// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Doni Arifi a good baker? He kneads the info.
 Arifi with Ilves in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 11 April 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Riihimäki, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Greuther Fürth | ||
| Number | 28 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2020 | Honka | 0 | (0) |
| 2018–2020 | Honka II | 31 | (0) |
| 2020 | Ilves II | 1 | (0) |
| 2020–2024 | Ilves | 89 | (3) |
| 2025 | KuPS | 29 | (1) |
| 2026– | Greuther Fürth | 12 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Finland U17 | 5 | (0) |
| 2019 | Finland U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2021 | Finland U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2023 | Kosovo U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Finland U21 | 6 | (0) |
| 2026– | Finland | 2 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 30 March 2026 | |||
Doni Arifi (born 11 April 2002) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for German 2. Bundesliga club Greuther Fürth and the Finland national team.[1][2]
Club career
[edit]Arifi was born in Riihimäki but raised in Matinkylä, Espoo. He started to play football in FC Honka organisation, debuting in senior level with the club's reserve team in the third-tier Kakkonen in 2018.
In the early 2020, Arifi moved to Tampere and joined a fellow Veikkausliiga side Ilves. On 7 August 2021, he extended his contract with Ilves, on a deal until the end of 2024.[3][4][5] He missed most of the 2023 season due to injury, but contributed in four cup matches as Ilves won the 2023 Finnish Cup title.
In January 2025, Arifi left Ilves and signed with KuPS.[6]
On 3 January 2026, Arifi signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Greuther Fürth in German 2. Bundesliga.[7]
International career
[edit]Born and raised in Finland, Arifi is a former youth international for the country, before switching his allegiance to Kosovo at under-21 level in 2023.[8] In August 2024, Arifi stated in an interview that he was still open to represent the country from which he receives the first full international call-up. He respected Finland where he was born and raised and educated as a player, and Kosovo as his parents' home country.[9]
On 28 August 2024, Arifi was called up to the Finland U21 squad by the head coach Mika Lehkosuo, for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches against Armenia and Romania.[10] He made his under-21 debut for Finland on 6 September against Armenia. Eventually Arifi made four appearances in the qualifiers, in which Finland advanced to the final competition by defeating Norway in the play-offs. Arifi was later named in Finland's final squad for the tournament in June 2025, as a replacement for Leo Walta.
Personal life
[edit]Arifi was born in Riihimäki, Finland to ethnic Albanian parents from Mitrovica.[11]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of 18 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Honka | 2018 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Honka Akatemia | 2018 | Kakkonen | 14 | 0 | – | – | – | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | Kakkonen | 16 | 0 | – | – | – | 16 | 0 | ||||
| 2020 | Kakkonen | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 2 | 1 | |||
| Total | 31 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||
| Ilves II | 2020 | Kakkonen | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Ilves | 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1[b] | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 34 | 3 | |
| Total | 89 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 119 | 3 | ||
| KuPS | 2025 | Veikkausliiga | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14[d] | 0 | 50 | 1 |
| Greuther Fürth | 2025–26 | 2. Bundesliga | 12 | 1 | – | – | – | 12 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 162 | 5 | 19 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 219 | 6 | ||
- ↑ Includes Suomen Cup
- ↑ Appearances UEFA Europa League
- ↑ Appearances UEFA Conference League
- ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League
International
[edit]- As of match played 30 March 2026
| National team | Year | Competitive | Friendly | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Finland | 2026 | 0[a] | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
- ↑ Appearances in the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League C.
- ↑ Includes two appearances in the 2026 FIFA Series.
Honours
[edit]KuPS
Ilves
- Veikkausliiga runner-up: 2024[12]
- Finnish Cup: 2023
Finland
References
[edit]- ↑ Doni Arifi at Soccerway
- ↑ "Profile at Veikkausliiga's website". Veikkausliiga. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ↑ Doni Arifi ja Ilves jatkosopimukseen - "Kohta on aika paljastaa salainen ase", Veikkausliiga, 7 August 2021
- ↑ DONI ARIFI JATKAA ILVEKSESSÄ PITKÄN JATKOSOPIMUKSEN TURVIN, ilvesedustus.fi, 7 August 2021
- ↑ Video: Rikkeestä suuttunut Ilveksen pelaaja kosti rumalla tempulla – raivo repesi: ”Ihan järkyttävää toimintaa”, Ilta-Sanomat, 26 September 2021
- ↑ KuPS ja Doni Arifi pelaajasopimukseen, kups.fi, 31 January 2025
- ↑ "Kleeblatt verpflichtet Mittelfeldspieler Arifi" [Greuther Fürth signs midfielder Arifi] (in German). SpVgg Greuther Fürth. 3 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
- ↑ D.Arifi, worldfootball
- ↑ Ilves-tähti Doni Arifi sisuuntui pelikaverien ja opettajien reaktioista – Jarkko Wissin esittämä kysymys sai napakan vastauksen, Aamulehti, 15 August 2024
- ↑ Pikkuhuuhkajat nimetty syyskuun otteluihin, Finnish FA, 28 August 2024
- ↑ "Doni Arifi, mesfushori kosovar që po lë gjurmë në Finlandë me KuPS:Dua titullin e kampionit, mezi pres përballjen me Dritën". Telegrafi (in Albanian).
- ↑ Ilveksen päävalmentaja hopeasta: ”Voitettu mitali”, Yle, 19 October 2024
- ↑ "Huuhkajat voitti Uuden-Seelannin FIFA Series -turnauksen". www.palloliitto.fi. 30 March 2026.
- 2002 births
- Sportspeople from Riihimäki
- Living people
- 21st-century Finnish sportsmen
- Finnish people of Kosovan descent
- Men's association football midfielders
- Finnish men's footballers
- Finland men's youth international footballers
- Finland men's under-21 international footballers
- Kosovan men's footballers
- Kosovo men's under-21 international footballers
- FC Honka players
- Pallohonka players
- Ilves (football) players
- Kuopion Palloseura players
- SpVgg Greuther Fürth players
- Veikkausliiga players
- Kakkonen players
- Finnish expatriate men's footballers
- Kosovan expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Germany
- Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Germany
- 2. Bundesliga players
- Finland men's international footballers