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 won 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 12th title in 2008–09.

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 2007/08 season
• Górnik Łęczna - relegated from 1st to 3rd division, -6 points at the start of 2007/08 season
• Górnik Polkowice - 70 000 zł penalty, relegated from 2nd to 4th division, -6 points at the start of 2007/08 season
• Jagiellonia Białystok - docked 10 points at the start of the 2009/10 season, fine of 300,000 zloty
• KSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski - relegated from 2nd to 3rd division, - 6 points at the start of 2007/08 season

• Zagłębie Sosnowiec - at the end of 2007/08 they were relegated from the top division to the 3rd, as they finished the season in the relegation zone, plus one division lower due to corruption.
• Korona Kielce - at the end of 2007/08 they were relegated one level lower due to corruption.
• Zagłębie Lubin (Polish champion 2006-2007) - at the end of 2007/08 they were relegated one level lower due to corruption.

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. [224885]

List of champions

1920: not finished 1921: Cracovia Kraków 1922: Pogoń Lwów 1923: Pogoń Lwów 1924: No championships 2 1925: Pogoń Lwów 1926: Pogoń Lwów 1927: Wisła Kraków 1928: Wisła Kraków 1929: Warta Poznań 1930: Cracovia Kraków 1931: Garbarnia Kraków 1932: Cracovia Kraków 1933: Ruch Hajduki Wielkie 1934: Ruch Hajduki Wielkie 1935: Ruch Hajduki Wielkie 1936: Ruch Hajduki Wielkie 1937: Cracovia Kraków 1938: Ruch Hajduki Wielkie 1939: Abandoned ³ 1946: Polonia Warszawa 1947: Warta Poznań 1948: Cracovia Kraków 1949: Wisła Kraków 1950: Wisła Kraków 1951: Wisła Kraków/Ruch Chorzów     1952: Ruch Chorzów 1953: Ruch Chorzów 1954: Polonia Bytom 1955: Legia Warszawa 1956: Legia Warszawa 1957: Górnik Zabrze 1958: ŁKS Łódź 1959: Górnik Zabrze 1960: Ruch Chorzów 1961: Górnik Zabrze 1962: Polonia Bytom

1962-63: Górnik Zabrze 1963-64: Górnik Zabrze 1964-65: Górnik Zabrze 1965-66: Górnik Zabrze 1966-67: Górnik Zabrze 1967-68: Ruch Chorzów 1968-69: Legia Warszawa 1969-70: Legia Warszawa 1970-71: Górnik Zabrze 1971-72: Górnik Zabrze 1972-73: Stal Mielec 1973-74: Ruch Chorzów 1974-75: Ruch Chorzów 1975-76: Stal Mielec 1976-77: Śląsk Wrocław 1977-78: Wisła Kraków 1978-79: Ruch Chorzów 1979-80: Szombierki Bytom     1980-81: Widzew Łódź 1981-82: Widzew Łódź 1982-83: Lech Poznań 1983-84: Lech Poznań 1984-85: Górnik Zabrze 1985-86: Górnik Zabrze 1986-87: Górnik Zabrze 1987-88: Górnik Zabrze 1988-89: Ruch Chorzów 1989-90: Lech Poznań 1990-91: Zagłębie Lubin 1991-92: Lech Poznań 1992-93: Lech Poznań 1993-94: Legia Warszawa 1994-95: Legia Warszawa 1995-96: Widzew Łódź 1996-97: Widzew Łódź 1997-98: ŁKS Łódź 1998-99: Wisła Kraków

1999-00: Polonia Warszawa 2000-01: Wisła Kraków 2001-02: Legia Warszawa 2002-03: Wisła Kraków 2003-04: Wisła Kraków 2004-05: Wisła Kraków 2005-06: Legia Warszawa 2006-07: Zagłębie Lubin 2007-08: Wisła Kraków 2008-09: Wisła Kraków

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
12	Wisła Kraków	1927, 1928, 1949, 1950, 1978, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009
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	Śląsk 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
Silesia	31	Górnik Zabrze (14), Ruch Chorzów (14), Polonia Bytom (2), Szombierki Bytom (1)
Lesser Poland	18	Wisła Kraków (12), Cracovia Kraków (5), Garbarnia Kraków (1)
Masovia	10	Legia Warsaw (8), Polonia Warsaw (2)
Greater Poland	7	Lech Poznań (5), Warta Poznań (2)
Łódź	6	Widzew Łódź (4), ŁKS Łódź (2)
Lower Silesia	3	Zagłębie Lubin (2), Śląsk Wrocław (1)
Subcarpathian	2	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 (12, 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).

Top goalscorers

1927-39

Year Tally Player Club 1927 37 goals Henryk Reyman Wisła Kraków 1928 28 goals Ludwik Gintel Cracovia Kraków 1929 25 goals Rochus Nastula Czarni Lwów 1930 24 goals Karol Kossok Cracovia Kraków 1931 24 goals Walerian Kisieliński Wisła Kraków 1932 16 goals Kajetan Kryszkiewicz Warta Poznań 1933 19 goals Artur Woźniak Wisła Kraków 1934 33 goals Ernst Willimowski Ruch Hajduki Wielkie 1935 22 goals Michał Matyas Pogoń Lwów 1936 18 goals Teodor Peterek Ernst Willimowski Ruch Hajduki Wielkie Ruch Hajduki Wielkie 1937 12 goals Artur Woźniak Wisła Kraków 1938 21 goals Teodor Peterek Ruch Hajduki Wielkie 1939 12 goals Ernst Willimowski Ruch Hajduki Wielkie 1948-2008 Year Tally Player Club 1948 31 goals Józef Kohut Wisła Kraków 1949 20 goals Teodor Anioła Lech Poznań 1950 21 goals Teodor Anioła Lech Poznań 1951 20 goals Teodor Anioła Lech Poznań 1952 11 goals Gerard Cieślik Ruch Chorzów 1953 24 goals Gerard Cieślik Ruch Chorzów 1954 13 goals Henryk Kempny Ernst Pohl Polonia Bytom Legia Warsaw 1955 16 goals Stanisław Hachorek Gwardia Warsaw 1956 21 goals Henryk Kempny Legia Warsaw 1957 19 goals Lucjan Brychczy Legia Warsaw 1958 19 goals Władysław Soporek ŁKS Łódź 1959 21 goals Jan Liberda Ernst Pohl Polonia Bytom Górnik Zabrze 1960 17 goals Marian Norkowski Polonia Bydgoszcz 1961 24 goals Ernst Pohl Górnik Zabrze 1962 16 goals Jan Liberda Polonia Bytom 1963 18 goals Marian Kielec Pogoń Szczecin 1964 18 goals Lucjan Brychczy Józef Gałeczka Jerzy Wilim Legia Warsaw Zagłębie Sosnowiec Szombierki Bytom 1965 18 goals Lucjan Brychczy Legia Warsaw 1966 23 goals Włodzimierz Lubański Górnik Zabrze 1967 18 goals Włodzimierz Lubański Górnik Zabrze 1968 24 goals Włodzimierz Lubański Górnik Zabrze 1969 22 goals Włodzimierz Lubański Górnik Zabrze 1970 18 goals Andrzej Jarosik Zagłębie Sosnowiec 1971 13 goals Andrzej Jarosik Zagłębie Sosnowiec 1972 16 goals Ryszard Szymczak Gwardia Warsaw 1973 13 goals Grzegorz Lato Stal Mielec 1974 15 goals Zdzisław Kapka Wisła Kraków 1975 19 goals Grzegorz Lato Stal Mielec 1976 20 goals Kazimierz Kmiecik Wisła Kraków 1977 17 goals Włodzimierz Mazur Zagłębie Sosnowiec 1978 15 goals Kazimierz Kmiecik Wisła Kraków 1979 17 goals Kazimierz Kmiecik Wisła Kraków 1980 24 goals Kazimierz Kmiecik Wisła Kraków 1981 18 goals Krzysztof Adamczyk Legia Warsaw 1982 15 goals Grzegorz Kapica Szombierki Bytom 1983 15 goals Mirosław Okoński Mirosław Tłokiński Lech Poznań Widzew Łódź 1984 14 goals Włodzimierz Ciołek Górnik Wałbrzych 1985 14 goals Leszek Iwanicki Motor Lublin 1986 20 goals Andrzej Zgutczyński Górnik Zabrze 1987 24 goals Marek Leśniak Pogoń Szczecin 1988 20 goals Dariusz Dziekanowski Legia Warsaw 1989 24 goals Krzysztof Warzycha Ruch Chorzów 1990 18 goals Andrzej Juskowiak Lech Poznań 1991 21 goals Tomasz Dziubiński Wisła Kraków 1992 20 goals Jerzy Podbrożny Mirosław Waligóra Lech Poznań Hutnik Kraków 1993 25 goals Jerzy Podbrożny Lech Poznań 1994 21 goals Zenon Burzawa Sokół Pniewy 1995 16 goals Bogusław Cygan Stal Mielec 1996 29 goals Marek Koniarek Widzew Łódź 1997 18 goals Mirosław Trzeciak ŁKS Łódź 1998 14 goals Arkadiusz Bąk Sylwester Czereszewski Mariusz Śrutwa Polonia Warsaw Legia Warsaw Ruch Chorzów 1999 21 goals Tomasz Frankowski Wisła Kraków 2000 19 goals Adam Kompała Górnik Zabrze 2001 18 goals Tomasz Frankowski Wisła Kraków 2002 21 goals Maciej Żurawski Wisła Kraków 2003 24 goals Stanko Svitlica Legia Warsaw 2004 20 goals Maciej Żurawski Wisła Kraków 2005 25 goals Tomasz Frankowski Wisła Kraków 2006 21 goals Grzegorz Piechna Kolporter Korona Kielce 2007 15 goals Piotr Reiss Lech Poznań 2008 23 goals Paweł Brożek Wisła Kraków 2009 19 goals Paweł Brożek Takesure Chinyama Wisła Kraków Legia Warsaw Ekstraklasa Top 10 Goal Scorers # Player Club(s) Years Goals 1 Ernst Pohl Legia Warsaw, Górnik Zabrze 1954-67 186 2 Lucjan Brychczy Legia Warsaw 1954-71 182 3 Gerard Cieślik Ruch Chorzów 1948-59 167 4 Włodzimierz Lubański Górnik Zabrze 1963-75 155 5 Teodor Peterek Ruch Chorzów 1928-48 154 6 Kazimierz Kmiecik Wisła Kraków 1968-82 153 7 Jan Liberda Polonia Bytom 1955-71 145 8 Teodor Anioła Lech Poznań 1948-57 141 9 Fryderyk Scherfke Warta Poznań 1927-39 131 10 Tomasz Frankowski Wisła Kraków, Jagiellonia Białystok 1992- 123 League presidents Nr. League President Term from to 1. Roman Górecki March 1, 1927 January 1929 2. Ignacy Izdebski January 1929 January 16, 1933 3. Zygmunt Żołędziowski January 16, 1933 January 17, 1936 4. Juliusz Geib January 17, 1936 August 30, 1936 5. Michał Jaroszyński August 30, 1936 Fall 1938 6. Karol Stefan Rudolf Fall 1938 September 17, 1939 7. Tadeusz Dręgiewicz August 10, 1946 August 18, 1946 - League suspended August 18, 1946 February 22, 1947 - VP PZPN ds. League February 22, 1947 June 14, 2005 8. Michał Tomczak June 14, 2005 November 29, 2005 9. Andrzej Rusko November 29, 2005 present See also Młoda Ekstraklasa Football in Poland Polish Championship in Football - winners of Ekstraklasa Sports league attendances External links Ekstraklasa S.A. Ekstraklasa online Polish SOCA! Live Ekstraklasa league table and news Orange Ekstraklasa Table, Fixtures and Results