Pertti Alaja

Pertti Johannes Alaja (18 February 1952 – 18 August 2017)^[3] was a Finnish football executive and a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.^[4][5]

Pertti Alaja

Pertti Alaja in 2012.
Personal information
Full name	Pertti Johannes Alaja
Date of birth	(1952-02-18)18 February 1952
Place of birth	Helsinki, Finland
Date of death	18 August 2017(2017-08-18) (aged 65)
Place of death	Espoo, Finland
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1971-1972	Haka	31	(0)
1973-1975	HJK	57	(0)
1976-1977	OTP	44	(0)
1978–1979	Ikast	23	(0)
1980–1981	Edmonton Drillers[1]	47	(0)
1982–1983	Malmö FF	44	(0)
International career
	Finland[2]	29	(0)
Managerial career
1984–1986	HIFK
1987–1989	PPJ
1988–1989	Finland (gk coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alaja served as the Secretary General of the Football Association of Finland during 1991–2000 and the vice-president during 2004–2006. He was also the tournament director of the FIFA World Cup 2010.

Alaja was elected the 15th president of the Finnish FA on 14 October 2012, replacing Sauli Niinistö,^[6] and served in the position until 2017.

Alaja passed away on 18 August 2017. He was previously diagnosed with cancer.^[7]

In November 2017, Alaja was posthumously awarded the Captain's Ball, the most prestigious personal award by the Football Association of Finland. He was also named in the Hall of Fame of Finnish football.

Alaja had also previously played handball at the highest domestic level.^[8]

His late brother Erkki Alaja was also a professional footballer and handball player, and later worked in various positions in sports management.^[9]

Honours

HJK

• Mestaruussarja: 1973

Individual

• Football Association of Finland: The Captain's Ball 2017^[10]
• Hall of Fame of Finnish football

References

1. Finnish Players Abroad
2. Pertti Alaja valittiin Palloliiton puheenjohtajaksi
3. Lehtisaari, Matti (18 August 2017). "Jalkapallovaikuttaja Pertti Alaja on kuollut". Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). Yleisradio Oy. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
4. Alsjö, Martin (2011). 100 år med Allsvensk fotboll (in Swedish). Idrottsförlaget. pp. 307–309. ISBN 978-91-977326-7-3.
5. Pertti Alaja at National-Football-Teams.com
6. Alajasta Palloliiton 15. puheenjohtaja Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
7. Jalkapallovaikuttaja Pertti Alaja on kuollut, Yle, 18 August 2017
8. Pertti Alajalle Palloliiton ja liigan Captain's Ball -palkinto, Keskisuomalainen, 3 November 2017
9. Kommentti: Äkillisesti kuollut Erkki Alaja oli urheilumarkkinoinnin tuhattaituri, Ilta-Sanomat, Juha Kanerva, 21 July 2023
10. Captain's Ball, palloliitto.fi

• Vuorinen, Juha; Kasila, Markku (2007). Pelimiehet (in Finnish). Urheilumuseosäätiö. p. 19. ISBN 978-952-99075-9-5.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Sauli Niinistö	President of the Football Association of Finland 2012–2017	Succeeded by Markku Lehtola