Finnish Workers' Sports Federation

The Finnish Workers Sports Association (Finnish Suomen Työväen Urheiluliitto, abbreviated TUL; schwed. Arbetarnas Idrottsförbund i Finland, abbreviated AIF ) is the name of a Finnish Sports Federation. The Association is affiliated to the Finnish Confederation of trade unions and the Social Democratic Party of Finland. The association is a member of the International Workers' Sports Association CSIT.

The TUL currently has about 300 000 members, spread over 1,100 clubs in 59 different sports. In football is played with interruptions of TUL Cup since 1920.

History

The Association was founded on January 26, 1919 with the aim to strengthen the labor movement. Thus, the foundation was not even one year after the Finnish Civil War held in which faced the bourgeois, conservative camp of the "White " the socialist camp "Red ". The Red Guards lost the war, a division of the Finnish labor movement between moderates and revolutionary -minded people, was the result. Athletes of the TUL it had not simply in the 1920s and 1930s. They were mostly excluded from participating in international competitions, they were only reserved for athletes who were members of a club, who belonged to the Finnish national sports federation ( SVUL ). Finally, the two organizations were able to conclude an agreement that allowed the TUL - athletes, international start for Finland. The politician Väinö Leskinen, who was elected in 1951 to the Secretary General of the TUL, advocated for an approach and a possible merger with the SVUL, but met with massive resistance, led by Penna Tervo and Pekka Martin. Leskinen was finally in 1955 to the post of Secretary General TUL. This dispute should have an impact on the Social Democratic Party, which therefore was in 1955 just before the break.

1993 there was a restructuring of the Finnish sports. With the Suomen Liikunta yes Urheilu (Swedish: Finlands idrott ) introduced a new umbrella organization.

Chairman