Korisliiga Women (Finland) 2026/27

Naisten Korisliiga is the premier women’s basketball league in Finland. Founded in 1944, it sits at the apex of the national pyramid, operating above the Naisten I Divisioona. The competition was originally known as Koripallon naisten SM-sarja before a major rebranding in 2013–14 aligned its name with the men’s top flight.

The league features ten clubs competing in a structured format. Each side plays every opponent twice during the regular season, resulting in eighteen games. Following this phase, the table divides into two continuation stages based on performance. The top five teams enter the Winners Stage, while the bottom five compete in the Losers Stage. In these segments, fixtures are repeated. Qualification for the post-season depends on final positions within these groups. The top five from the Winners Stage and the top three from the Losers Stage advance to the playoffs. The bottom two sides from the Losers Stage face relegation to the second tier.

Playoff matches are contested as best-of-five series, encompassing quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final. Historically, the league switched from deciding titles via regular season standings to a knockout playoff system in 1973–74. This structural change has defined the modern era of Finnish women’s basketball.

Several clubs share the record for the most titles, each holding eight championships. Nokian Urheilijat, Tampereen Pyrintö, Sampo Basket, and Forssan Alku are among the most successful franchises in the history of the tournament. Currently, Peli-Karhut holds the title of reigning champions after securing their ninth victory in the 2024–25 season. They defeated Torpan Pojat in the deciding series. Torpan Pojat had been the defending champions from the previous campaign.

The league operates with a semi-professional model, distinct from the fully professional status of the men’s Korisliiga. While the men’s game employs a gentleman’s agreement limiting foreign players, the women’s competition does not maintain a publicly defined cap. This difference reflects the varying financial scales of the two tiers within Finnish basketball.