(; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish football league system.
Contested by 18 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the I liga, seasons start in July, and end in May or June the following year. Teams play a total of 34 games each. Games are played on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. The winner of the qualifies for the Polish Super Cup. Since 2005, the league is operated by the Spółka Akcyjna.
The (former I liga) was officially formed as Liga Polska on 4–5 December 1926 in Warsaw, since 1 March 1927 as Liga Piłki Nożnej (), but the Polish Football Association (Polish: Polski Związek Piłki Nożnej, PZPN) had been in existence since 20 December 1919, a year after the independence of Poland in 1918. The first games of the freshly created league took place on 3 April 1927, while the first national non-league football championship took place in 1920.
A total of 87 teams have played in the top division of Polish football since the founding of the league, 20 of which have won the title. The current champions are Lech Poznań, who won their 10th title in the 2025–26 season.
History
Naming 1927–1948: Liga 1949–2004: I liga 2004–2005: Idea Ekstraklasa 2005–2008: Orange Ekstraklasa 2011–2015: T-Mobile Ekstraklasa 2016–2019: Lotto Ekstraklasa since 2019: PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa
Creation of the Polish Football League On 4–5 December 1926 in Warsaw, representatives from several Polish clubs met to discuss the creation of a league. It is unknown where the idea of a Polish league originated from, however a national league was thought to be a much more practical solution than hitherto practiced two-stage system of regional matches followed by a national match.
To the dismay of clubs' officials, the PZPN was not receptive to the idea of a national league and therefore sought to thwart it. However, it turned out that virtually all but one of the Polish clubs supported the idea. The decision to create it was made regardless what PZPN's representatives thought of it. In late February 1927, at the PZPN's meeting in Warsaw, its officials openly opposed the formation of a league, but the clubs, allegedly egged on by some generals from the Polish Army (which, after May Coup of 1926, played a key role in all aspects of public life), proceeded anyway. The creation of the League was announced on 1 March 1927.
Cracovia The only opponent of the league's formation was Cracovia – a very influential and strong organization in Polish football of the 1920s. Cracovia's boycott was because its chairman, Dr. Edward Cetnarowski, at the same time held the post of the director of the PZPN. Cetnarowski was a personality known not only in Poland, but also in other countries. It was due to his efforts that in September 1923, Cracovia toured Spain, drawing 1–1 with Barcelona and losing 0–1 to Real Madrid. In October, also thanks to Cetnarowski, Sevilla travelled to Kraków, losing 2–3 to Cracovia.
Early years of the league
Games of the first league championships started on 3 April 1927. All major teams (except for Cracovia) took part in it. This is the list of the teams (in the order they finished in November 1927):
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 very seriously, not only by the two sides involved, but also by the whole nation. 1.FC was regarded as the team supported by German minority, while Wisła, at the end of this historic season, represented ambitions of all Poles.
Some time in the fall of 1927 in Katowice, an ill-fated game between 1.FC and Wisła took place. Stakes were very high – the winner would become the champion. Kraków's side won 2–0 and became the champion. 1.FC finished second, third was Warta Poznań.
1920s In 1928, Cracovia finally decided to enter the league, which was gladly accepted by all fans of football. However, championships were once again won by Wisła, with such excellent players as Henryk Reyman, Mieczysław Balcer and Jan Kotlarczyk. Warta Poznań was second and Legia Warsaw third. This was also the last year of 1.FC's glory. The team finished fifth, to be relegated forever at the end of 1929 season.
In 1929, another team (after Cracovia, Pogoń Lwów and Wisła) was added to the list of champions of Poland. This time it was Warta Poznań, which finished one point ahead of Garbarnia Kraków.
However, after the last game, on 1 December 1929, it was Garbarnia Kraków that was celebrating the championship. Two weeks later, in mid-December, PZPN's officials changed the result of the Warta – Klub Turystow Łódź game. Originally, Warta lost 1–2, but due to walkover (it was decided that one of Łódź's players did not have all necessary documents), this was changed to 3–0 in favor of Poznań's side. As a result of the decision, Warta (with 33 points) became the champion, Garbarnia finished second with 32 points and Klub Turystow was relegated.
In 1930, Cracovia regained the championship, (to repeat this success in 1932) and a year later another Kraków's side, Garbarnia, won the league. It is clear that the 1927–1932 period was marked by dominance of teams from Kraków. During this time, only once (Warta Poznań, 1929) the championship was won by a side from a different city. The 1931 champion, Garbarnia, was unique as this was the first time that the league had been won by a side whose all players had been bought from other teams.
1930s As has been said, the early 1930s marked a decline of the dominance of Kraków and Lwów as centers of Polish football. The point of gravity slowly moved towards west – to Upper Silesia. In 1932 the champion was Cracovia, but starting in 1933, Ruch Chorzów (then: Ruch Wielkie Hajduki) completely dominated the league, being the champion for four times in a row.
Ruch, with such excellent players as Teodor Peterek, Ernest Wilimowski and Gerard Wodarz was by far the best team in those years. For example, in 1934 it finished seven points ahead of second Cracovia. Other important teams of these years were: Cracovia, Wisła Kraków, Pogoń Lwów and Warta Poznań.
In 1933 and 1934 there were 12 teams in the League. In 1935 this number was cut to 11 and in 1936 – to 10. Football officials did it on purpose – with fewer teams, the competition was supposed to be harder, which would attract fans to the stadiums. However, supporters' turnout was not impressive, with Ruch Chorzów as the most popular team, both at home and away.
In late 1935 (the league held its games in the spring-summer-fall system) fans were shocked to find that Cracovia, the legend of this sport, was relegated to the A-class. Kraków's side absence lasted for a year – it returned in 1937, to become the champion.
Ruch Chorzów was still the dominant team, winning the Championships in 1936 and 1938. In 1937 Ruch's streak of four consecutive champions was broken by Cracovia, and in 1939 the championships were not finished. By 31 August 1939, after some 12 games, Ruch was the leader of the 10-team League. Last games of this summer occurred on 20 August. Then, a break was planned, because the National Team was going to play a few international friendlies. Games were to be re-introduced on 10 September.
This is the list of the ten teams that participated in last, historic games for championships of interwar Poland. Teams are presented according to their position on the table, as of 31 August 1939:
Ruch Chorzów Wisła Kraków Pogoń Lwów AKS Chorzów Warta Poznań Cracovia Polonia Warsaw Garbarnia Kraków Warszawianka Warsaw Union Touring Łódź
After World War II As a result of the Second World War, the borders of Poland changed significantly. Lwów, one of the centers of Polish football (with such teams as Pogoń Lwów, Czarni Lwów and Lechia Lwów) was annexed by Soviet Union and all these teams ceased to exist. Lwów's football officials and players moved westwards, creating such clubs as Odra Opole and Pogoń Szczecin, and reviving Polonia Bytom (see: Recovered Territories). Another important center, Wilno (with the team Śmigły Wilno), was also annexed by the Soviets (see: Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union). In exchange, Poland gained a large swath of formerly German territory in particular in Silesia (which also formed part of Poland centuries prior), with its capital Wrocław (home of double champion Śląsk Wrocław) and cities such as Zabrze (home of 14-times champion Górnik Zabrze), Bytom (home of champions Polonia Bytom and Szombierki Bytom) and Lubin (home of double champion Zagłębie Lubin). 18 teams played in the league between seasons of 1992 and 1998.
The 2020s was marked by the league's rise in the UEFA coefficient, boosted by the good results of Polish clubs in European competitions with Lech Poznań reaching the quarterfinals of the UEFA Conference League in the 2022–23 season.
Clubs There are 18 clubs in the Ekstraklasa. During the course of the season each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 34 games. From the 2013–14 till the 2019–20 season, after the 30th round the table was divided into 'champion' (top eight teams) and 'relegation' (bottom eight teams) groups. Each team played seven more games (teams ranked 1–4 and 9–12 would host four games at home). The 2016–17 season was the last when teams started an extra round with half the points (rounded up) achieved during the first phase of 30 matches. The changes extended the season to a total of 296 matches played.Rewolucyjne zmiany w T-Mobile Ekstraklasie. onet.pl The 2021–22 season started with 18 teams, instead of 16.
Clubs as of the 2026–27 season. Team Location Venue Capacity Cracovia Kraków Józef Piłsudski Stadium 15,016 GKS Katowice Katowice Arena Katowice 15,048 Górnik Zabrze Zabrze Arena Zabrze 28,499 Jagiellonia Białystok Białystok Chorten Arena 22,432 Korona Kielce Kielce EXBUD Arena 15,122 Lech Poznań Poznań Enea Stadion 42,837 Legia Warsaw Warsaw Polish Army Stadium 31,103 Motor Lublin Lublin Motor Lublin Arena 15,247 Piast Gliwice Gliwice Piotr Wieczorek Stadium 10,037 Pogoń Szczecin Szczecin Florian Krygier Stadium 21,163 Radomiak Radom Radom Czachor Brothers Stadium 14,440 Raków Częstochowa Częstochowa zondacrypto Arena 5,500 Śląsk Wrocław Wrocław Tarczyński Arena Wrocław 42,771 Widzew Łódź Łódź Widzew Łódź Stadium 18,018 Wieczysta Kraków Kraków Henryk Reyman Synerise Arena33,326 Wisła Kraków Kraków Henryk Reyman Synerise Arena33,326 Wisła Płock Płock 15,004 Zagłębie Lubin Lubin KGHM Zagłebie Arena 16,068 Upgrading to 31,871. Due to the fact Wieczysta Stadium doesn't meet the Ekstraklasa regulations, Wieczysta Kraków host their matches at the Henryk Reyman Synerise Arena.
List of champions
°Abandoned due to the preparations of the Poland national team to participate in the 1924 Olympic Football Tournament. °°Abandoned due to the outbreak of World War II. By 31 August 1939, Ruch Chorzów was the leader. °°°In 1951, the Polish Football Association decided to give the Polish championship title to the winner of the Polish Cup, in order to increase the importance of the re-activated cup competition. Ruch Chorzów finished the league in 6th , but won the cup, beating 2–0 Wisła Kraków in the final game. Wisła Kraków were declated the league champion.
Performance by club Note: This list is not synonymous with a list of Polish football champions. Bold indicates clubs playing in the top division in the 2026–27 season.