1.
Opole
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Opole is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River. With a population of approximately 127,792, it is the capital of the Opole Voivodeship and, with it long history dating back to the 9th century, Opole is considered to be one of the oldest towns in Poland. The origins of the first settlement are connected with the town being granted Magdeburg Rights in 1217 by Casimir I of Opole, the rapid development of the town was also caused by the establishment of a seat of regency in Opole in 1816. During its existence Opole belonged to Poland, Bohemia, Prussia, prior to World War II it was located in eastern Germany and was one of the largest centres of Polish minority in the entire country. In 1945, according to Yalta and Potsdam Agreements, the region was assigned to Poland, many German Upper Silesians and Poles of German ancestry still live in the Opole region, in the city itself, however, ethnic Germans make up less than 3% of the population. It was also the capital of the region of Upper Silesia. The National Festival of Polish Song has been held annually since 1963 and each year new regular events, fairs, shows. Opole is sometimes referred to as Polish Venice, because of its picturesque Old Town and several canals, the name Opole likely originated from the medieval Slavic term for a group of settlements. Opoles history begins in the 8th century, at this time, according to the archeological excavations, the first Slavic settlement was founded on the Ostrówek - the northern part of the Pasieka Island in the middle of the Oder river. In the early 10th century it developed one of the main gróds of the Slavic Opolanie. At the end of the century Silesia became part of Poland and was ruled by the Piast dynasty, from the 11th-12th centuries it was also a castellany. After the death of Duke Władysław II the Exile, Silesia was divided in 1163 between two Piast lines- the Wrocławska line in Lower Silesia and the Opolsko-Raciborska of Upper Silesia. Opole would become a duchy in 1172 and would share much in common with the Duchy of Racibórz, in 1281 Upper Silesia was divided further between the heirs of the dukes. The Duchy of Opole was temporarily reestablished in 1290, in the early 13th century, Duke Casimir I of Opole decided to move the settlement from the Pasieka Island into the right shore of the Oder river. All of the inhabitants had to be moved in order to place for the castle that was eventually built in the place of the old city. Former inhabitants of Ostrówek together with German merchants that immigrated here from the West, Opole received German town law in 1254, which was expanded with Neumarkt law in 1327. Opole developed during the rule of duke Bolko I of Opole, in this time the castle was finally completed and new buildings, including the city walls and the Holy Cross Church, were constructed. Along with most of Silesia, in 1327 the Duchy of Opole came under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Bohemia, in 1521 the Duchy of Racibórz was inherited by the Duchy of Opole, by then also known by its German equivalent - Oppeln
2.
Poland
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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
3.
Kit (association football)
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In association football, kit is the standard equipment and attire worn by players. The sports Laws of the Game specify the minimum kit which a player must use, footballers generally wear identifying numbers on the backs of their shirts. Professional clubs also usually display players surnames or nicknames on their shirts, Football kit has evolved significantly since the early days of the sport when players typically wore thick cotton shirts, knickerbockers and heavy rigid leather boots. The Laws of the Game set out the equipment which must be worn by all players in Law 4. Five separate items are specified, shirt, shorts, socks, footwear, goalkeepers are allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts. While most players wear studded football boots, the Laws do not specify that these are required, shirts must have sleeves, and goalkeepers must wear shirts which are easily distinguishable from all other players and the match officials. Thermal undershorts may be worn, but must be the colour as the shorts themselves. Shin pads must be covered entirely by the stockings, be made of rubber, plastic or a similar material, and provide a reasonable degree of protection. The only other restriction on equipment defined in the Laws of the Game is the requirement that a player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player. In the event of a match between teams who would wear identical or similar colours the away team must change to a different colour. The England national team plays in red shirts even when it is not required. Many professional clubs also have a kit, ostensibly to be used if both their first-choice and away colours are deemed too similar to those of an opponent. Most professional clubs have retained the basic colour scheme for several decades. Teams representing countries in international competition generally wear national colours in common with other sporting teams of the same nation, shirts are normally made of a polyester mesh, which does not trap the sweat and body heat in the same way as a shirt made of a natural fibre. Depending on local rules, there may be restrictions on how large these logos may be or on what logos may be displayed, competitions such as the Premier League may also require players to wear patches on their sleeves depicting the logo of the competition. The captain of team is usually required to wear an elasticated armband around the left sleeve to identify him as the captain to the referee. Most current players wear specialist football boots, which can be either of leather or a synthetic material. Modern boots are cut slightly below the ankles, as opposed to the high-ankled boots used in former times, studs may be either moulded directly to the sole or be detachable, normally by means of a screw thread
4.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
5.
Legia Warsaw
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Legia Warszawa /ˈlɛɡjə/, known in English as Legia Warsaw, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is one of the most successful Polish football clubs in history winning eleven Ekstraklasa Champions titles, the clubs home venue is the Polish Army Stadium. After the war, the club was reactivated 14 March 1920 in a casino in Warsaw as Wojskowy Klub Sportowy Warszawa, renamed Legia in 1923 after merger with another local club. It became the official football club of the Polish Army – Wojskowy Klub Sportowy Legia Warszawa. From 1949 to 1957, Legia was known as CWKS Warszawa, the first two acquired the club for an undisclosed sum, which also included paying off debts made by previous ownership, and Wandzel joined them in September 2014. The team had started its first training earlier in the spring of 1915, in July 1916, due to the Brusilov Offensive, Legia permanently moved to the capital city of Warsaw. Its first game in Warsaw was played on 29 April 1917 against the local rival Polonia Warsaw, the score was a draw – 1–1. Until the end of World War I, Legia had played nine games in Warsaw, it won six and its first away game was against KS Cracovia, which Legia won 2–1. With the win over Cracovia, at time the current Polish first league champion. Legia played its first match in Polish first league in Łódź on 8 May 1927 against ŁKS Łódź, marian Łańko scored the first league goal for the club. Since 1930, Legia has played at the Polish Army Stadium, in 1936 Legia was relegated to the second division, where it remained until the end of World War II. After World War II, Legia boosted its squad with new players and at the end of 1949 the club changed its name again. Eventually Kazimierz Górski joined the club and became a player for both the team and the Poland national team, the 1970s were known as Polands golden age of football. From the 1960s to the 1970s, Legias roster included powerful football players such as Jan Tomaszewski, Kazimierz Deyna, in the 1969–70 European Cup Legia achieved a successful campaign by reaching the semi-finals alongside Feyenoord, Leeds United, and Celtic. The following year, Legia reached the quarter-finals where they lost to Atlético Madrid, though the club had many national team players including Kazimierski, Okoński, Dziekanowski, Janas, Majewski, Buncol, Kubicki, Wdowczyk and others, the club had problems winning any league titles. However, thanks to winning four Polish Cups, the team was able to compete in European competitions, one of the more memorable European runs was the near upset against Internazionale during the UEFA Cup 1985–86, after two 0–0 games Legia lost in extra time. The next season Legia were yet again drawn against Inter, this time winning at home 3–2, Legia also won its first Polish SuperCup defeating Ruch Chorzów 3–0 in 1989. Winning the Polish Cup for the 9th time in the 1989–90 season Legia subsequently played in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, the team then managed by Władysław Stachurski went through to the semi-finals of the competition facing Manchester United
6.
Away colours
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Away colours are a choice of coloured clothing used in team sports. They are required to be worn by one team during a game between teams that would wear the same colours as each other, or similar colours. This change prevents confusion for officials, players, and spectators, in most sports it is the visiting team that must change – second-choice kits are commonly known as away kits or change kits in British English, and road uniforms in American English. Some sports leagues mandate that teams must always wear an alternative kit. In some sports, conventionally the home team has changed its kit, in most cases, a team wears its away kit only when its primary kit would clash with the colours of the home team. However, sometimes teams wear away colours by choice, occasionally even in a home game, at some clubs, the away kit has become more popular than the home version. Replica home and away kits are available for fans to buy. Some teams also have produced third-choice kits, or even old-fashioned throwback uniforms, in American sports, road teams usually wear a change uniform regardless of a potential colour clash. Further, almost all road uniforms are white in American football, in the National Basketball Association, home uniforms are white or yellow, and visiting teams wear a darker colour. In the United States, color vs. color games are a rarity, most teams choose to wear their color jerseys at home, with the road team changing to white in most cases. White road uniforms gained prominence with the rise of television in the 1950s, a white vs. color game was easier to follow in black-and-white. According to Phil Hecken, until the mid 1950′s, not only was color versus color common in the NFL, even long after the advent of color television, the use of white jerseys has remained in almost every game. The NFLs current rules require that a home jerseys must be either white or official team color throughout the season. If a team insists on wearing its home uniforms on the road, the road team might instead wear a third jersey, such as the Seattle Seahawks Wolf Grey alternate. According to the Gridiron Uniform Database, the Cleveland Browns wore white for home game of the 1955 season. The only times they wore brown was for games at Philadelphia and the New York Giants, in 1964 the Baltimore Colts, Browns, Vikings and Rams wore white regularly for their home games according to Tim Brulias research. The St. Louis Cardinals wore white for several of their home games, until 1964 Dallas had worn blue at home, but it was not an official rule that teams should wear their colored jerseys at home. The use of white jerseys was instigated by general manager Tex Schramm, the Cowboys still wear white at home today
7.
1. FC Magdeburg
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FC Magdeburg is a German association football club based in the city of Magdeburg. The club was founded in 1965 and spent all but one season in East Germanys top flight and it is the only East German club to have won a European title, winning the European Cup Winners Cup in 1974. It is the only East German club who won the double, winning the league, after German reunification, the club fell on hard times and only entered professional football in 2015 when the side was promoted to the 3. Football has been played in Magdeburg since the end of the 19th century, on 15 June 1896 SV Victoria 96 Magdeburg was founded, a club that had its best days before World War II, when it participated in the German championship finals on several occasions. Later the club participated in the Gauliga Mitte, after World War II, all sports clubs in the Soviet Occupation Zone were dissolved and a number of smaller clubs were created, which at first competed at a local and regional level. In 1945 players from the disbanded clubs Magdeburger SC Prussia 1899 and this club and SG Lemsdorf came together as the sports club BSG Eintracht Sudenburg, which in turn merged with SAG Krupp Gruson in 1950. The next year the club was renamed BSG Stahl Magdeburg, and then in 1952, in 1957 the football department of Motor Mitte was moved to SC Aufbau Magdeburg, a political decision with the goal of achieving higher standards of performance. In 1965, the department was again broken out of SC Aufbau. This was part of a general – again politically motivated – movement in East Germany towards football-only clubs with the goal of achieving higher standards, FC Magdeburg is the oldest of the football clubs created in this period. SC Aufbau were promoted to the first tier of East German football in 1959, at the beginning of the 1960s, the club usually played in the lower midtable of the DDR-Oberliga, but in 1964 the club had its first major success with a surprise win of the FDGB-Pokal. In the final at Dessau, Magdeburg came back from being 0–2 down to beat SC Leipzig 3–2. The cup win meant the first international appearance of a Magdeburg club, legend reports that the coin first stuck upright in the muddy ground, and only the second toss brought about a decision. SC Aufbau finished mid-table again in the 1964–65 season and managed to defend their cup title as the first team in East German football ever, however, the 1965–66 season, when SC Aufbaus footballers became 1. FC Magdeburg, ended in disaster, The club finished last in the table and was relegated to the second-tier DDR-Liga, with their new manager Heinz Krügel, Magdeburg were immediately repromoted and finished third in 1968 and 1969. With their third win of the FDGB-Pokal in 1969 the club had established itself among the top teams of East German football. During the 1970s, the DDR-Oberliga was mostly dominated by two teams,1, FC Magdeburg and SG Dynamo Dresden. One of the figures behind the success at Magdeburg was Heinz Krügel, under his reign, Magdeburg produced 9 East German internationals between 1969 and 1974 alone, four of which were part of the East German team competing at the 1974 FIFA World Cup. The golden age of Magdeburg football began in 1972, when the won the East German championship with the youngest squad in history
8.
Arka Gdynia
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Morski Związkowy Klub Sportowy Arka Gdynia is a Polish professional football club, based in Gdynia, Poland, that plays in the Polish Ekstraklasa. The club was founded as Klub Sportowy Gdynia in 1929 and its activities were interrupted between 1939–1945 due to the German occupation of Poland. The history of Arka dates back to 1929, when a group of workers of the Port of Gdynia founded Sports Club Gdynia, in 1932, a new stadium of KS was opened at Polanka Redlowska. This location was used by the club until 2000, in 1934, Sports Club Kotwica was registered. In 1949, Fishermen Sports Club MIR was formed, Three years later, its name was changed into Klub Sportowy Kolejarz-Arka Gdynia. In 1953, the team for the first time won promotion to the level of Polish football. In 1959, Arka’s U-19 became Polish runner-up, and in 1960, after a game vs. Hutnik Krakow. In 1964, Arka merged with Doker Gdynia, to form Maritime United Sports Club Gdynia, in 1972, its name was changed into Arka. Two years later Arka won promotion to the Ekstraklasa, relegated after one year, Arka returned to the top level in 1976. In 1979 Arka, managed by Czesław Boguszewicz, became the first team from Polish Baltic Sea coast to win the Polish Cup, in the final game, which took place in Lublin, Arka beat 2-1 Wisla Krakow. In its UEFA Cup Winners Cup debut, Arka lost to Bulgarian side PFC Beroe Stara Zagora, in 1982, Arka was relegated from the top level, to return there in 2005. In the 1982 World Cup in Spain, Arka’s Janusz Kupcewicz was among top players of Polish national team, in the 1980s and 1990s, Arka played either in the third or second division, with a number of promotions and relegations. In 2001, after six years in the level, Arka again won promotion to the second division, and in 2005. In 2011, the City of Gdynia completes the construction of a new stadium, on February 19,2011, in a friendly game to commemorate the opening of the stadium Arka ties 1-1 with Beroe Stara Zagora. Arka is one of the most supported clubs in Poland, drawing in support from mostly across Pomerania, the fans have an alliance with fans of Cracovia Kraków and Lech Poznań, and the three are known as the The Great Triad. Fans of Lechia Gdańsk, Śląsk Wrocław and Wisła Kraków also share a friendship called The Three Kings of Great Cities, the friendship with Polonia Bytom fans dates back to 1974, and is one of the longest friendships in supporter history which has survived to date. The greatest rivalry is with their neighbours Lechia Gdańsk, with whom they contest the Tricity Derby, note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality, note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules
9.
Ekstraklasa
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The Ekstraklasa is the top Polish professional league for mens association football clubs. Contested by 16 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the I liga, seasons starts in July, and ends in May or June the following year. Teams play a total of 37 games each, totalling 296 matches in the season, games are played on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. The winner of the Ekstraklasa qualifies for the Polish SuperCup, the Ekstraklasa is now operated by the Ekstraklasa SA. The first games of the freshly created league took place on 3 April 1927, a total of 80 clubs have played in the top division of Polish football since the founding of the league, of which 16 clubs have won the title. The current champions are Legia Warsaw, who won their eleventh title in 2015–16, 4-5 December 1926 in Warsaw, representatives from several Polish clubs met each other. The purpose of meeting was to discuss about possibility of creating a league. It is unknown who came up with the idea of a league, a country wide league was thought to be a much more practical solution than hitherto practiced two-stage system of regional games, followed by a national game. To dismay of clubs officials, PZPN did not like the idea of a league, however, it turned out that virtually all but one of the Polish clubs supported the idea. The decision to create it was regardless of what PZPNs representatives thought of it. The creation of the League was announced on 1 March 1927, the only opponent of the Leagues formation was Cracovia – a very influential and strong organization in Polish football of the 1920s. Cracovias boycott was because its chairman, Dr. Edward Cetnarowski, Cetnarowski was a personality known not only in Poland, but also in other countries. It was due to his efforts that in September 1923 his club, Cracovia, the Kraków sides results were a 1–1 tie with FC Barcelona and a 0–1 loss to Real Madrid. In October, also thanks to Cetnarowski, FC Sevilla came to Kraków, games of the first Championships started on 3 April 1927. All major teams took part in it and this is the list of the teams, In this first season of the League, fight for Championship was decided between two powerful teams – Wisła Kraków and 1. FC Katowice. This rivalry was treated seriously, not only by the two sides involved, but also by the whole nation. 1. FC was regarded as the supported by German minority, while Wisła, at the end of this historic season. Some time in the fall of 1927 in Katowice, a game between 1. FC and Wisła took place
10.
Radomiak Radom
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RKS Radomiak Radom is a Polish football club based in Radom, Poland. It achieved 2nd place in the 3rd division in season 2003/2004 and was promoted to the 2nd division in season 2004/2005, in season 2010/2011 Radomiak achieved 4th place. Promotion back to was achieved in the 2011/2012 season with a first placed league finish, in 1910, when the football leagues had been established for a number of years, the Russian rulers of Poland gave permission for the formation of the Radomskie Towarzystwo Sportowe. The newly formed RTS was made up of five sections, namely football, cycling, tennis, ice skating and gymnastics. By this, time Milan had been crowned champions of Italy on three occasions whilst Poland would have to wait until 1921 to see Cracovia crowned as its first Champions. On 18 December of the year, the Polish national side lost 1,0 to Bulgaria in their first ever international game. It was a year before the footballers of RKS played their first game – a 5,2 loss to Stella Warszawa and these were the beginnings of the club now known as RKS Radomiak. In 1924, Radom Sports Association won promotion to Warsaw Class B, Radom Sports Association won promotion to the Kielce League, beating Hakoah Będzin and KS Sosnowiec. After winning the Kielce League, Radom played in the playoffs to the Ekstraklasa, for the remaining part of the 1930s, Radom was one of the top teams of the league, but failed to qualify to the top level of Polish football. During World War II, the team ceased to exist, to return in April 1945, in 1947, after winning regional games, Radom once again played in the Ekstraklasa playoffs, losing to Widzew Łódź. Meanwhile, in April 1945, Sports Club Bata was founded in Radom and this name remained in use until July 1945, when the team was renamed into Sports Club Radomiak. The new team won regional games, and in Warsaw championship, it faced Polonia Warszawa. In 1946, Radomiak once again won regional games, in the play-offs it beat Lublinianka Lublin 5-0, to finally lose 1-3 to ŁKS Łódź. On July 19,1947, Marian Czachor became the first player from Radom to cap for Poland, in 1948, Radomiak entered the newly created Second Division, remaining there until 1952. For several years, Radomiak played in the 3rd and 4th Division, in 1967, Radomiak merged with Radom Sports Association, and new organization, Radom Sports Club Radomiak was formed. In 1969, it won promotion to the Second Division, but was quickly relegated, once again Radomiak returned there in 1974, also to be immediately relegated. In 1977, Radomiak again was promoted to the Second Division and this time, the team from Radom remained there for several years. In the 1982/1983, it finished second, after Motor Lublin, in its first, historic game in the Ekstraklasa, Radomiak beat at home Bałtyk Gdynia 3-0
Poland
