Back الدوري الفنلندي لهوكي الجليد Arabic SM-liiga Catalan Liiga Czech Liiga German Πρωτάθλημα Χόκεϊ επί πάγου Φινλανδίας Greek Liiga Spanish Soome jäähokiliiga Estonian SM-liiga Basque Jääkiekon SM-liiga Finnish Championnat de Finlande de hockey sur glace French
Current season, competition or edition: 2023–24 Liiga season | |
 | |
| Formerly | SM-sarja (1933–1975) SM-liiga (1975–2013) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Founded | 1975 |
| First season | 1975–76 |
| CEO | Mikko Pulkkinen |
| Motto | Se on totta (It's for real) |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Country | Finland |
| Most recent champion(s) | Tappara (13th title) (2023–24) |
| Most titles | Tappara (13 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | Telia Company, TV5 |
| Level on pyramid | Level 1 |
| Relegation to | Mestis |
| International cup(s) | Champions Hockey League |
| Related competitions | Naisten Liiga |
| Official website | Liiga.fi |
The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, but the league and association have an agreement of cooperation. SM is a common abbreviation for Suomen mestaruus, "Finnish championship".
The SM-liiga is a competition of 16 teams and it has relegation and promotion between the second highest league, the Mestis.[1][2]
Teams from the SM-liiga participate in the IIHF's annual Champions Hockey League (CHL), competing for the European Trophy. Participation is based on the strength of the various leagues in Europe (excluding the European/Asian Kontinental Hockey League). Going into the 2023–24 CHL season, the SM-liiga was ranked the No. 3 league in Europe, allowing them to send their top four teams to compete in the CHL.[3]
- ^ Hoffrén, Sami (2 May 2024). "Kiekko-Espoo pelasi kovaa peliä kulisseissa SM-liigan suuntaan – "Se oli kriittisin hetki"". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "Kommentti: SM-liiga poisti nyt ison murheenkryynin – kolikolla on kääntöpuolensa". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). 2 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "Rankings". www.championshockeyleague.com. Retrieved 26 October 2023.