Гнистан

IF Gnistan (Kipinä in Finnish; The Spark in English), commonly known as Gnistan, is a Finnish football club from the city of Helsinki, founded in 1924. The club is currently playing in the Veikkausliiga, the first tier of the Finnish league system. IF Gnistan play their home matches at Mustapekka Areena. Club's home district is Oulunkylä, which locates in northern part of the capital city.

The club is originally Swedish-speaking, but nowadays it is supported by Finnish-speaking majority also. The club was founded by a few Svenska Reallyceum and Åggelby Svenska Samskola students from Oulunkylä in 1924. IF Gnistan were multi-sport club and had several competitive departments including ski, athletics, swim and pesäpallo (Finnish baseball). Football department were founded in 1935, when the club joined Finnish Football Association Helsinki district. Later in the 1950s Gnistan had strong teams in orienteering, women's gymnastics, table tennis and cross country running alongside the classical sports.

During the late 1950s, the club decided to dissolve all the other departments except for the football teams. When ski and athletics were eliminated, Gnistan turned to a football club, and named Jacob Söderman as their new chairman. They became a significant team in lower leagues of the capital region but never promoted to the top tier. After season 1994, they achieved their place to Ykkönen for the first time. They stayed in the second tier four years and then relegated back to Kakkonen in 1998. They have been in Ykkönen level three occasions.

**Гнистан** (фин. Gnistan) — финский футбольный клуб из Хельсинки. Основан 11 мая 1925 года под названием Viipurin Sudet («Виипурин Судет»), позже назывался Pallo-Pojat, Pallopojista tuli Gnistania, HJK Gnistan, Gnistan/Kaarela. С 2004 года имеет нынешнее название. Наиболее известные игроки клуба — Антти Ниеми (играл в 1980—1985 гг.), Аапо Хееля (он же Аапо Хейнонен) (1949—1954, 1957—1958 и 1967—1968 гг.), Исмо Лиус (1963—1972, 1974—1976 и 1979 гг.), Тимо Портинен (1968—1970 гг.), Мика Лиукконен (1971—1975, 1978—1982, 1991—1992 и 1994 гг.), Йорма Паананен (1972—1978 и 1981 гг.), Ари Херски (1974—1975 гг.), Тимо Тойвола (1977—1984 гг.), Ярмо Хухтала (1978—1982 гг.), Микко Кери (1980—1983, 1989 и 1991 гг.), Петтери Орпо (1980—1985 гг.), Марко Ниеми (1991—1997 гг.), Дмитрий Кузнецов (2000—2006 гг.), Виктор Гущин (2001—2004 гг.), Янне-Пекка Коскенин (2005—2008 гг.), Паси Виркала (2009 гг.), Томми Хартола (2009 гг.).