Stal Mielec

Full name	FKS Stal Mielec
Nickname(s)	Biało-niebiescy (White-blues)
Founded	10 April 1939; 85 years ago (1939-04-10)
Ground	Stadion Miejski w Mielcu
Capacity	7,000 [1]
Chairman	Jacek Klimek
Manager	Kamil Kiereś [2]
League	Ekstraklasa
2023–24	Ekstraklasa, 11th of 18
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

FKS Stal Mielec (Polish pronunciation: [ˈstal ˈmjɛlɛt͡s]) is a Polish football club based in Mielec, Poland. The team competes in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of the Polish football league system.

The club was established on 10 April 1939. Historically, the club has enjoyed great successes within Poland's top division, winning the title in 1973 and 1976, but had undergone significant management changes and financial difficulties within the past two decades, which forced the club from participation in the Poland's top league. After winning the third-tier II liga title in 2016, Stal Mielec was promoted to I liga. After finishing first in the I liga in 2020, Stal Mielec was promoted to the Ekstraklasa for the first time since the 1995–96 season.

History

Naming history

• 1939 – Klub Sportowy PZL Mielec
• 1946 – Robotniczy Klub Sportowy PZL Zryw Mielec
• 1948 – Związkowy Klub Sportowy Metalowców PZL Mielec
• 1949 – Związkowy Klub Sportowy Stal Mielec
• 1950 – Koło Sportowe Stal przy Wytwórni Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego Mielec
• 1957 – Fabryczny Klub Sportowy Stal Mielec
• 1977 – Fabryczny Klub Sportowy PZL Stal Mielec
• 1995 – Autonomiczna Sekcja Piłki Nożnej FKS PZL Stal Mielec
• 1997 – Mielecki Klub Piłkarski Stal Mielec
• 1998 – Mielecki Klub Piłkarski Lobo Stal Mielec
• 1999 – Mielecki Klub Piłkarski Stal Mielec
• 2002 – Klub Sportowy Stal Mielec
• 2003 – Klub Sportowy FKS Stal Mielec

1939–1945 - the beginning and interwar period

The football club was one of the first two (next to the volleyball club) at the PZL Mielec, established in 1939. The team was made up of players playing in other clubs in Mielec and employees of the PZL, an aerospace company. In the first match played, the team defeated the Gymnastic Society "Sokół" Mielec with 4–1 victory. Three more matches were played against Dzikovia Tarnobrzeg (2–1), Metal Tarnów (3–1) and a team made up of players from an ammunition factory in Nowa Dęba (6–1). The match against Okęcie Warszawa planned for September did not take place, because World War II started and any sports games were forbidden. However, the matches were played illegally in the meadows beyond the communal forest and in other towns (including Dębica, Kolbuszowa, Sandomierz). The only official match was played against a German military unit and ended with the score 1–2.

Honours

League

• Ekstraklasa
  • Champions: 1972–73, 1975–76
  • Runners-up: 1974–75
• I liga
  • Champions: 1960, 1984–85, 1987–88
• II liga
  • Champions: 1955, 1968–69, 2015–16
• III liga
  • Champions: 2012–13 (group Lublin–Subcarpathia)
• V liga
  • Champions: 1998–99
• Klasa A
  • Champions: 1950, 1954
• Klasa B
  • Champions: 1949

Cup

• Polish Cup
  • Runners-up: 1975–76

Europe

• European Cup
  • First round: 1973–74, 1976–77
• UEFA Cup
  • Quarter-finalists: 1975–76
  • First round: 1979–80, 1982–83

Youth teams

• Polish U-19 Championship
  • Runners-up: 1964, 2007
• Polish U-17 Championship
  • Champions: 2007
  • Runners-up: 1996, 2012

Stadium

The construction of the club's current stadium, Stadion Miejski w Mielcu, was concluded in 1953. The stadium underwent a major renovation, completed in 2013. It maintains a seating capacity for 7,000 spectators. Before the 2013 renovation, it maintained seating capacity for 30,000 spectators, and hosted numerous European Champions Cup, UEFA Cup, and Poland national team matches, including FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship qualifiers.

Individual player awards

• Ekstraklasa top goalscorer
  • 1973 - Grzegorz Lato - 13 goals
  • 1975 - Grzegorz Lato - 19 goals
  • 1995 - Bogusław Cygan - 16 goals

• Piłka nożna magazine plebiscite
  • Player of the Year
    • 1976 - Henryk Kasperczak
    • 1977 - Grzegorz Lato
  • Newcomer of the Year
    • 1975 - Zbigniew Hnatio
    • 1978 - Włodzimierz Ciołek

• Award given by Przegląd Sportowy
  • Polish Athlete of the Year
    • 1974 - 4th place - Grzegorz Lato
    • 1977 - 5th place - Grzegorz Lato

• Award given by Sport
  • Player of the Year
  • 1974 - Grzegorz Lato
    • 1976 - Henryk Kasperczak
    • 1977 - Grzegorz Lato

• Award given by Tempo
  • Goalkeeper of the Year
    • 1979 - Zygmunt Kukla

Reserves

The club operates a reserve team which currently plays in the Subcarpathia group of the IV liga, the fifth tier of the league pyramid. During the 2020–21 season, a third team participated in the regional league, as well as the Subcarpathian Rzeszów– Dębica Polish Cup edition. ^{[4] [5]}

Current squad

As of 2 July 2024 ^[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   POL Mateusz Kochalski 3 DF   NED Bert Esselink 4 DF   POL Kamil Pajnowski 5 DF   ROU Marco Ehmann 8 MF   JPN Koki Hinokio 10 MF   POL Maciej Domański 11 MF   POL Krzysztof Wołkowicz 12 GK   POL Mateusz Dudek 13 GK   POL Konrad Jałocha 16 MF   MLT Matthew Guillaumier 17 FW   BLR Ilya Shkurin 18 MF   POL Piotr Wlazło 21 DF   POL Mateusz Matras

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 MF   POR Rafael Santos 23 DF   POL Krystian Getinger ( captain) 25 MF   POL Łukasz Wolsztyński 27 DF   LVA Alvis Jaunzems 34 MF   POL Alex Cetnar 36 MF   POL Szymon Gierlach 37 MF   POL Mateusz Stępień — FW   ISR Ravve Assayag — MF   POL Fryderyk Gerbowski — GK   POL Jakub Mądrzyk (on loan from Raków Częstochowa) — DF   GER Marvin Senger — MF   POL Dawid Tkacz (on loan from Widzew Łódź)

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   POL David Poreba (at Chicago Fire FC II until 31 December 2024)

Notable players

The players below played for their respective countries at any point during their career.

Managers

See also

• Football in Poland
• List of football teams
• Champions' Cup/League
• UEFA Cup

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stal Mielec.

• Official website
• Stal Mielec at the 90minut.pl website (in Polish)

50°17′55″N 21°26′9″E / 50.29861°N 21.43583°E / 50.29861; 21.43583