The Finnish Sports Gala and OP Financial Group continued their cooperation with a three-year agreement. In the Finnish Sports Gala, OP Financial Group will continue to support the Sports Club of the Year award class and will award the winner with an Uno trophy and a grant of EUR 10,000.
“It is great to be able to continue this important cooperation. In the upcoming gala season, we will take on the challenge of getting people to move together and will express this in our content. Our partner, OP Financial Group, supports sports from children’s and youths’ hobbies to top athletes and clubs across Finland,” says Riia Martinoja, Secretary General of the Finnish Sports Gala.
OP cooperative banks across Finland work in close cooperation with local sports clubs, and Pohjola Insurance has partnered with over 80 sports federations. Partner clubs and sports federations include non-competitive and competitive players from every age group and skill level. In addition, tens of thousands of children are encouraged to pick up sports at the Hippo competitions and physical education classes.
“We want to coach our customers to make better financial choices, pointing them towards futures filled with hope. Thanks to our cooperation with the Finnish Sports Gala, we can support sports and exercise in Finland especially now when people are increasingly worried about the lack of exercise and its effects. By awarding the title of Sports Club of the Year, we want to show our support and appreciation for the club’s activities, which ensure an important framework for hobbies and exercise. Through their activities, the club also creates a sense of community, which is particularly important in these times,” says Timo Ritakallio, President and Group Chief Executive Officer at OP Financial Group.
The goal of the Finnish Sports Gala is to increase appreciation of sports and exercise in Finnish society and to make the value and significance of athletes, coaches, background actors and fans visible. Candidates for the Sports Club of the Year can be presented by member organisations of the Finnish Olympic Committee and regional sports organisations.