Ekstraklasa
| Ekstraklasa |
|---|
|
| Founded |
| 1927 |
| Nation |
 Poland
|
| Relegation To |
| Polish First League |
| Number of Teams |
| 16 |
| Level on Pyramid |
| Level 1 |
| Domestic Cup(s) |
| Polish Cup Ekstraklasa Cup Ekstraklasa Supercup |
| International Qualification |
| Champions League UEFA Cup Intertoto Cup |
| Current Champions |
| Wisła Kraków (11th title) |
| Most successful club |
| Górnik Zabrze, Ruch Chorzów (14 titles) |
| Website |
| Official |
 2008–09 season
|
The Ekstraklasa is a Polish professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Polish football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 16 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the Polish First League (Orange Liga). The Ekstraklasa season starts in late July, and ends in May the following year, teams play a total of 30 games each. The Ekstraklasa (former I liga) was formed as Liga Piłki Nożnej (LPN) on 1 March 1927 in Warsaw, but Polish Championships as non-league competition and The Polish Football Federation PZPN (Polski Związek Piłki Nożnej) had been organized on 20 December 1919 in Warsaw, a year after the independence of Poland in 1918. First, historic games of the freshly created League took place on April 3, 1927.
A total of 78 clubs have played in the top division of polish football since the founding of the league in 1921, of which, 17 clubs have one the title. Only 4 clubs (Polonia Warszawa, Legia Warszawa, Wisła Kraków and Zagłębie Lubin) have won the title in the last decade. The current champions are Wisła Kraków, who won their 11th title in the 2007–08.
Corruption scandal
Several clubs have been involved in a corruption scandal and were/are in danger of relegation:
- Arka Gdynia - relegated from 1st to 2nd division, -5 points at the start of next season
- Górnik Łęczna - relegated from 1st to 3rd division, -6 points at the start of next season
- Górnik Polkowice - 70 000 zł penalty, relegated from 2nd to 4th division, -6 points at the start of next season
- Jagiellonia Białystok - relegated from 1st to 2nd division
- KSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski - relegated from 2nd to 3rd division, - 6 points at the start of the next season
- Zagłębie Sosnowiec - at the end of 2007/08 will be relegated one level lower, so if they'll end the season as 16th or 15th team of 1st division, they'll be relegated to 3rd division, if they finish the league at a higher place, they'll be relegated to 2nd division
- Widzew Łódź - at the end of 2007/08 will be relegated one level lower due to corruption.
Other clubs which are partly involved in corruption scandal:
- Korona Kielce (1st division)
- Zagłębie Lubin(1st division, Polish champion 2006-2007)
- Lech Poznań(1st division)
Television
Three matches weekly - usually Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday - are telecast nationally by Canal+ Sport of Poland. Since the 2008-09 season, the remaining matches will be broadcast on Orange Sport. Telewizja Polska has the rights to air live 4 games per season on a non scrambled channel. [1]
List of champions
1921-1926, 1946, 1947 non league champions
² Not held due to the 1924 Summer Olympics
³ Abandoned due to the outbreak of World War II. On 31 August 1939 Ruch Chorzów was the leader.
Clubs by number of championships
| Titles | Team | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Górnik Zabrze | 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 |
| 14 | Ruch Chorzów | 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1960, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1989 |
| 11 | Wisła Kraków | 1927, 1928, 1949, 1950, 1978, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008 |
| 8 | Legia Warsaw | 1955, 1956, 1969, 1970, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2006 |
| 5 | Cracovia Kraków | 1921, 1930, 1932, 1937, 1948 |
| 5 | Lech Poznań | 1983, 1984, 1990, 1992, 1993 |
| 4 | Widzew Łódź | 1981, 1982, 1996, 1997 |
| 4 | Pogoń Lwów | 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926 |
| 2 | Polonia Warsaw | 1946, 2000 |
| 2 | Zagłębie Lubin | 1991, 2007 |
| 2 | ŁKS Łódź | 1958, 1998 |
| 2 | Stal Mielec | 1973, 1976 |
| 2 | Polonia Bytom | 1954, 1963 |
| 2 | Warta Poznań | 1929, 1947 |
| 1 | File:Slask Wroclaw.pngŚląsk Wrocław | 1977 |
| 1 | Szombierki Bytom | 1980 |
| 1 | Garbarnia Kraków | 1931 |
The following table lists the Polish football champions by the Polish voivodeship regions.
| Region | Titles | Winning Clubs |
|---|---|---|
| File:Slaskie flag.svg Silesia | Górnik Zabrze (14), Ruch Chorzów (14), Polonia Bytom (2), Szombierki Bytom (1) | |
 Lesser Poland
|
Wisła Kraków (11), Cracovia Kraków (5), Garbarnia Kraków (1) | |
 Masovia
|
Legia Warsaw (8), Polonia Warsaw (2) | |
 Greater Poland
|
Lech Poznań (5), Warta Poznań (2) | |
 Łódź
|
Widzew Łódź (4), ŁKS Łódź (2) | |
 Lower Silesia
|
Zagłębie Lubin (2), Śląsk Wrocław (1) | |
 Subcarpathian
|
Stal Mielec (2) |
Honored Teams
In European Football teams are especially honored for winning multiple league titles, after 10 league titles a representative golden star is placed above the teams badge to indicate 10 league titles. Ruch Chorzów became the first Polish team to achieve this prestigious honor of winning the league for the 10th time in 1968. Four years later in 1972, Górnik Zabrze matched this achievement by winning its 10th title. Most recently Wisła Kraków has been dubbed by this honor winning their 10th league title in 2005.
The current (as of August 2008) officially-sanctioned Ekstraklasa stars are:
- Golden Star 10 or more league titles won
Ruch Chorzów (14, received in 1968).- Górnik Zabrze (14, received in 1972).
- Wisła Kraków (11, received in 2005).
- Silver Star 5-9 league titles won
Legia Warsaw (8, received in 1994).- Cracovia Kraków (5, received in 1948).
- Lech Poznań (5, received in 1993).
