KuPS

Full name	Kuopion Palloseura
Nickname(s)	Keltamusta (The Yellow-black) Kanarialinnut (The Canaries)
Founded	1923; 101 years ago (1923)
Ground	Väre Areena Kuopio
Capacity	5,000 (2,700 seated)
Chairman	Ari Lahti
Manager	Jani Honkavaara
League	Veikkausliiga
2023	Veikkausliiga, 2nd of 12
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Kuopion Palloseura, commonly referred to as KuPS, is a Finnish football club based in Kuopio. KuPS competes in Veikkausliiga, the top flight of Finnish football. The team plays its home matches at Kuopio Football Stadium.

KuPS has won the Finnish championship six times, the Finnish Cup four times and the Finnish League Cup once. The club is placed fourth in the all-time Finnish Premier League honor table.^[1]

History

The club was officially founded on March 16, 1923, at Kuopion Seurahuone. The club was named to Kuopio Palloseura and the abbreviation KPS. ^[2]

The 1920s the club spent mostly by playing friendly games against other local clubs. In the 1930s and early 1940s, the club played second in the highest tier of Finnish football. KuPS was first promoted to Mestaruussarja in 1947 only for a single season. The club was promoted again in 1949 and this time remained in the top tier for 44 seasons. ^[2]

The first years, KuPS played in black and green shirts with vertical stripes, white pants and black socks. In 1935, the colors were changed to yellow shirt, black pants and yellow and black socks. At the same time, the club's abbreviation changed to KuPS. ^[3][2]

The golden decades of KuPS take place between the 1950s and 1970s, when the club won five championships, eight silver and one bronze medal. The club also won its first Finnish Cup championship in 1968. ^[2]

KuPS played in the top flight without significant success in the 1980s. However, the 1980s ended with the club's second Finnish Cup victory in 1989. ^[2]

In the 1990s, KuPS was in financial problems and even dropped to the third highest league level.^[3] In the early 2000s, KuPS spent seasons in both in the First Division and in Veikkausliiga, where it has played ever since 2008. ^[4]

In the 2010s, KuPS re-established its position in the top-flight. In the 2019 season the club won its fifth top-flight title. In 2021 and 2022 the club won its third and fourth Cup titles. In 2023 the club achieved its seventh consecutive medal in the top tier.

European campaigns

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Score	Agg.
1959–60	European Cup	Preliminary round		Eintracht Frankfurt	KuPS withdrew
1967–68	European Cup	First round		Saint-Étienne	0–2, v 0–3	0–5
1969–70	Cup Winners' Cup	First round		Académica de Coimbra	0–1, v 0–0	0–1
1975–76	European Cup	First round		Ruch Chorzów	0–5, v 2–2	2–7
1976–77	UEFA Cup	First round		Östers	3–2, v 0–2	3–4
1977–78	European Cup	First round		Club Brugge	0–4, v 2–5	2–9
1978–79	UEFA Cup	First round		Boldklubben 1903	2–1, v 4–4	6–5
		Second round		Esbjerg fB	0–2, v 1–4	1–6
1980–81	UEFA Cup	First round		Saint-Étienne	0–7, v 0–7	0–14
1990–91	Cup Winners' Cup	First round		Dynamo Kyiv	2–2, v 0–4	2–6
2011–12	Europa League	2nd qualifying round		Gaz Metan Mediaș	1–0, v 0–2	1–2
2012–13	Europa League	1st qualifying round		Llanelli	2–1, v 1–1	3–2
		2nd qualifying round		Maccabi Netanya	0–1, v 2–1	2–2 (a)
		3rd qualifying round		Bursaspor	1–0, v 0–6	1–6
2018–19	Europa League	1st qualifying round		FC Copenhagen	0–1, v 1–1	1–2
2019–20	Europa League	1st qualifying round		Vitebsk	2–0, v 1–1	3–1
		2nd qualifying round		Legia Warsaw	0–1, v 0–0	0–1
2020–21	Champions League	1st qualifying round		Molde	0–5
	Europa League	2nd qualifying round		Slovan Bratislava	1–1 (4–3 p)
		3rd qualifying round		Sūduva	2–0
		Play-off round		CFR Cluj	1–3
2021–22	Europa Conference League	1st qualifying round		Noah	0–1, v 5–0	5–1
		2nd qualifying round		Vorskla Poltava	2–2, v 3–2	5–4
		3rd qualifying round		Astana	1–1, v 4–3	5–4
		Play-off round		Union Berlin	0–4, v 0–0	0–4
2022–23	Europa Conference League	1st qualifying round		Dila Gori	2–0, v 0–0	2–0
		2nd qualifying round		Milsami Orhei	2–2, v 4−1	6–3
		3rd qualifying round		Young Boys	0–2, v 0–3	0–5
2023–24	Europa Conference League	2nd qualifying round		Derry City	1–2, v 3−3	4−5
2024–25	Conference League	1st qualifying round		UNA Strassen

UEFA club competition record

As of August 3, 2023.

Season to season