ROVANIEMI, Finland — Frozen pitches, drifting snow and plunging temperatures wreak havoc with sporting matches across Europe. But here at the edge of the Arctic Circle, it takes more than sub-zero temperatures and bone-chilling cold to put Europe’s coldest soccer club on ice.
Rovaniemen Palloseura has been playing in brutally cold conditions since its founding in 1950, and it has never let winter keep it off the field.
“Minus 18 is the coldest I’ve ever played in,” says defender Tuomo Könönen. That’s just below zero degrees Fahrenheit for the metrically challenged. “That was tough. Just breathing in those temperatures is difficult.”
While playing in such conditions sounds miserable, the Rovaniemi players, profiled in Ford’s Fascinating World of Football documentary series, said it’s all part of the game.
“Playing football [soccer] is very challenging when it’s so cold,” said goalkeeper Pauli Tuisku. “The ball feels heavier and your feet can be painful. In this weather you cannot stay still for a second — if you do, you’re finished. I jump and run in the goal during the game to stay warm.”
Rovaniemi is at the edge of the Arctic Circle and home to the Santasport sports institute. Researcher Heikki Hannola says Finns are well acclimatized to the harsh conditions, so playing in such conditions isn’t much trouble. “Even for Finns, when winter first arrives it’s a shock but we then acclimatize very quickly from habit. For someone else it would take a few weeks to start becoming comfortable.”
That presents a challenge for players from warmer climes. Rovaniemi features players from Nigeria, El Salvador and Mexico, and these players must overcome cultural, language and physical barriers.
“They are shocked when they arrive here,” Könönen says, “but after a while they’re fine.”
As if the cold weren’t enough, there’s also the issue of sunlight. As in, there isn’t much of it. The region sees just a few minutes of sunlight each day in December. The extended darkness can make getting motivated to train and play a challenge. Still, the players always rise to meet it.
“Football is really booming in Rovaniemi now,” Tuisku says before heading off to join his teammates in the snow.
Video: Inc/Incword.com
