åland United to the championship battle.

In his last practice game before the season, KuPS defeated the club’s boys’ B / 2 team 3-1.

– We have a pretty similar style of play as last year. New players bring more skill to the field. Ball control and offensive play are also more diverse than before, says Kröger.

KuPS received confirmations for this season from Tikkurila’s Palloseura, which won silver last year. 21-year-old twins Oona and Emmi Siren have thrived in new circles. Kuopio used to be familiar to the duo only from game trips.

– KuPS has a lot of good players and the team spirit is also good, says Oona Siren.

– It’s really professional here. We are a lot together with the team and the training is hard, says Emmi Siren.

KuPS’s head coach is now in his fourth season Ollipekka Ojala. Success has improved from season to season. In 2019 KuPS was Fifth, in 2020 bronze and in 2021 came the championship.

– We want to score a lot of goals and the ball game is strong. We may be able to take more control of the game last season. Defending your own box also gets a lot of attention, says Ojala.

KuPS’s goalkeeper department was also renewed after last season’s No. 1 goalkeeper Emma Immonen moved to FC Honka. Now, from the position of the first goalkeeper, Växjö from Sweden is fighting Vera Varis and moved from Jyväskylä Ball Club to Kuopio Fanny Söderström.

– There is a tough fight for the position of the number one goalkeeper one game at a time. Our goalkeepers are of different styles and I am happy with both times, says head coach Ojala.

The Champions League qualifiers to be played in August will add extra color to KuPS ‘s season. Opponents and the venue will only be known in the summer. Qualifying blocks will be drawn on June 24th.

The venue will survive the draw. KuPS also intends to aim for a tournament in Kuopio.

The qualifier tournament will be played on the 17th and 21st. August. In total, entry into the Champions League group stage requires four wins. Europels give players new power for the season.

– It’s the highlight of the summer. There are dreams of Europels and I look forward to them, says Aino Kröger.

– Europels bring a lot of additional motivation and we practice even better, thinks Oona Siren.

– The qualifier is a big deal. We hope that KuPS will do well and we will work hard for that, says Emmi Siren.

Kull’s head coach Ollipekka Ojala also expects a lot from the summer’s European games. Big profits are also being sought in the international arena.

– Of course we need luck. We’re going to qualify for the Champions League game at a time and anything can happen there. Not only do we participate, but we also want success in the European Games, says Ojala.

KuPS will start its series season against Ilve on Saturday. There are ten teams in the league.

After the double regular season, the top six will play the medals in the simple series. The remaining teams will decide the lower rankings.