IS: Am I joining a new team just before the start of the season?

The start of the league season is less than a month away, but the final number of teams in the league is still unclear. The appeal regarding Imatran Ketterä’s league license is still awaiting resolution from the Sports Legal Protection Board.

The league’s licensing committee rejected Ketterä’s league license application in May. The club appealed the decision in June, after which the matter has been under the consideration of the Legal Protection Board throughout the summer.

A decision is expected soon

Ketterä’s CEO Carlo Grünn told Ilta-Sanomat that the club expects a resolution soon. The Legal Protection Board has also assessed that a decision is near, although a precise timeline has not been confirmed.

According to Ilta-Sanomat, the processing of the case has reached its final stages. Statements from all parties have been received, and no new comments will be accepted. Next, the five-member panel of the board will make a final decision.

Ketterä has been continuously preparing for the possibility of playing in the SM-liiga this upcoming season.

– We have been preparing for this since May, and we are still preparing. Otherwise, the appeal would have been pointless, Grünn tells IS.

The club has kept two different options open throughout the process.

– Yes, we are quite serious about this. It’s just unfortunate that the process has been lengthy.

The league may still change before the season starts

If the Legal Protection Board accepts Ketterä’s appeal, the structure of the league season would change just before the start of the series.

Ketterä’s inclusion would raise the number of teams to 18 from the current 17. At the same time, each team’s regular season match count would increase from 64 matches to 68, and the match schedule would need to be redrafted just before the season kicks off.

Grünn believes that the league has a plan in place for this possibility as well.

– We certainly assume that there is.

On the other hand, Ketterä has been preparing two different scenarios throughout the summer.

– Since May, we have had two plans on the table, both Mestis and SM-liiga. When the time comes, one of them will be activated.

Currently, 17 teams are marked for the upcoming league season. Jokerit is the only new team in the league.

The licensing committee justified the rejection of Ketterä’s league license application, among other reasons, by citing financial calculations deemed unconvincing, overdue purchase debts, payment default records, and the inability of the club to organize league-level match events.

Ketterä later published its own response, in which the club denied the grounds for the rejection and considered them to be unfounded.