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Tampere United

Ground: Kaupin Urheilupuisto

Visits: 1

Date: 30th June 2023

Match: Tampere United - HJS  1-0  (Kakkonen, Lohko B)

Attendance: 357

Looking at different options for my summer holidays I was thinking about a trip to Latvia or Estonia but in the end I booked a trip to Finland. I have been to Finland several times and it is one of my favourite destinations. The plan was to visit two games in Tampere and one in Helsinki and at 13.45 on Friday afternoon my AirBaltic flight departed CPH airport and 16.20 (one hour's time difference) we arrived at Tampere airport. Shortly after 17.00 I was at my hotel in central Tampere where I had a short rest.

First up on this trip was Tampere United v HJS (Hämeenlinna) at Kaupin urheilupuisto. Tampere United was formed in 1998. The initial plan was to merge two local football clubs FC Ilves and TPV but TPV decided to continue as its own team. FC Ilves continued to play in lower divisions and Tampere United inherited its place in the second highest division. In 2001, 2006 and 2007 the club won the Veikkausliiga but in 2011 Tampere United was suspended indefinitely by the Finnish FA because they had received money from a dubious company based in Singapore, known for involvement in fixed games and money laundering. A new club, TamU-K, was formed by supporters and in 2016 the players were transferred back to Tampere United. Nowadays the club plays in Kakkonen, which is level 3 in Finland.

Kaupin urheilupuisto is situated close to the hospital in Tampere and from my hotel I had to use two trams to get there. It was not a complicated journey though and as I was walking to the ground I was surprised at the number of fans heading in the same direction. When I saw a big stand with the name Kaupin Stadion I was a bit puzzled, to my knowledge the ground would not have such a big stand. I then saw a smaller ground with Tampere United banners and figured that must be the football ground. The big ground, where most fans were heading, was a newly built baseball arena and there was a top division game tonight!

Kaupin urheilupuisto is a ground used by many teams and the pitch is artificial. There are two relatively big stands and two smaller stands, all on the north side of the ground. To me it looked like there are still some work to be done at the ground. As kick-off approached I was surprised no-one was warming up. There was then an announcement saying the bus with the away team had broken down and kick-off was delayed until 19.45. Not much I could do but at least the game was not postponed. At this game I was joined by Philip from Munich and after only 90 seconds we could watch on as Tampere United made it 1-0. The attendance at Kaupin urheilupuisto was given as 357 and some of those were vocal through-out the 90 minutes. 357 is a very good attendance for level 3 in Finland btw. It was possible to buy all kinds of beer inside the ground which obviously played a part when it came to generating a good atmosphere. It ended 1-0 and most of those present left the ground in a good mood.

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Kauping urheilupuisto

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Ticket office

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West End

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North Stand(s)

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North Stand

East-End.JPG

East End

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South side

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Tampere United, info

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Tampere United, info

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Players entering

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Kick-off

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North Stand

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North Stand(s)

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North Stand

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Tampere United fans

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View of play