Ollipekka Ojala, a specialist from Finland who joined FC Gintra in April 2024 relinquished his post as head coach due to personal reasons.
Founded in 1999, FC Gintra are a women’s football club from Šiauliai affiliated with the local Šiauliai University. They are 23-time undisputed Lithuanian Women’s football Champions, having won 20 of those titles back to back, including this past season.
Taking over from Bulgarian Kalojan Petkov who was with the team for two years, Ollipekka Ojala took over the reigns at Gintra in April 2024, coming over from Finnish KuPS. During this time, he won yet another national gold with them, Baltic League bronze, and progressed to the finals of UEFA Champions League qualifications, narrowly losing 2-0 to Glasgow Celtic.
Posting on his social media and via the club homepage, the outgoing coach thanked the club, city and players for making his brief tenure valuable and rewarding:
This amazing team full of people from all over the world achieved something in this 7 months which is what this is all about. It grew from a group of individuals into a truly unified team.
A smile on my face is the best way to end this adventure in Lithuania! @fcgintra and Lithuania will always have a big place in our family’s hearts.