Get to know the nominees for the Espoo Sports Gala – Vote for the Espoo athlete, team and role model of the year 2025

The voting is open from 19 December 2025 to 12 January 2026. All awardees will be announced and awarded at the Espoo Sports Gala in February 2026. Vote here(external link, opens in a new window) (in Finnish).

The categories of the public vote are:

Wivan Atrila
Wivan Atrila is an athlete in the Special Olympics Athlete Leader programme. The programme trains exemplary athletes to promote their sports and Special Olympics sports. Wivan encourages people to show their strengths through hobbies that are dear to them and has helped children and young people with special needs to participate in physically active family camps. Atrila won the bronze medal in basketball at the European Championships in Italy and enjoys riding horses and playing golf.

Alicia Gras
Alicia Gras works as an active and exemplary coach and active club member in the Tapion Sulka ry badminton club. Alicia coaches nine groups, from young family badminton players to teenagers and adults. Through her work, Alicia puts the club's values into practice: human-centrism, a sense of community and courage. She actively promotes casual and competitive sports among girls as well. Alicia's courage to try new things has helped the company to innovate in areas such as communication, open doors and the organisation of the badminton event.
Alicia started playing badminton at the age of twelve and is currently practising and playing at the competitive level. She is studying bioinformation technology in Aalto University, with the goal of utilising her knowledge in competitive sports and coaching in her future work.

Abdul Hussein
Abdul "Abba" Hussein has been described as the most talented MMA fighter in Finland. Hussein has competed in five matches in the UAE Warriors organisation and won each one. His latest victory in 2025 was the fourteenth of Hussein's professional career. Regarded as Finland's greatest UFC prospect, Hussein will fight in his home city of Espoo for the first time in his professional career on Boxing Day at the Ice Cage event. Hussein represents the Espoon Kehähait ry combat sports club.
Alongside his career, Hussein trains young wrestlers at his home club, for whom he serves as an example of how a dream and working towards it can go a long way, regardless of background or other challenges. Hussein wants to encourage young people to believe in themselves and pursue their dreams.

Teija Malk
For eight years, Teija Malk has organised the Kiekko-Espoo Specials activity, which is intended for children and young people requiring special support. Every Saturday morning, Teija greets children and young people with a smile, treating the participants just as they are. Teija has a large heart: She helps young people in many practical matters, acts as a guide, listens and is always there for them when they need help. Teija has also organised joint meetings for the parents, where they receive peer support. Teija helps young people feel important, and the team would not work without her.

Tomi Silander
Tomi Silander, a swimmer from the swimming club Cetus, is in his fourth year at Haukilahden lukio general upper secondary school and is also training in two different swimming sports, competitive swimming and water polo. Tomi is a fine example of how to successfully combine various types of sports. Tomi is known for his positive attitude and exemplary performance during practices, competitions and matches.
In the long-course swimming nationals of summer 2025, Tomi achieved a total of four individual medals, the highest of which were from the Finnish championships in 800 and 1500-metre freestyle swimming. In national water polo championship games, Tomi won gold medals in the men's team, U18 team and beach water polo men's team, as well as gold at the Nordic Championships in the club championship tournament.

Nemanja Stevanovic 
Nemanja Stevanovic works as the main waterpolo coach at Cetus. Originally from Serbia, Nemanja started as head coach at Cetus in 2019, after which both the club and Finnish water polo have been on the rise.
Under Nemanja's leadership, Cetus won all the championships in the division (U12, U14, U16, U18 and men's championships) in spring 2025, the Nordic Club Championship, the Suomen Cup and the Finnish championship in beach volleyball for men and women in summer 2025. In addition, Cetus managed to climb up to 58th place in the European Aquatics club ranking. (80th place in 2024).

Men's waterpolo team, Cetus, waterpolo
The men's water polo team of Cetus has had a successful season. The team won the second consecutive water polo Finnish championships in May, the beach water polo Finnish championships in August and the Nordic Club Championships in October. Cetus dominates domestic water polo and successfully represents Espoo and Finland in international competitions. The team's achievements reflect long-term work, strong team spirit and uncompromising ambition.

Women's first team, EBT, basketball
In the spring, EBT's women won bronze in the women's Korisliiga league's Finnish championships in a local match at the Tapiola Sports Hall, when the team won the bronze medals 78–46. The team was the only club in the women's Korisliiga league that played the entire season without foreign reinforcements, relying entirely on domestic and their own players. The team has once again started competing or medals at the Finnish championships for the 2025–2026 season. The team has a lot of responsibility for two of its members, Nicole Ogun and Erika Macé, who made Finnish basketball history last summer.

Men's first team, Esport Oilers, floorball
The team won the Finnish championships for the second year in a row, beating Tampereen Classic at the seventh decisive match at the Tampere Ice Stadium. The team played the final matches of the final series without the team captain and the world's best player, Justus Kainulaista, who seriously injured his knee in the middle of the final series. During the season, the team's players Justus Kainulainen, Heikki Iiskola, Aaro Astala and Markus Laakso celebrated the world championship and played a decisive role in the final.

 

15-year-old women's 4x100m relay team, Espoon Tapiot, relay team
The women's 15-year-old 4x100 m relay team of Espoon Tapiot won the relay gold medal in the Finnish championships in athletics with a time of 47.51. The team included Veera Niska, Evelyn Ohia, Isla Kimpimäki and Olivia Kirjonen. The team improved the Finnish record for the widely practised sport by a very large amount (about 0.5 seconds). The team gained significant visibility in the Yle broadcast and brought Espoo's expertise and speed to the fore.

P19 league team, Golden Futsal Team, futsal
The Golden Futsal Team's (GFT) P19 league team won the Finnish championships in futsal for the third time in a row. During the season, the team proved to be mentally strong in tackle positions, and many players improved their own play significantly. The gold was GFT's third consecutive in this age group, and the gold team included several of the previous year's champions. During the season, several players from the team joined the U19 national team and made their debut in the men's Futsal league.

Boys’ team, KFK Shukokai, karate
Alexandru Cimpoca, Niilo Deboo, Henri Mossford and Milton Lindqvist won the boys' youth team kata world championship in KSI karate in June 2025. The team succeeded in their home country by winning the Finnish championship in their age group, and the boys also won a total of four individual medals in the individual events of the same World Championships. The team's success was based on determined practice, mutual trust, and a positive attitude that reflected the core values of karate both on and off the tatami board. Karate is more than a sport for boys – it teaches respect, self-discipline and responsibility, skills that carry over into life and make the team a strong role model for Espoo's youth sports.

Women’s first team, Kiekko-Espoo, ice hockey
Kiekko-Espoo won the Finnish championships in women's ice hockey. The team defeated HPK with a score of 3–2 in the extra round of the Auroraliiga's fifth Finnish championships final on their home ice and won the championship 4–1. The Finnish championship was the 17th overall for the Espoo team, when taking into account the championships of Espoo Blues. Kiekko Espoo's women’s team returned to power after HIFK's two consecutive championships.

Women's first team, Northern Stars, floorball
The Northern Star’s women's team was promoted to the Women's Salibandy League, and thus a team from Espoo will join the league after a 15-year hiatus. The team already got a taste of league games in the F-liiga matches in the spring, and in the autumn the team knocked out three league teams in preseason games.
The place in F-liiga is a natural continuation of a long-term work, as Northern Stars have been working for years for girls’ and women's floorball. With the inclusion to the league, F-liiga's women's series games will be available in Espoo and the capital region will have more local games.

OVO Junior Team, Olarin Voimistelijat, group gymnastics
The OVO Junior Team, the junior team of Olarin Voimistelijat, is the reigning junior World Championship bronze medalist and junior Finnish champion. The team has won a total of 12 World Championship medals and numerous Finnish championship medals.
The OVO Junior Team consists of 14 athletes born between 2008 and 2010.
The team has been a member of the national junior team in team wrestling every season since its inception.

Men's team, Tapiolan Honka, wheelchair basketball
The Tapiolan Honka wheelchair basketball team won the Finnish championship for the first time since 1998 in the 2024–2025 season. The achievement is the culmination of the rebuilding of the wheelchair basketball business, which started in 2017. The team played impressively during the season with a record of 7–1, which is a testament to the long-term work of a young and evolving team. The success was also due to a high-level squad, with seven players also representing the national team.

Girls aged 17, Tapiolan Honka, basketball
For the 17-year-old girls of Tapiola Honka, the season culminated in a championship celebration, as the team won both the semifinals and the finals in two games. In the semi-finals, the team defeated Espoo Basket Team and NMKY from Helsinki in the finals. The team's strengths throughout the season were team play and their defensive plays especially developed during the season, which was eventually rewarded with gold medals in the Finnish championships.

Ville Jukola, snowboarding
Ville Jukola, a member of the Finnish snowboarding team, made his international breakthrough in 2025. He made his debut at the World Championships, competed in the World Cup qualifiers, and finished second in the European Cup overall standings. His goal for this season is to secure a spot at the Milan-Cortina Olympics. Jukola has lived in Espoo all his life and started snowboarding at the Serena Ski Resort at the age of four.

 

Enni Nurmi, walking
Enni Nurmi is a five-time Finnish champion in walking. In 2025, she won the Finnish Championships in 10,000 metre walking at the Kaleva Games with a time of 47.33.92. Her victory came in the home games at the Leppävaara stadium, where Nurmi also trains daily. In the past year, Nurmi won gold in 20-kilometre racewalking in Saarijärvi in June, won the Swedish championship in the 5000-metres walk and represented Finland in the 20-kilometre racewalk at the European Team Championships in the Czech Republic.

Joakim Oldroff, badminton
Joakim Oldorff is the 2025 Finnish champion in men's doubles and placed fifth overall at the European Championships. In October, Oldorff won the internationally prestigious AI Ain Masters Super 100 tournament, and has risen to 42nd in the world rankings. His achievements are exceptional in a sport played by more than 300 million people worldwide. The young athlete's goal is a medal at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Teemu Ojala, weighted pull-up
Teemu Ojala has dominated in the weighted pull-up competitions for over ten years. In 2025, Ojala managed to elevate himself to the World Championship level again after sustaining injuries, and he ended his career with a third gold medal in weighted pull-ups. A new world record was not far off. Ojala is the holder of the Finnish record in men's 90 kg weighted upp-ups with a 102 kg weight. Ojala has persistently focused on weighted pull-ups and has represented the athletes of the Espoo Fire Department in competitions. At the same time, he has had time to act as a pioneer of Cornhole, bringing the American game to Finland and Espoo during 2025.

Leevi Tarjanne, skiing
In November, Leevi Tarjanne of Espoon Hiihtoseura placed fourth in the Oloksen tykkikisat event, a traditional 10-kilometre intermittent skiing competition in a high-quality international club, just 2.5 seconds behind the winner. Of the Finnish competitors, only Ristomatti Hakola was able to get ahead. Growing up in Espoo, Tarjanne had practised regatta in Esbo Segelförening, and switched to skiing at the age of sixteen. Tarjanne's long-term plans are set for the 2029 World Championships in Lahti.