Twinning in floorball and football, Oona and Veera Kauppi lead Finland’s attack at world championship

SINGAPORE – Masters on the floorball court and football field, twin terrors Oona and Veera Kauppi have been dominating opponents in both sports since they were little girls.

Competing at the Women’s World Floorball Championship (WFC) in Singapore this week, the Finland forwards have racked up 13 goals and 13 assists in the first four matches of the team’s campaign.

Their connection up front is no magic, as the 26-year-olds have been partners in sport for over two decades.

Between them, they have multiple medals at the WFCs – Veera has three silvers and a bronze from 2015 to 2021, while Oona has two silvers and a bronze (2017-2021) – and are three-time Swedish Super League champions. Equally adept with their feet, the siblings are also silver medallists in the Finnish Women’s Football League.

Veera said: “I would like to say that it’s a magical connection that we have; it’s just because we know each other so well, as we have 26 years of experience, so it’s easy to know what she thinks and what she wants to do in the rink, so we just know each other so well.”

Sport has been a big part of the Kauppi household, with the twins receiving their first floorball sticks when they were just a few weeks old.

Since then, they have been inseparable. They have always played on the same team and, even at home, they would join forces against their father in floorball.

While Veera, who has been named the world’s best female floorball player thrice, admitted that she is the more competitive of the two, there is no rivalry between the sisters, though they can be harsher on each other – as compared with teammates – during squabbles in the rink.

Oona, who is a minute older, said: “We have learnt when we were young we are always two and you can always make it two against one.

“It helps even though we fight sometimes and you’re thinking it sucks that it’s your teammate and also your twin, but it’s only those small moments you’re thinking that, but then 99 per cent it’s a big strength.”

Their twin connection can be uncanny sometimes. About seven years ago, they both suffered knee injuries after tearing their anterior cruciate ligaments within five months of each other.

“Twin things sometimes they’re good, sometimes they’re stupid,” said a laughing Oona.

But having each other during that period was what got them through it.

Veera said: “It was really a lucky, but unlucky, situation for us to have because it’s a really tough time, you don’t get to play floorball.

“It took nine months for us to get back so, for me, it felt like I got away with it because I had Oona with me the whole journey and that was a good thing for both of us.”

The duo also share a common goal to use floorball as a platform to inspire others. In their early days in the sport, they were the only girls in their club team and had to endure snide comments from their male teammates.

Their experiences have motivated them to share more about their journey and, hopefully, help aspiring athletes.

Veera said: “For us, it’s important to be more than just floorball players because we know women in sport are a minority.

“We want to do something and help the younger generation get better opportunities... We want to show that everything’s possible, especially for young girls but also boys.”

Oona added: “When we were 15, we were thinking this isn’t possible but we’re here 10 years later. We’ve shown it’s possible, so we want to inspire others – if they have a dream, anything is possible.”