Kolarin KontioGround: Kolarin Keskuskenttä Visits: 1 Date: 29th July 2023 Match: Kolarin Kontio - KePS 2 8-0 (Vitonen, Pohjoislohko) Attendance: 50 One of the reasons I made the long journey to northern Sweden and Finland was the chance to watch football north of the Arctic Circle in Finland. In 2023 there are only two clubs, Sodankylän Pallo and Kolarin Kontio, who play in the Finnish leagues and are based north of the Arctic Circle. Both Sodankylän Pallo and Kolari Kontio play in Vitonen, pohjoislohko (Lapland). Vitonen is level 6, which is the lowest level in Finland. With Kolari being 2 hours by car from Rovaniemi there is a shortage of referees in this part but Leif and his son Felix, both fluent in Finnish, help out and today they were assistant referees. Kolari is situated by the Muonio river, which is the border to Sweden, and from Pajala it is less than 30 km to Kolari. Unfortunately the weather was not the best today and for most of the day it was raining in Lapland. The top three divisions from this group will be against the top three teams from the southern group and if Kolarin Kontio beat KePS 2 they will have secured third spot. It was windy and rainy throughout the first 45 minutes and despite bringing an umbrella I needed to take cover by the clubhouse. At half-time the rain actually stopped but it was still quite windy. On the pitch there was a heavy dominance by the home team and in the end they won 8-0. The win today means promotion play-offs for Kolain Kontio but finishing third it will be difficult for them to go up. After the game we went to a restaurant in Kolari before going back home to Sweden. The visit to Kolari means I have now seen football north of the Arctic Circle in three different countries, an achievement I am quite proud of! This was the fourth and final game on this tour but I hope to be back in these parts in the coming years. Kolarin Kontio Badge North End East side South End West Stand Refreshments Players and officials entering the field Kick-off A rainy day View of play View of play West Stand West Stand West Stand West Stand
|