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HJK clinch Veikkausliiga with draw at rivals KuPS

The Helsinki club have won ten of the last thirteen Finnish titles.

Johannes Kreidl #21, KuPs, Silva Jair Tavares #6, HJK Veikkausliigan mestaruuden ratkaisevassa jalkapallo-ottelussa KuPs vs. HJK.
KuPS goalkeeper Johannes Kreidl saves from HJK's Jair Silva. Image: Tomi Hänninen
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HJK Helsinki were crowned Veikkausliiga champions on Sunday in a tumultuous 1-1 draw with their closest rivals, KuPS Kuopio.

The game was played in front of a crowd of 7,980 people in Kuopio, a record crowd for KuPS, but they were left disappointed after the home side failed to get the win they needed.

Miro Tenho put HJK ahead on 13 minutes, before Taneli Hämäläinen equalised for the hosts five minutes later.

It's the 31st Finnish championship for HJK's men's team. Since 2009 they have won ten out of thirteen editions of Veikkausliiga.

KuPS took silver after finishing second in the league. SJK Seinäjoki finished third after winning 5-2 at Inter Turku on the final day, with both SJK and KuPS securing a spot in the qualifiers for the Europa Conference League.

Inter Turku, Ilves and HIFK will now play off for Finland's final spot in the Europa Conference League.