Akademia GKS Bełchatów
Full nameFundacja Akademia GKS Bełchatów[1]
Nickname(s)Gieksa
Brunatni (the Browns)
Torfiarze (the Turfers)
Founded26 November 1977 (1977-11-26)
GroundGIEKSA Arena
Capacity5,264
ChairmanSzymon Serwa
ManagerBogdan Jóźwiak
LeagueIII liga, group I
2022–23IV Liga Łódź, 1st of 20 (promoted)
WebsiteClub website

GKS Bełchatów [ɡʲɛkaˈɛs bɛwˈxatuf] is a Polish professional football club based in Bełchatów. The club currently competes in the III liga.[2]

History

GKS Bełchatów entered Poland's Klasa A in 1977 under the name of Węgiel Brunatny Bełchatów,[3] and gained promotion to the III liga in the 1981–82 season.[3] It took the club another seven years to rise to the II liga (1986/1987 season), before winning a place in the top-tier I liga in 1992.[3] After another spell in II liga, the club again won promotion to the I liga at the end of the 2004–05 season. The club finished the 2005–06 season in 10th place, with 37 points.[4] The following season they challenged for the league title. After spending much of the latter part of the 2006–07 season in first place, they were ultimately overtaken by Zagłębie Lubin and had to settle for second place.[5]

On 11 March 2022, the club, then playing in the II liga, withdrew from the league and did not start playing in the spring round. As a consequence, they were moved to the last place in the 2021–22 season standings and their remaining matches being declared 0–3 forfeits for their opponents.[6] They declared liquidation on 20 April 2022.[7] On 31 May 2022, the Łódź Football Association admitted its academy (Akademia GKS Bełchatów) as its continuator to the Łódź group of the fifth division for the 2022–23 season.[8]

Achievements

Fans and rivalries

The fans are called Torfiorze (the "Turfers" in translation).[9] They have friendly relations with fans of Wisła Sandomierz.[10] Their biggest rivals are neighbours RKS Radomsko, and as Bełchatów is located in the Łódź Province, they also have rivalries with the two traditional well-established Łódź teams, ŁKS and Widzew.[10]

Bełchatów in Europe

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
2007–08 UEFA Cup 1Q Georgia (country) Ameri Tbilisi 2–0 0–2 2–2 (4–2 pen)
2Q Ukraine Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 2–4 1–1 3–5

Current squad

As of 12 December 2023

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 Poland POL Leonid Otczenaszenko
2 DF Poland POL Mateusz Szymorek
3 MF Poland POL Miłosz Nowak
4 DF Poland POL Stanisław Wenus
5 DF Poland POL Jarosław Trzeboński
6 MF Poland POL Damian Michalak
7 MF Poland POL Bartłomiej Bartosiak
8 MF Poland POL Artur Golański
9 FW Poland POL Przemysław Zdybowicz
13 MF Poland POL Marcel Żegota
14 MF Poland POL Bartosz Frątczak
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 DF Poland POL Mikołaj Grzelak
17 FW Ukraine UKR Serhiy Napolov
18 DF Poland POL Szymon Sarnik
19 MF Poland POL Dawid Woźniakowski
21 FW Poland POL Damian Warnecki
22 FW Poland POL Bartłomiej Trzeboński
23 MF Poland POL Kacper Czapla
27 DF Poland POL Mariusz Holik
30 MF Poland POL Łukasz Wroński
35 DF Poland POL Jakub Szczepaniak
99 GK Poland POL Kacper Foltyn
 ? MF Poland POL Klaudiusz Krasa

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

Managers

Notable players

Players who have been capped and/or have over 80 appearances for the club

References

  1. ↑ "Fundacja Akademia GKS Bełchatów". ngo.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2023-07-23.
  2. ↑ "Czas rozpocząć świętowanie! GKS wygrywa i awansuje do III ligi". GKS Bełchatów (in Polish). Retrieved 2023-07-23.
  3. 1 2 3 "GKS Bełchatów - sezon po sezonie - Historia Polskiej Piłki Nożnej - HPPN.PL". www.hppn.pl.
  4. ↑ "Orange Ekstraklasa 2005/2006". www.90minut.pl.
  5. ↑ "Dziesięć lat temu GKS Bełchatów zaszokował piłkarską Polskę". Dziennik Łódzki. November 9, 2016.
  6. ↑ "GKS Bełchatów wycofał się z rozgrywek 2 ligi". www.lodz.tvp.pl (in Polish).
  7. ↑ "Oficjalnie: GKS Bełchatów ogłosił upadłość". weszlo.com (in Polish). 2022-04-28. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
  8. ↑ "OFICJALNIE: GKS Bełchatów-reaktywacja. Klub zgłoszony do nowych rozgrywek". transfery.info (in Polish). 31 May 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  9. ↑ Kieruzel, Adam (November 27, 2020). "Bełchatów. Kibice GKS utworzyli mural z podobizną papieża Jana Pawła II [ZDJĘCIA]". Bełchatów Nasze Miasto.
  10. 1 2 "GKS Bełchatów — zgody, układy, kosy, grupy, grill i inne".
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