“We need to have this debate”

Maaria Roth (right) has struggled from the national league to the national team. Tomi Natri / AOP

Mariet’s quarrying The vote is heard by pride on his own product.

– Players exudes self -confidence, courage and also the view that this is really genuine professional activities.

Louhento is the chairman of the main series of women’s football, the National League. Pride is worth it because, unlike many other league bosses, he can bake in the warmth of growing audiences.

– The figure was 41,780. So many people saw the national league games on the spot last season. Our viewership average increased by as much as 15 %.

– Someone could say it’s not much yet. We say it’s more than ever.

In Finland, however, the national league is still strongly in the shadow of the women’s national team. Helmarit already reaches the homepage of the magazines and on the TV’s magazine programs.

Opening the National League This coming weekend will easily be completely out of the news of the day.

– I think women’s football is a whole. All role models play in the pearls. It is the highest level, Louhento denies the confrontation.

A connection to pearls

In addition, the pearls are largely made up of former national league players. A few current star players can fit in.

The last Marko Saloranta team included HJK Maaria Roth and KuPS’s Aino Kröger.

– There’s inevitably a connection, because here those pearls of the future grow. Of course, we hope that we will be there from the league. They are always great moments for us.

Helmarit will play in the European Championship in Switzerland in the summer. High football broadcasts are primed on long studio sections and the leaves are full of match analyzes.

– We have a big deal to play pearls in Finland. Hopefully it will also be seen in the league’s viewers.

– It depends on how well we are able to take advantage of visibility and feeling.

Globally, women’s football is explosive. The Spanish airline Vueling just named one of its machine’s best players in the world Fence bonmatín in honor of.

So could the quarry just swirl its thumbs and wait for the international growth trend to also take the Finnish football league?

– We are working hard all the time. I see that clubs have also seen the need to develop their own activities. It is a prerequisite for improving the quality of the league and an increase in interest.

Club championship

There are only eight teams in the National League that meet each other twice in the regular season. After that, the top six divides the medals in the upper end.

The overwhelming favorite is the dominant double champion HJK, who just fell 3-1 in the KuPS Cup finals just during the season.

– Of course, we want the game to be of high quality. At the same time, we want our club organizations to be professional and be able to support top-level sports.

– When we have such clubs, there can be 14 teams in the league.

The women’s main series continue to run largely on men’s terms. There are eight head coaches in the National League, only one of whom is a woman.

In addition to the Portuguese Milene Ramos The coach PK-35 is invariably betting into a series jumbo and a fall candidate.

– I wish there would be more of them. We need to have this discussion with the Football Association, how we arouse interest and what opportunities for female coaches are to develop here at the top, Louhonto admits.

– We miss more women as head coach.