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FC Inter Turku

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Inter Turku
Full nameFootball Club International Turku
NicknamesSinimustat (Blue and Blacks) Hinaajat (Tugboats)
Founded1990; 36 years ago (1990)
GroundVeritas Stadion
Kupittaa, Turku, Finland
Capacity9,372
ChairmanStefan Håkans [fi]
ManagerVesa Vasara
LeagueVeikkausliiga
2025Veikkausliiga, 2nd of 12
Websitefcinter.fi
Current season
Veritas Stadion

Football Club International Turku, commonly referred to as Inter Turku (Swedish: Inter Åbo) and colloquially known as Inter, is a Finnish professional football club based in Turku that competes in the Veikkausliiga, the top flight of Finnish football. Founded in 1990 by Stefan Håkans, Inter has a rivalry with Turun Palloseura. The club has won one Finnish championship title, three Finnish Cup titles, and four Finnish League Cup titles. They play home matches at Veritas Stadion, with a capacity of 9,372.

History

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FC Inter was founded in 1990 by Stefan Håkans, the managing director of the towage and salvage company Alfons Håkans, allegedly after his 11-year-old son could not fit into any of the other youth teams in Turku. Both the name and the black and blue vertically striped jersey are inspired by Inter Milan, the club involved in a memorable near miss of future city rivals TPS, who beat Inter 1–0 at San Siro in the 1987–88 UEFA Cup but then lost the return leg 2–0 in Turku, exiting the competition after nearly achieving a historic breakthrough. The club's name was officially registered in September 1991. The club started out as a youth team, but in 1992 a senior squad was founded and it entered the Finnish league system at the fourth level (third division Kolmonen). The following year, the club assumed the place of the financially troubled local club Turun Toverit in the Second Division. Manager Timo Sinkkonen invested in new players, and eventually the club finished first and was promoted to the First Division (Ykkönen).

In 1995, Inter finished first in the Ykkönen and was promoted, as well as reaching the semi-final stage in the Finnish Cup. The squad was strengthened with new players, and in 1996, as both of Turku's better teams were now playing in the Veikkausliiga, the club's attendance records were broken with 8,200 spectators in the local derby between Turun Palloseura (TPS) and Inter.

In 1997, the club were relegated after finishing last in the Veikkausliiga, but achieved promotion again the following season. New foreign players were bought to strengthen the squad, such as Richard Teberio and Fernando Della Sala. Since then the club has consistently finished between 7th and 4th in the league, and maintained a steady inflow of foreign players as well as young starlets from its own youth academy.

During the 2006 season Inter sacked their manager Kari Virtanen and hired new coach, Dutchman Rene van Eck. After the season van Eck returned to Switzerland to coach FC Wohlen, and another Dutchman Job Dragtsma took over.

In 2008 Inter led the league since early season and clinched their first Finnish championship title after winning against FF Jaro in their final game.

In the 2011 Veikkausliiga season, the club's first-choice striker Timo Furuholm scored 22 goals and won the Veikkausliiga Golden Boot, and helped Inter to finish as the season's runner-up.

In August 2026, Inter sold the centre-back Ilari Kangasniemi to English club Leicester City for the league's record-high transfer fee of €2.5 million.

European cup history

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Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate Y/N
2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1R Iceland ÍA 0–0 4–0 4–0
2R Croatia NK Varteks 2–2 3–4 5–6
2009–10 UEFA Champions League 2Q Moldova Sheriff 0–1 0–1 0–2
2010–11 UEFA Europa League 3Q Belgium Genk 1–5 2–3 3–8
2012–13 UEFA Europa League 2Q Netherlands Twente 0–5 1–1 1–6
2013–14 UEFA Europa League 1Q Faroe Islands Víkingur Gøta 0–1 1–1 1–2
2019–20 UEFA Europa League 1Q Denmark Brøndby 2–0 1–4 3–4
2020–21 UEFA Europa League 1Q Hungary Honvéd N/a 1−2 (a.e.t.) N/a
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q Hungary Puskás Akadémia 1–1 0–2 1–3
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q Kosovo Drita 1–0 0–3 1–3
2026–27 UEFA Conference League 1Q Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo 2–1 1–1 3–2
2Q Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir 2–0 1–1 3–1
3Q Liechtenstein Vaduz 2–1 2–2 4–3
PO Denmark Copenhagen 0–0 1–4 1–4

Season to season

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Record transfers

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Rank Player To Fee Year
1.Finland Ilari KangasniemiEngland Leicester City€2.5 million2026[1]
2.Ivory Coast Axel KouameSweden AIK€1.0 million2025[2]
3.Cameroon Antoin EssombaSaudi Arabia Al-Kholood€1.0 million2026[3]
4.Finland Djoully NzokoBelgium Jong Genk€800,0002024[4]
5.Finland Timo StavitskiSweden Mjällbyundisclosed2024[5]

Current squad

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As of 24 August 2026[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  FIN Eetu Huuhtanen
2 DF  FIN Jussi Niska
3 DF  FIN Juuso Hämäläinen
4 MF  GHA Prosper Ahiabu
5 DF  FIN Albin Granlund
7 FW  SWE Herman Sjögrell
8 MF  FIN Johannes Yli-Kokko
9 FW  FIN Jasse Tuominen
10 FW  SLE Alie Conteh (on loan from Strømsgodset)
11 FW  BFA Jean Botué
12 GK  FIN Eero Vuorjoki
13 GK  FIN Alex Hilden
14 MF  FIN Janne-Pekka Laine
16 FW  NGR Clinton Jephta
17 MF  GHA Bismark Ampofo
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 DF  FIN Seth Saarinen
19 MF  FIN Iiro Järvinen
20 DF  FIN Axel Sandler
22 DF  FIN Luka Kuittinen
23 FW  CMR Loic Essomba
24 DF  FIN Julius Tauriainen
26 FW  FIN Vilho Huovila
27 MF  FIN Vincent Ulundu
28 MF  FIN Lauri Laine (on loan from Baník Ostrava)
30 DF  GHA Yeboah Amankwah
35 MF  FIN Eeli Kiiskilä
36 GK  FIN Ville Seppä
— FW  SVK Lukáš Prokop (on loan from Žilina)
— DF  FIN Robert Ivanov
— FW  GAM Muhammed Suso (on loan from Pardubice)

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player

Management

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As of 29.04.2026

Name Role
Finland Vesa Vasara Manager
Finland Riku Paularinne Assistant coach
Finland Jussi-Pekka Savolainen Reserve team head coach
Finland Miika Salmi Goalkeeping coach
Finland Niko Lehikoinen First Team Administrator
Finland Ville Peltonen Physiotherapist
Finland Teemu Ahonen Physiotherapist
Finland Aleksi Moilanen Physiotherapist
Finland Seppo Pajunen Kit Manager
Finland Tero Silto Team doctor
Finland Jani Meriläinen InterAction director
Finland Kalle Parviainen Sporting director
Name Role
Finland Jyrki Ahola Scout
Finland Viki Savonen Head of scout

Honours

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Player records

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Past managers

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References

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  1. ↑ Ylen tiedot: Ilari Kangasniemi jättisiirrolla Englantiin – FC Inter kuittaa ennätyssumman, Yle, 24 August 2026
  2. ↑ Expressen: Suomen pääsarjassa jysähti – Tähtipelaaja lähtee miljoonasiirrolla, Iltalehti, 29 August 2025
  3. ↑ FC Inter on saamassa tehottomasti tällä kaudella operoineesta laituristaan Loic Essombasta yli miljoonan euron siirtokorvauksen. Essomban uusi osoite tarkentunee piakkoin., Timo Innanen, 31 August 2026
  4. ↑ Belgiassa kiinnostuttiin Interin teinitähdestä – turkulaisseura tavoittelee ainakin miljoonan euron siirtopottia neljässä vuodessa, Turun Sanomat, 4 September 2024
  5. ↑ Timo Stavitski siirtyy Ruotsin pääsarjaan, suomifutis.com, 23 August 2024
  6. ↑ "Joukkue FC Inter". Archived from the original on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
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