Jarl Öhman

Jarl Öhman played as a forward and started his career with the Åggelby Fotbollklubb before he joined HIFK. With HIFK he won silver at the Finnish championship in 1912.

At the 1912 Olympic Games, Öhman played in all four games for the Finnish team. They defeated Italy (in overtime) and Russia in the first two rounds but were overmatched against England in the semi-final and the Netherlands in the bronze medal match. In the tournament, he scored two goals, one each against Italy and Russia. Öhman made his début for the national team in Finland’s first ever international match. Until 1922, he won a total of eight caps. In a game against Estonia, which was won by Finland 10-2, he scored a hat-trick within the first 14 minutes for a total of six goals. In 1922, he was actually player-coach of the Finnish team, acting as the teams’ first head coach.

From 1912-15, Öhman also served as secretary and treasurer of the Finnish Football Association but eventually he was declared ineligible for competition due to unpaid debts. In 1917, he returned all the documents to the association that he previously refused to hand over.

Later, Öhman was one of the founders of Gamlakarleby Idrottsförenig (GIF, in 1924 renamed GBK Kokkola) and was elected as its first chairman. He also coached GIF/GBK and later Vaasan Palloseura. Öhman married Gunhild Regina (née Walin) and died at just 44 years of age in Vyborg (Viipuri).