Tomorrow is the day that supporters of Tampere United have been waiting for almost exactly a year now. The return of Tampere United to competitive football, now as TamU-K, takes place almost exactly on the same date as Tampere United’s last match was played in 2011 before the Finnish FA banned us from competitive football for the rest of the season. That match was the final of the Finnish League Cup, so it seems only fitting that the return takes place in another ”lesser” cup competition, namely the Finnish Regions Cup, the Finnish equivalent to the FA Trophy in England.

For a supporter who has experienced all the ups and downs with Tampere United tomorrow is a hugely emotional day as our club rises again from the ashes. In our dreams tomorrow marks the beginning of a rise back to the club’s former glory. The road ahead is a tough one and everybody knows that, but the good thing about football is that you get to climb up one step at a time.

Tomorrow at the atmospheric Pyynikki stadium nobody will be thinking of that though. It will be all about the big moment when the referee blows the starting whistle at 11 in the morning. And then who knows… Our opponent is Kangasalan Voitto, a team that plays two divisions above us in Nelonen. It is tough for me to guess what our chances are in this match as I do not know much at all about the opponent, but I trust we’ll at least give them a game.

But of course the most important thing is to at all be able to play competitively again. I’ve missed it. I’ve missed it bad. Tomorrow will be glorious.