The league’s license committee rejected the Turku club’s application.
TuTo’s license application was rejected. Jaakko Stenroos / AOP
The license committee of Jääkiekon SM-liiga oy rejected the league license application of TuTo from Turku. League announced about it on Monday.
– As a result of our overall review, the license committee has decided that it will not support TuTo Hockey Oy’s license application. TuTo has been provided with a detailed decision related to the matter with reasons, the chairman of the license committee said in the press release Jaakko Luumi.
The licensing committee’s review takes into account, among other things, the applicant club’s financial and sporting situation and the club’s circumstances.
– Decisions about each club’s license eligibility are always made based on an overall review. The triggering of an individual rejection criterion does not automatically mean that the club in question will not be granted a league license.
According to Luum, the processing of Kiekko-Espoo’s license application is progressing normally and on schedule.
One new club can be promoted to the SM league next season.
Starting from the 2024–2025 season, the league will play qualifiers between the last-placed team and the Mestis champion. If the Mestis team wins the league qualifiers, it has a chance to move up to the league. However, that would require the purchase of a league share.
Helsinki Jokerit previously said that it does not intend to apply for a place in the SM league in the 2025–26 season. According to the jokers, the price of the league share is said to be 3.8 million euros.