The 35-year-old has a background in basketball coaching and will be assisted by Osku Kuutamo, who has coached the Scandinavian country's wheelchair curlers.

Both men have signed four-year contracts with the Finnish Sport Association of Persons with Disabilities (VAU) which will take the pair up to the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

They replace Valtteri Lehtinen and Erkki Lämsä, who coached the Finns to a seventh place finish at last year's home European Championships in Pajulahti.

First on the agenda for the new team will be attempting to reach Rio 2016, with Finland due to be one of six countries contesting a qualification tournament in Paris between April 16 and 22.

The United States, France, Denmark, Germany and New Zealand will also be competing with two spots at Rio 2016 available.

The VAU are hoping to appoint consultant help to aid the new management at their first tournament, with a more long-term goal of qualifying for Tokyo seen as more realistic than reaching the Brazilian city in August.

"The roots of wheelchair rugby are partly from basketball and there are some significant tactical similarities," said Immonen, who last coached Finnish basketball side Namika Lahti and has also managed St. Pölten Dragons in the Austrian Bundesliga.

"I believe my background as a basketball coach will help me getting to know this sport better.

"A long-term project, good coaching team and international coaching environment are the things that inspire me in this job."