HJK Helsinki

20th century

The club was founded as Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi – Helsingfors Fotbollsklubb in 1907 by Fredrik Wathén. The founding meeting was held at a bowling alley in Kaisaniemi Park in May. The first ever competitive fixture was played against Ekenäs IF in Ekenäs. HJK won 2–4.

Early on, HJK became popular amongst Finnish-speaking students, while Swedish-speaking students preferred to play mainly for Unitas or HIFK. In late 1908, after a heated debate, the language was switched to unilingually Finnish and this resulted in many Swedish-speaking members switching over to HIFK and other clubs, although a few chose to stay.

In 1909, the colours blue and white were chosen to support the fennoman movement and bandy was introduced as the club's second official sport. The club moved from Kaisaniemi Ground to the new Eläintarha Stadium. At the end of the year, Fredrik Wathen was forced to leave his post as the club's chairman due to illness.

In 1910, Lauri Tanner became the longest-running club chairman to date. The same year, the club's first international match was played, against Eriksdals IF from Stockholm in Kaisaniemi. The first championship title was won in 1911. In 1915, the club moved to newly build Töölön Pallokenttä. In 1916, tennis was introduced as the third official sport in HJK, and it was played in the club until the early 1920s. During the Finnish Civil War in 1918, two HJK club members, fighting for the "Whites", were killed.

In 1921, the first bandy championship was won and during the following five seasons, HJK reached five finals, winning three more titles. Bowling was added to the club's repertoire in 1925, but the bowlers formed their own club, Helsingin Keilaajat, the following year. In 1928, ice hockey became an official sport and the first championship was won in 1929. League format was introduced to Finnish football in 1930 but HJK failed to qualify for the first season. In 1931, HJK played their first season in the league, however at the end of the season, they were relegated.

During World War II, HJK lost 22 members serving in the military, of which nine fell in the Winter War, twelve in the Continuation War and one in the Lapland War. In 1943, handball was introduced as the club's sixth official sport. HJK won one silver and two bronze medals in handball during the following three seasons but did not gain further success. Handball was first of HJK's sports where women also competed. The women's team played a total of 22 seasons at the highest level; their highest finish was fourth.

In 1963, HJK played their last ever season in the second level of the football pyramid, winning 20 out of 22 matches and scoring 127 goals. In 1964, the newly promoted club won their tenth championship title and the following season, in 1965–66, they played their first European Cup match, against Manchester United at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. However, a 2–9 aggregate loss resulted in HJK's elimination from the competition.

In 1966, the club secured their first ever cup title by winning KTP 6–1 in the final in front of 7,000 spectators. Bandy section was disbanded in the late 1960s. The last official sport, figure skating, was added into the club's repertoire in 1966, was abolished in 1972. The ice hockey section was also disbanded in 1972 and the last season in handball was played in 1978. Hereafter, HJK therefore only participated in football following 69 years as a multisport club.

1998–1999: First Champions League appearance

The 1998–99 season saw HJK become the first and, to date, only Finnish club to play in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League after defeating Metz in the second qualifying round. The club also managed a respectable five points in their group, defeating Benfica at home and earning draws at home to 1. FC Kaiserslautern and away to Benfica. They lost to PSV twice and to Kaiserslautern away.

2000–2018: First Europa League appearance

The club's current home stadium, the Bolt Arena, was opened in 2000. The 20th championship title was won in 2002, and in 2008 the club won its tenth Finnish Cup title. The 2009 season was the start of a championship run that resulted in six titles in a row from 2009 to 2014.

In 2014, HJK became the first Finnish club to play in the UEFA Europa League group stage after defeating Rapid Wien in the play-off round. HJK, with wins over Torino and Copenhagen at home, finished third in their group with six points.

HJK made several acquisitions during the winter of 2015, including Córdoba forward Mike Havenaar, J-league playmaker Atomu Tanaka and Birmingham City holding midfielder Guy Moussi. With the new signings on their side, HJK began the season on a high by winning the league cup, a feat they had not accomplished since 1998. HJK also played its first local derby against HIFK since April 1972, drawing 1–1. However, HJK could not replicate the league success they had enjoyed for the last six seasons, finishing the 2015 season in third place, behind champions SJK and runners-up RoPS.

During the 2017 campaign the club lost only three games, which resulted in a domestic double.

HJK won the 2018 Veikkausliiga, 16 points clear at the top.

2019–2023: Toni Koskela era

HJK failed to win the 2019 championship, as KuPS won the league. HJK's season was unusually unsuccessful, manager Mika Lehkosuo was replaced by Toni Koskela mid-season, and the club finished in a disappointing 5th place in the league with 37 points. During the season, HJK named Miika Takkula their new sporting director in July.

Koskela's first three full seasons have seen HJK win three titles in a row, including the club's 30th championship in 2020. HJK also won the Finnish cup in 2020. HJK's 2022 title was a remarkable 11th in 15 years.

The club has also fared well in European competitions under Koskela. During the 2021 season, HJK qualified for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage, where they finished 3rd in the group with six points. During the 2022 season, HJK qualified for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League for only the second time in the club's history, by defeating Silkeborg IF 2–1 on aggregate in the play-off round. HJK's group included Italian AS Roma, Spanish Real Betis, and Bulgarian Ludogorets. Despite valiant home performances, HJK performed poorly on the road, losing all three away games with a total goal difference of 0–7. HJK ended the campaign fourth in the group with a single point, from a 1–1 draw to Ludogorets at home.

HJK started the 2023 Veikkausliiga season relatively poorly, and eventually head coach Koskela was dismissed following a 1–0 victory at home against Larne FC in July.

2023: Korkeakunnas

Koskela was replaced by his last season's assistant coach Toni Korkeakunnas. Korkeakunnas led HJK to a third consecutive European group stage, advancing to the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League, by defeating Romanian champions Farul Constanta in the play-off round 3–2 on aggregate. HJK also renewed their league title for the fourth straight season, on a goal difference against KuPS.

After the season, the club announced that Toni Korkeakunnas will not receive a contract extension, and that the new manager would be announced soon. It was also announced earlier in late August 2023, that sporting director Miika Takkula departs from the club. In September, Vesa Mäki was named as his replacement as a new sporting director.

2024–present: Sibila and Virta

On 3 November 2023, the club announced that they had appointed Spanish coach Ferran Sibila as the manager of HJK on a two-year deal, starting in January 2024. On 21 December 2023, it was reported by Helsingin Sanomat that Sibila lacks the required UEFA Pro -coaching licence, and thus would not be eligible to work as a head coach in Veikkausliiga. The club's new sporting director Vesa Mäki, who was in charge of recruiting Sibila, said in the media that Sibila is going to start the required UEFA Pro -training in February 2024 in Sweden, or the club could name their assistant coach Ossi Virta as an associate head coach with Sibila.

On 3 January 2024, it was reported in Swedish media that Sibila was not granted a spot in the aforementioned UEFA Pro -training class by Swedish FA. The next day, HJK announced that the club will comply with the licence requirements set by Veikkausliiga, Finnish FA and UEFA. On 12 January 2024, HJK appointed Ossi Virta as the club's new interim head coach, until Sibila is able to attend the UEFA Pro -class.

During the 2024 pre-season, reigning Veikkausliiga Top Goalscorer Bojan Radulović was sold to Huddersfield Town and Defender of the Year Tuomas Ollila was acquired by Paris FC.