Kokkolan Pallo-Veikot

Ground: Kokkola Areena

Visits: 1

Date: 11th July 2026

Match: KPV - TPV 1-3 (Ykkönen)

Attendance: 653

In May the new football ground. Kokkola Areena, in Kokkola/Karleby was inaugurated. It has a capacity of 3,000 and is part of the sports complex in Kokkola. Having been to Nedervetil earlier in the afternoon it was only a short drive for us to reach the ground. As we had some time to spare we also made a stop at Kokkolan keskuskenttä, the former home of KPV. Unfortunately we failed to get inside but I still managed to get a decent view of what the ground was like. In 1970 Celtic played KPV in the European Cup at Kokkolan keskuskenttä, it ended with a 5-0 victory for Celtic. The new ground is only 2 minutes by car from the old one and we had no problems finding somewhere to park.The surrounding area is still a building site and at first we had problems finding the entry but after a while we found our way inside. 17 Euros for level 3 football in Finland felt a bit steep though.

Kokkolan Pallo-Veikot (KPV) v Tampereen Pallo-Veikot (TPV) was an important game in the bottom of Ykkönen. KPV are currently bottom but a win would see them move above TPV and one other team. I was not expecting a big crowd but 653 is still a good attendance for a team being bottom of Ykkönen. TPV brought 4 fans to Kokkola this Saturday afternoon and at half-time those travelling fans could celebrate a 2-0 lead for the visitors. TPV made it 3-0 before KPV pulled a goal back. It ended 1-3 at Kokkola Areena and KPV will most likely be relegated to Kakkonen. That might mean a Kokkola derby v Gamlekarleby BK (GBK) for the first time in many years next season.

After checking-in at my hotel I had something to eat and drink at a restaurant in central Kokkola. I could look back on yet another successful trip to Finland and I will definitely be back next summer.