Singapore to host a historic floorball game between Finnish Champions and Challengers.
Singaporean and Finnish floorball history will be made on Saturday 18 November, as the current Finnish champions, Classic, play against another top Finnish team, TPS, in Singapore. The game is part of the official celebrations for Finland’s centenary and the first time an official Finnish league game has been played outside of the country.
“The idea was developed during the World Championship games in Latvia last year, when we were thinking how we could support floorball internationally, with the focus on Asia. Singapore has a vibrant floorball playing community and is successful in international tournaments. Training with world class players and coaches will further improve our competitiveness”, says the project leader and Singapore Men’s National Team Coach Matt Joutsikoski.
During their stay in Singapore, Classic and TPS will train together with Singapore Men’s National Floorball Team. They will also run clinics for students from over 50 schools prior to their match. The event on 18 November at Our Tampines Hub will be a culmination of the week celebrating the sport, inspiring young players and showcasing World Class floorball.
Promoting floorball internationally
Floorball is an internationally growing sport, with Asia growing fastest. Singapore currently has around 15,000 floorball players, most of whom play for school teams. Floorball is an easily accessible sport requiring little specialist equipment. The goal of the project is to spread awareness of the sport and motivate young players to exercise and keep fit.
The Executive Director of Team TPS Juha Kiviniemi sees the project as a breakthrough in the development of the sport. “As the sport becomes more international, teams such as TPS are keen to be part of this movement”, Mr. Kiviniemi says. “We hope that through this project we can help the floorball scene to grow and develop here and inspire Singaporean players and fans.”
Pasi Peltola, the founder and Executive Director of Team Classic (also known as Classic Family) is similarly optimistic about the future. “This project gives a good opportunity for Classic Family to start working on an international scale. We want to be the leaders in international floorball development and exporters of the sport”, he says.
The project also brings Finnish sports technology to Singapore as CoPlays, a sports application company, launches their new floorball app for coaches and players. The app introduces new features such as easy animation of tactics and drills.
An unique opportunity for players to train and have fun!
World and Finnish Champion player, Eemeli Salin from Classic, is looking forward to the trip to Singapore.
“I was quite amazed when I first heard of this trip”, Mr. Salin says. “This is a great opportunity for us as a team to train intensively in Singapore and to spread awareness of the sport and Classic in Singapore. Our goal is to train hard, play well on Saturday and snatch those two league points!”
For the school clinics Mr. Salin wants to focus on the fundamentals. “Basic skills define the game, so I am going to show the attendees how to pass and shoot, not forgetting the warm-up. It is often forgotten that a good warm up is essential for preventing injuries. Another essential thing to personal and team development is to have fun!”
Both Finnish teams are excited about the project as well as enjoying the weather in Singapore. The trip serves as a well-deserved break from the cold, dark Finnish winter.
The Captain of TPS, Olli Laine says that the trip will also be a good opportunity for the team to bond and train together. “The best kind of bonding happens through mutual experiences and coming to Singapore is truly unique for us as a team”, Mr. Laine says. He is looking forward to the game against Classic, current Champions. “It will be a great match and I hope the crowd finds the game exciting and entertaining.”
Classic vs TPS – Finnish Floorball League in Singapore, 18.11.2017
Doors open at 6pm. Game time: 7pm-9:30pm.
The game is held at Team Sports Hall, Our Tampines Hub.
More information: https://classicfloorball.com/
Facebook-event: https://www.facebook.com/events/349748135484655/
The event will be broadcasted live in Finland on TV5-channel. The broadcast begins at 12:55 on Saturday 18th November (GMT +2).
Enquiries
Karoliina Kauhanen
Communication Specialist
Classic vs TPS – Finnish Floorball in Singapore
karoliina.kauhanen@hotmail.com
Classicfloorball@gmail.com
+358 466642564 (Whatsapp)
Flying to Singapore 13.-14.11.
Travis Nurminen
Communication Assistant
Classicfloorball@gmail.com
Flying to Singapore 13.-14.11.
Matti Joutsikoski
Head Coach of the Singapore Men’s Floorball Team, Singapore Floorball Association
mattjoutsikoski@gmail.com
+65 8589 7141
Wendy Kuan
General Manager, Singapore Floorball Association
generalmanager.sfa@gmail.com
+65 9766 0800
Pasi Peltola
Executive Director, Classic Family
toimisto@scclassic.com
+358 50-5209766
Juha Kiviniemi
Executive Director, TPS
juha.kiviniemi@tpssalibandy.fi
+358 407504981
John Liljelund
Secretary General, IFF International Floorball Federation
liljelund@floorball.org
+358400529030
