Stal Mielec

This article is about the Polish football club. For the handball team, see SPR Stal Mielec.

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

Stal Mielec

Full name	FKS Stal Mielec
Nickname(s)	Biało-niebiescy (White-blues)
Founded	10 April 1939; 86 years ago (1939-04-10)
Ground	Grzegorz Lato Municipal Stadium
Capacity	7,000[1]
Chairman	Jacek Klimek
Manager	Ivan Đurđević
League	Ekstraklasa
2023–24	Ekstraklasa, 11th of 18
Website	stalmielec.com
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

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.

Old Ground: Grzegorz Lato Municipal Stadium

Old Ground: Grzegorz Lato Municipal Stadium

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 – FKS Stal Mielec
• 2018 – PGE FKS Stal Mielec
• 2024 – FKS Stal Mielec^[2]

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

Main article: Grzegorz Lato Municipal Stadium

New Ground: Stadion Miejski w Mielcu

The construction of the club's current stadium, Municipal Stadium, 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

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

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

• Tempo Goalkeeper of the Year
  • 1979 - Zygmunt Kukla

Reserves

Stal Mielec II

League	IV liga Subcarpathia
2023–24	Regional league Dębica, 1st of 16 (promoted) [3]
Website	http://stalmielec.com/

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]

Players

Current squad

As of 3 March 2025^[6]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 3 DF  NED Bert Esselink 4 DF  POL Kamil Pajnowski 5 DF  ROU Marco Ehmann 6 MF  MLT Matthew Guillaumier 7 FW  FRA Jean-David Beauguel 9 FW  ISR Ravve Assayag 10 MF  POL Maciej Domański 11 MF  POL Krzysztof Wołkowicz 12 GK  POL Karol Dybowski 13 GK  POL Konrad Jałocha 14 FW  POR Ivan Cavaleiro 15 DF  GER Marvin Senger 18 MF  POL Piotr Wlazło 19 MF  POL Dawid Tkacz (on loan from Widzew Łódź) 20 MF  POL Karol Knap (on loan from Cracovia)

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 DF  POL Mateusz Matras 23 DF  POL Krystian Getinger (captain) 25 FW  POL Łukasz Wolsztyński 26 MF  FIN Pyry Hannola (on loan from SJK Seinäjoki) 27 DF  LVA Alvis Jaunzems 32 MF  POL Fryderyk Gerbowski 33 MF  POL Adrian Bukowski 39 GK  POL Jakub Mądrzyk (on loan from Raków Częstochowa) 44 MF  UKR Serhiy Krykun (on loan from Piast Gliwice) 70 GK  POL Kewin Szurlej 73 MF  POL Natan Niedźwiedź 77 MF  POL David Zięba 92 MF  POL Damian Kądzior (on loan from Piast Gliwice) 96 MF  POL Robert Dadok

Notable players

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

Notable Polish players Jan Domarski Michał Gliwa Witold Karaś Henryk Kasperczak, former coach of Wisła Kraków and Kavala Damian Kądzior Dariusz Kubicki Zygmunt Kukla Grzegorz Lato, Golden Shoe winner of the 1974 World Cup with 7 goals; former President of the Polish Football Association Radosław Majecki Andrzej Szarmach Bogusław Wyparło Michał Żyro

Notable foreign players Said Hamulić Bozhidar Chorbadzhiyski Bogdan Vaštšuk Petteri Forsell Albin Granlund Kai Meriluoto Rauno Sappinen Edgar Bernhardt Alvis Jaunzems Dominykas Barauskas Matthew Guillaumier Ivan Cavaleiro Martin Dobrotka

Managers

• Stanisław Maurer (1947–1948)
• Rudolf Pirych (1948–1952)^[7]
• Eustachy Poticha (1952–1953)
• Antoni Brzeżańczyk (1954–1956)
• Michał Matyas (1957–1958)
• Antoni Brzeżańczyk (1959–1960)^[7]
• Henryk Skromny (1961)
• Czesław Suszczyk (1962)
• Michał Matyas (1962–1963)
• Stanisław Malczyk (1963–1964)
• Otton Opiełka (1964)
• Władysław Lemiszko (1964–1965)
• Konrad Jędryka (1966–1967)^[7]
• Andrzej Gajewski (1968–1972)^[7]
• Károly Kontha (1973)
• Aleksander Brożyniak (1973–1974)^[7]
• Zenon Książek (1974–1975)
• Edmund Zientara (1975–1977)
• Alfred Gazda (1977)
• Konstanty Pawlikaniec (1977–1978)
• Zenon Książek (1978–1980)^[7]
• Mieczysław Kruk (1980–1981)
• Józef Walczak (1981–1982)
• Witold Karaś (1982)
• Jacek Machciński and Marian Kosiński (1982–1983)
• Henryk Stroniarz (1983–1984)
• Włodzimierz Gąsior (1984–1985)
• Ryszard Latawiec (1985–1986)
• Zenon Książek (1986–1987)
• Włodzimierz Gąsior (1987–1990)
• Marian Kosiński (1990)
• Włodzimierz Gąsior (1990–1991)
• Grzegorz Lato (1991–1993)
• Witold Karaś (1993)
• Franciszek Smuda (1993–1995)
• Jan Złomańczuk (1995)
• Grzegorz Lato (1996–1997)
• Jerzy Płaneta (1998)
• Marek Chamielec (1999)
• Jerzy Płaneta (1999–2000)
• Witold Karaś (2000)
• Roman Gruszecki (2000–2001)
• Włodzimierz Gąsior (2001)
• Marek Lorenc (2001)
• Krzysztof Łętocha (2001–2002)
• Jacek Klisiewicz (2002)
• Włodzimierz Gąsior (2003–2006)
• Tomasz Tułacz (2006)
• Włodzimierz Gąsior (2006–2007)
• Janusz Białek (2007)
• Zbigniew Hariasz (2007)
• Andrzej Jaskot (2008)
• Grzegorz Wcisło (2008–2009)
• Zbigniew Hariasz (2009)
• Janusz Białek (2009)
• Zbigniew Hariasz (2009–2010)
• Grzegorz Wcisło (2010)
• Mariusz Łuc (2010)
• Tomasz Tułacz (2011–2012)
• Roman Gruszecki (2012)
• Włodzimierz Gąsior (2012–2014)
• Rafał Wójcik (2014)
• Janusz Białek (2014)
• Rafał Wójcik (2014)
• Janusz Białek (2014–2016)
• Maciej Serafiński (2016)
• Zbigniew Smółka (2016–2018)
• Artur Skowronek (2018–2019)
• Dariusz Marzec (2019–2020)
• Dariusz Skrzypczak (2020)
• Leszek Ojrzyński (2020–2021)
• Włodzimierz Gąsior (2021)
• Adam Majewski (2021–2023)
• Kamil Kiereś (2023–2024)
• Janusz Niedźwiedź (2024–2025)^[8]
• Ivan Đurđević (2025–present)^[9]

See also

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