Gnistan Football Club (abbreviated as "Gnistan", English name: Gnistan Helsinki) is a football club located in the Olympic area of Helsinki, Finland, founded in 1924. It joined the Helsinki branch of the Finnish Football Association in 1934, resumed activities in 1945 and started youth training, won its first regional III league championship in 1947, and was promoted to Maakuntasarja in 1958. In 1949, the membership reached 300. Although it retained athletics and other sports in the 1950s and 1960s, resources were limited, and from the 1960s onwards, it transformed into a club focused on football, gradually developing its youth training system.
From 1995 to 1998 and in 2001-2002, the club first competed in the Finnish second division. In 2002, it reached the quarter-finals of the Finnish Cup and was awarded "Best Club of the Year" twice by the Helsinki Football Association. In the early 2010s, it operated under the name "FC Gnistan" before returning to IF Gnistan ry. In 2016, it returned to the Finnish second division through the promotion playoffs, and although it was relegated in 2017, it gained experience. In 2019, it brought in players with league experience, won the Finnish third division cup championship, and was promoted back to the Finnish second division.
From 2020 to 2023, the team performed steadily in the Finnish second division, and in 2023, they qualified for the promotion playoffs as runners-up. Due to the traditional strong team FC Honga relinquishing their league license, Gnistan was promoted to the Finnish Premier League and continued to perform steadily. In their debut in 2024, they scored the first goal in the history of the top league against FC Inter.