Kaija Salopuro

Kaija Salopuro (born 1938) is a Finnish former footballer who won five women's football championships with Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi between 1971 and 1975. She later worked for the Football Association of Finland and received multiple awards for her contributions to Finnish women's football.

Personal life Salopuro is from Ylivieska, Finland. In her early life, she participated in baseball and athletics.

Career Salopuro moved to Helsinki to work in the offices of Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi sports club (HJK). At the time, the club was considering the creation of a women's football club. Initially, none of the players were paid for their participation. From 1971 to 1975, she captained the team to five Finnish Football Championships.

Salopuro worked in the offices of HJK until 1976, when she moved to work for the Football Association of Finland. In the 1980s, she worked with the Finland women's national football team. Salopuro retired from the Finnish Football Association in 2003.

Awards

In 2006, she was the first recipient of the award for contributions to women's football. The award was named after Salopuro. In 2010, she was entered into the Finnish Football Hall of Fame. In 2012, she won the Finnish . In 2013, she was inducted into HJK's Hall of Fame.