CLUB HISTORY

WE’VE PLAYED SINCE 1911

POLONIA WARSZAWA

TO IS NOT ONLY THE OLDEST FOOTBALL CLUB IN WARSAW

but also a sports legend whose history captivates, inspires, surprises, and gives hope for the future. Full of ups and downs, the history of the team created by people with passion shows that the unbreakable fighting spirit of the Black Shirts and the fervent support of fans build the unique character of Polonia Warszawa.
Join the process of Polonia Warszawa’s revival and become a part of the new history of the Black Shirts that we’ll all be proud of!

A HISTORY FULL OF SUCCESS AND PASSION

Our journey has not only been marked by successes, but also by moments of doubt, mistakes and lessons that have shaped us. Each stage we have gone through has been a milestone for us – a challenge that has led us to where we are today.

Two gymnasium teams – Stella and Merkury – existing as part of the Warsaw Sports Club join forces and create Polonia (Latin for Poland).

Polonia players play in black outfits for the first time and receive the “Black Shirts” nickname.

The Black Shirts win the runner-up title in their first Polish championship game. Polonia dominates the Warsaw group with an impressive goal output – 21 goals scored versus 1 lost.

The team receives land from city authorities to build a pitch near Warszawa Gdańska station.

Polonia achieves a prestigious success by defeating a foreign team for the first time in its history – a strong Hungarian team Vasasok Sport Clubja.

Polonia wins the Warsaw championship for the sixth time. During this time, brothers Stefan and Jan Loth, alongside Artur Marczewski, stand out on the field and are called up for the first-ever international football match for the Polish national team.

The stadium of Polonia Warszawa at 6 Konwiktorska Street is officially opened. It remains the Club’s headquarters to this day.

The team debuts 19-year-old Władysław Szczepaniak, who will become a symbol of the Club in the future.

ZPZS recognizes Polonia as the best Polish sports club in 1938.

Due to the war operations, football competitions are organized in a conspiracy – Polonia twice, in 1943 and 1943, wins the title of champion of Warsaw.

During the Warsaw Uprising, insurgent units of Battalion Zośka, Battalion Pięść and Battalion Czata 49 lead a strike through the Polonia football field towards the Warszawa Gdańska station. The attack turns out to be unsuccessful.

The Black Shirts win the title of Polish champion, beating AKS Chorzów 3:2 in front of 25,000 spectators. Due to war damage at Polonia’s stadium, the match is played at Legia’s facility.

Communist authorities rename Polonia Warszawa as Kolejarz Warszawa and assign it a departmental “sponsor”, PKP, leading to underfunding and marginalization of the Club.

The Black Shirts defeat Legia 1:0 in the Polish Cup final. The goal that determines the triumph is scored in the 50th minute of the match by Zdzisław Wesołowski.

Polonia travels to Hungary and plays a series of friendly matches against Törekvés Budapest, Szombathelyi Törekvés and Pésci Törekvés.

In response to permission granted by the league authorities, Polonia is the first club in Warsaw and the second in Poland to return to its traditional name.

Despite their relegation to the third division (III liga), Polonia is supported by huge crowds of fans. About 20,000 fans show up for the championship match.

Polonia Warszawa returns to the second division (II liga) as the unbeatable favorite with a dozen-point lead.

Fans who are a part of the official Fan Club of the Black Shirts are voted the best cheering fan group in Poland by Przegląd Sportowy.

The Black Shirt are taking part in the King’s Cup. The team is ranked 3rd in the tournament, winning 5 games, drawing 1 and losing 2.

After nearly 40 years in the second and third divisions (II and III liga), Polonia is promoted to the first division (I liga).

Polonia wins promotion to the Ekstraklasa, but is relegated to the second division (II liga) the following season due to a lack of funding and training facilities.

After a two-year absence, the Black Shirts are back in the first division (I liga) together with Wisła Kraków.

Polonia Warszawa wins the well-deserved title of Polish vice-champion.

The Polonia team secures a place in the semi-finals of the Intertoto Cup.

The team led by Jerzy Engel and Dariusz Wdowczyk becomes the leader of the Ekstraklasa.

Polonia wins the League Cup and then secures its second-ever Polish championship, beating Legia Warszawa 3:0 at Łazienkowska Street.

The Black Shirts win the Polish Super Cup after a 4:2 victory against Amica Wronki.

Despite the Club’s dealing with a financial crisis, the Black Shirts manage to win the Polish Cup.

The KSP Polonia Warszawa company is established, with Jan Raniecki as its chairman. His investments are expected to lead to Polonia receiving a license to play in the Ekstraklasa. In time, he decides to sell the Club.

Polonia is repurchased by a construction and development tycoon J.W. Construction and its owner and founder Józef Wojciechowski.

Thanks to a merge with Dyskobolia Grodzisk Wielkopolski, next season Polonia begins playing in the Ekstraklasa.

In the 13th round of the Ekstraklasa, Polonia hosts a game against Lech Poznan at its own stadium. The victorious meeting is also an opportunity to celebrate the club’s 100th anniversary.

After a series of setbacks in the 2011/2012 season, Wojciechowski decides to stop sponsoring the Club, which leads to the sale and departure of a group of players representing the colors of Warsaw Polonia so far.

Wojciechowski sells 100% of the Club to the GKS Katowice team owner Ireneusz Król, and Piotr Stokowiec becomes the new coach.

Polonia’s players end the fall round in 3rd place and the entire season in 6th place, which is considered a big success.

Polonia is not granted a license for the coming season 2013/2014.

After his fruitless attempt to After a fruitless attempt to submit the team to the first division (I liga), Ireneusz Król files for bankruptcy of Polonia Warszawa S.A.

The Polish Football Association accedes to the petition of an association formed by a group of Polonia’s most loyal fans, and the Club starts the competition from the fourth division (IV liga).

Since its relegation from the Ekstraklasa, Polonia Warszawa has experienced ups and downs, oscillating between the fourth and second divisions (IV i II liga), and continues to face financial problems.

Gregoire Nitot becomes the owner of Polonia Warszawa, and decided to invest in its revival. Prior to the Club’s takeover, a #BonjourGregoire campaign is launched on social media as a reaction to Legia Warszawa fans’ hate towards the new investor. The campaign is supported by Polish nationwide media.

Polonia Warszawa, in extremely exciting circumstances, wins promotion to the central level and after 5 years gets out of the third league. Coach Rafał Smalc’s players have beat Legionovia Legionowo at the end of the season, advancing to the leading position.

Second promotion in a row! We are just one step from Ekstraklasa. Already in the first season after returning to the central level, our team won promotion to the 1st league. We were on first place in the table, guaranteeing promotion two games before the end of the season.

After winning two promotions in a row, Polonia Warszawa entered the first league, playing at this level for the first time since its relegation from the Ekstraklasa in 2013. Rafał Smalec’s team achieved its primary goal of staying in the elite football league.

Changes to the first-team coaching staff. A new coach, Mariusz Pawlak, was hired and his coaching staff strengthened. In the 2024/2025 season, Polonia Warszawa reached the quarterfinals of the Polish Cup and competed in the playoffs for promotion to the Ekstraklasa.

Polonia Warszawa has entered a new phase of its development. The club has formally changed its legal form from a limited liability company to a joint-stock company. This change in company status opens up new opportunities for the club, both sporting and financial.

The 2024/2025 season will go down in the history books of the Polonia Warszawa Academy as a unique and emotional time, culminating in winning the Polish Champion title in the Central Junior League U17.

The merger of the Polonia Warszawa Academy and the MKS Polonia Warszawa Football Academy was another important step towards creating an even stronger structure that will foster the development of young players, support them in their pursuit of football success, and contribute to the further developm

We have launched the Polonia Elite Club project, the aim of which is to build a community of club leaders and supporters who want to co-create its development and engage in valuable relationships in a unique sports and business environment.

OUR SUCCESSES

POLISH CHAMPIONSHIP

2000

The winning squad:
Dariusz Wdowczyk, Jerzy Engel, Andrzej Wiśniewski, Krzysztof Dowhań, Robert Gubiec, Mariusz Liberda, Maciej Szczęsny, Mariusz Pawlak, Przemysław Boldt, Tomasz Ciesielski, Tomas Zvirgżdauskas, Piotr Dziewiecki, Arkadiusz Kaliszan, Mariusz Malinowski, Jacek Paszulewicz, Mariusz Bartczak, Emmaneul Ekwueme, Igor Gołaszewski, Jarosław Mazurkiewicz, Arkadiusz Bąk, Tomasz Kiełbowicz, Jacek Dąbrowski, Tomasz Wieszczycki, Maciej Bykowski, Grażvydas Mikulenas, Tomasz Moskal, Emmanuel Olisadebe

POLISH SUPER CUP

2000

POLISH CUP

2001

The winning squad:
Marek Matuszek, Tomasz Ciesielski, Paweł Kaczorowski, Mariusz Pawlak, Tomas Żvirgżdauskas, Mariusz Malinowski, Mateusz Bartczak, Tomasz Wieszczycki, Sebastian Kęska, Arkadiusz Bąk, Emmanuel Ekwueme, Bartosz Burchard, Igor Gołaszewski, Maciej Bykowski, Mariusz Liberda, Maciej Szczęsny, Przemysław Boldt, Piotr Dziewicki, Arkadiusz Kaliszan, Tomasz Kiełbowicz, Marcin Kuś, Tomasz Reginis, Łukasz Adamski, Mateusz Bartczak, Piotr Kosiorowski, Maciej Scherfchen, Kamil Jakubiak, Emmanuel Olisadebe

PROMOTION TO 2ND LEAGUE

2022

The winning squad: Marcin Pieńkowski, Wojciech Chojczak, Marcin Kluska, Tomasz Wełna, Szymon Jarosz, Eryk Mikołajewski, Rafał Kiczuk, Adam Pazio, Damian Mosiejko, Kacper Górski, Junior Radziński, Piotr Kruszewski, Maciej Wesołowski, Robert Mackiewicz, Piotr Marciniec, Łukasz Piątek, Bartosz Ziółko
Michał Brudnicki, Sławek Abramowicz, Patryk Paczuk, Krystian Pieczara, Krzysztof Węgier, Michał Naulewicz, Kacper Roguski, Krzysztof Koton, Rafał Parobczyk, Rafał Smalec, Gregoire Nitot, Bartłomiej Dryl, Piotr Kosiorowski, Jakub Wyszkowski, Wiktor Niewiarowski, Marcinho

PROMOTION TO 1ST LEAGUE

2023

The winning squad: Piotr Kruszewski, Jan Majsterek, Maciej Kowalski-Haberek, Marcin Kluska, Filip Arak, Eryk Mikołajewski, Szymon Jarosz, Wojciech Fadecki, Marcin Pieńkowski, Michał Fidziukiewicz, Maciej Wesołowski, Krzysztof Węgier, Maksymilian Hołownia, Krystian Pieczara, Adam Pazio, Łukasz Piątek, Antoni Borkiewicz, Jakub Lemanowicz, Michał Brudnicki, Piotr Marciniec, Mateusz Michalski, Nikita Vasin, Bartosz Krajewski, Michał Naulewicz, Jakub Wawszczyk, Michał Bajdur, Krzysztof Koton, Piotr Kosiorowski, Rafał Smalec, Gregoire Nitot, Bartłomiej Dryl, Junior Radziński, Wojciech Chojczak, Bartosz Biedczycki