FC Santa Claus AC (abbreviated Santa) is a football club from Rovaniemi, Finland. The club was formed in 1993 following the amalgamation of Rovaniemen Reipas and Rovaniemen Lappi football clubs. FC Santa Claus won its group in Kakkonen, but lost promotion play-offs final to HIFK and failed to gain promotion to the Ykkönen league in 2010.
Background
Rovaniemen Reipas (RoRe) was the more successful of the two founder clubs whom merged to form FC Santa Claus, playing 12 seasons in the Kakkonen (Second Division), the third tier of the Finnish football system in the periods 1978–81, 1984–89, 1991–92. Rovaniemen Lappi (RoLa) played 3 season at this level in 1987–88 and 1992. The merger consolidated FC Santa Claus as a Kakkonen club and they spent a further 8 years at this level until they were relegated to the Kolmonen at the end of the 2000 season. The club gained promotion from the Northern Finland (Pohjois-Suomi) section of the Kolmonen in 2008.[1]
