The premiere of the Finnish Baseball League foresees more than 4,500 spectators in Fuengirola and 240,000 on average on television

The Jesús Gámez field of the Elola sports complex will be the setting on April 25 and 26 for the inaugural women’s and men’s matches

4/17/2026 – Fuengirola will host the start of the Finnish Baseball League on the weekend of April 25 and 26, both in the women’s and men’s categories. A top-level international event that plans to bring together more than 4,500 spectators at the Elola Sports Complex and reach an average audience of more than 240,000 viewers in Finland.

The Jesús Gámez field will be the scene of both inaugural matches. On Saturday the 25th, the women’s match between Joensuun Maila and Oulun Lippo will open the competition, while on Sunday the 26th it will be the turn of the men’s match between Alajärven Ankkurit and Pattijoen Urheilijat. This was announced by the Councilors of Sports and Tourism, Julio Rodríguez and José Luis Ponce.

With this event, Fuengirola consolidates an event that is being held for the eighth time in the city since its beginning in 2017 – with the forced interruption in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. In its seven previous editions, the competition has attracted a total of 24,145 attendees, with an average of more than 3,500 spectators per edition.

Finnish baseball, one of the most popular sports in Finland, has a notable television following. The matches are broadcast live throughout the country, with average audiences of 240,000 viewers and peaks that can reach one million.

The Councilor for Sports, Julio Rodríguez, has been “very happy because Fuengirola is once again the venue for the start of the Finnish Baseball League”, organized by Superpesis, a highly relevant competition in Finland that chooses our city as the only international outlet during its regular season to inaugurate the championship, under the name of Fugepesis —Fuge is the name by which the Finns refer to Fuengirola—. Likewise, he pointed out that “since the beginning of the month, different teams are already in the city carrying out training and preseason stages, not only those that will participate in the opening matches.”

News of the edition

This edition incorporates several notable initiatives. On Friday, April 24, a day to promote Finnish baseball will be held at the Elola Sports Complex, in which 60 students from the Andalucía school will participate along with students from the Finnish school. During this activity, young people will be able to learn about this sport up close from professional players.

Likewise, residents of Fuengirola will be able to benefit from 25% discounts on the price of tickets by presenting the Citizen Card. The two-day pass will cost 40 euros (30 euros for registered residents), while the one-day ticket will cost 25 euros (20 euros for residents). Children under 13 years of age can enter for free.

For his part, the Councilor for Tourism, José Luis Ponce, has highlighted “the importance of the tourism-sports binomial and its direct impact on the city, especially in periods of lower tourist influx.” In this sense, he highlighted that this type of event “contributes to boosting local economic activity, benefiting hotels, businesses and the entire tourism sector.”

Furthermore, Ponce has highlighted the international projection of the event, pointing out that “in a country like Finland, with approximately 5.5 million inhabitants, these matches can reach close to 30% of the population, which reinforces the image of Fuengirola associated with values ​​such as sport, camaraderie and improvement.”