Ari Lahti: 'Equality, transparency and good governance are crucial'

Ari Lahti's involvement in football administration stretches back 30 years, an adventure that has included roles with his local club, the national league, football association and UEFA.

Elected Football Association of Finland (SPL) president in 2018, Lahti joined the UEFA Executive Committee earlier this year. He is also owner of KuPS Kuopio, who earlier this month lifted their second successive Finnish championship and are so far unbeaten in this season's UEFA Conference League.

Below, he discusses his life in the game, his role with the Executive Committee and some of his nation's recent footballing developments…

Ari, can you talk us through your football journey before the Football Association of Finland?

I grew up in Kuopio, which is well known for football. I played at school but I was better in the classroom than on the pitch.

I work in investment banking, but even in that job, you can see how football interests people. It is rare we have a meeting without talking in some way about football.

My football journey really began in 1995, when my friend Olli Rehn, who was president of the Veikkausliiga (Finland's top division of men's football), invited me to help with looking at club finances. I got to know a lot about the league and the clubs, and in 1997, Olli left for the European Parliament, and I was elected as independent president of the league. I was 34 years old, so quite young, but I really enjoyed it and was in the role for four years until 2001.

At around the same time, I was part of a group that created a company to invest in my local club, KuPS Kuopio, which had a lot of financial problems. We saved the club and wanted to continue its traditions and ensure it stayed as part of the community. Gradually, my stake increased and since 2006, I've been the main owner of KuPS.

My ambition was to bring European football to Kuopio, and nobody believed we could do it. Now, we have achieved it, we are national champions for the past two seasons, and it makes me super proud, but I'm equally proud that we have a strong women's team, and boys' and girls' teams at every age group. The club is an important part of the community.

KuPS Kuopio players celebrate after the team's UEFA Conference League victory against Slovan Bratislava earlier this monthUEFA via Getty Images

On a personal note, how much does it mean to you to have been elected to the UEFA Executive Committee?

I think I'm the third Finn in history to sit on the Executive Committee, so I'm really proud, not only for myself but for Finnish football and the work that we have done. I feel it is recognition for the recent success that we have had.

I hope that I can bring my personal skills to the role – I have been a member of the UEFA Finance Committee for several years, so I know the business side of UEFA and European football rather well, and I am very interested in this area. It has been a long path from advising the league president in Finland to where I am now.

I have four children and my youngest daughter is 15. Her team won the Finnish championship a few weeks ago and I really enjoy watching her matches and following the team. It makes me lucky that I see the full spectrum of the game, from the grassroots to the professional. I find it incredibly rewarding and motivating.

Which topics are you passionate about when it comes to shaping the future of the game?

I feel strongly about things like equality, transparency and good governance, which are crucial for the sport to succeed, as well as the continued growth of women's football.

It's also important that we have a variety of voices from across Europe on the Executive Committee and within the UEFA administration. This will help us to improve European football even more.

With SPL general secretary Marco Casagrande (left) and men's national team coach Jacob Friis (centre)Jimi Soinila

Finland has high participation rates for such a small nation, with around 170,000 registered players in a country of 5.5 million. What do you attribute that to?

In the past 15 or 20 years, we have invested a lot on all-weather and indoor pitches to allow people to play football in the winter. Our database tells us where and how many pitches we need to build to sufficiently support our communities – we want to build a further ten per year over the next four to five years.

This investment has made an enormous impact, and it is where UEFA HatTrick funding is vital for us. We have agreements with the 22 largest cities in Finland where the FA, the clubs and the local government combine to create a joint funding system, therefore multiplying the HatTrick support that we receive thanks to sponsorship and public investment.

Coaching is another area where the SPL has made significant progress…

In our previous FA strategy, we invested a lot in this area. Before, we had a qualified coach for every 20 junior players, and we wanted to make it one for every ten, doubling the number.

Of course, the number of players also increased, so in the end we increased our figures even more, and we have very good numbers of coaches now. The challenge we have is to make sure that the quality continues to increase and that coaches are sufficiently educated and have the support they need to be successful.

In our youth national teams, we have merged our boys' and girls' coaches into one unit under a united culture. It has been fantastic to combine the knowledge of both men's and women's coaches under one roof, and this develops skills and expertise on both sides and we see people mentoring each other – it's like pressing a fast-forward button for our coaches' development.

Finland has also appeared at five of the last six UEFA Women's EUROs. What's behind this success?

We have a long tradition in women’s football – 24% of our registered players are girls and women, which is also high and is part of our nation's equality principle. I am sure this is a factor in our successful recent history, and we see a similar pattern in the other Nordic countries which have similar principles.

We have invested a lot of resources into women's football, and ensure that what we do for the men's game, we also do for the women's.

Young Finland fans support their team at UEFA Women's EURO 2025UEFA via Getty Images

At youth level, we have created hybrid academies, where funding is given to clubs to develop both boys' and girls' teams through the same systems, with the long-term aim of creating more elite youth players who will eventually play for our national team.

I can also say from firsthand experience that we see so many benefits at KuPS Kuopio from adding a women's team into the club.

The SPL recently signed a unique cooperation agreement with the national team supporters association. What benefits will that bring?

Our national teams have enjoyed huge, positive support, with thousands of fans going to our matches at home and away. I especially remember when we played the qualifiers for EURO 2020 – the atmosphere was incredible and all the stadiums were full of thousands of our fans. It felt like we had a 12th player.

For some years now, we organise help for our supporters union with ticketing and travel and try to ensure that things go smoothly, sending staff to help in case there are any problems.

We followed the UEFA example of its Memorandum of Understanding with Football Supporters Europe, and this agreement is a major step forward in promoting a positive culture. It's something we are proud of and I hope it will help to develop our positive relationship even further.

Finally, Finland were victorious for a second time at the recent UEFA Unity EURO Cup. Just how important are initiatives like this for our communities?

The Unity EURO Cup is fantastic and truly shows how football is for everyone. It sends a vital message promoting inclusion, diversity and solidarity – values that matter deeply to us in Finland and to UEFA’s wider mission.

Projects like this demonstrate the power of the sport as a tool for integration, in this case for refugees and displaced people. We are proud to be part of it, of course delighted with our team’s performance, and most importantly, happy that everyone enjoyed this inspirational event.