Football and festive fun are commonplace in the UK, but one Finnish team takes the Christmas period a bit more seriously than others – and Father Christmas even lends his name to FC Santa Claus
There’s a myth, in Finland’s frozen north, that when FC Santa Claus came into being they had to ask permission from Father Christmas.
“So I have been told [about the legend]. It is and it isn’t, but I think there’s a good story behind that,” Juha Eteläinen, a spokesman for FC Santa Claus, told Daily Star Sport back in 2022.
Based in the city of Rovaniemi, Lapland, the city is said to be the spiritual home of Santa. The city of Rovaniemi, itself, flirts with the Arctic Circle: located just south of the frozen north, the city limits almost kiss the polar border.
“Basically, we are living in our little city, and yes the conditions are a little different to most of the world, but life is pretty much the same,” Eteläinen added. “At the moment, we are getting to the coldest time of the year.
“In January it’s pretty normal for the weather to be -30°C or even -40°C; once in a while, like once in a decade, it can get as cold as -45°C, or even -50°C, and that’s really cold!”
But despite these Arctic conditions – and the couple hours of daylight in the winter months – the football team persists: “We are trying to do some good and be friendly and smile! And also the photoshoots that make people wonder how is that possible? They’re playing football in the snow.
“And it’s that interest, from our point of view, that capture the imagination of people from England!”
However, to write FC Santa Claus off as just a gimmick would be a disservice to the club, who were once flying high in the third tier of Finnish football.
“We were really going forward to be a staple in the third tier, but sometimes s*** happens.” Financial troubles plagued the club, and FC Santa Claus were unable to even field an eleven-a-side team in the 2020 season, before finding themselves in the sixth-tier last time out.
Eteläinen remains positive: “After Covid-19 we fielded an eleven-a-side team again, and now we are where we are and the future will be what it will be – but I think it will be good! There is a lot of thing happening around the club!”
Wherever the club land in the future, the Christmas spirit will remain – in fact, when Eteläinen picked up the phone to speak to Daily Star Sport, Christmas songs could be heard in the background.
But it’s this fun attitude the club translates into the community, and hopes others can learn from: “I’d say our motto, you can live a happier life: ‘Don’t stop believing’!”