Ekstraklasa: History, Format, Most Successful Teams & Honours

• The Ekstraklasa is the top flight of Polish football

• Legia Warsaw are the most successful team in league history with 15 league titles

• Read below to learn more about Ekstraklasa

The Ekstraklasa isn’t the first league that will come to mind when making a football prediction, yet Poland’s top flight is home to some well-known clubs and has played a key role in the development of some special talents.

From Robert Lewandowski lighting up Ekstraklasa live betting on his way to a Golden Boot to a corruption scandal in the 2000s, Polish football has often hit the headlines through its near-100 years in existence. Let’s learn a bit more of the league’s history.

Ekstraklasa History

Founded in 1926, clubs around Poland had come to the conclusion that a national league would be beneficial.

Cracovia was the only club to oppose the move, and this was largely due to their chairman at the time having to relinquish some power if a new league was created.

The club sat out the first league season, but their resistance proved futile when they folded and joined for the 1928 campaign.

The first few years of the league were dominated by teams from Krakow with Cracovia, Garbarnia Krakow and Wisla all winning titles.

Ruch Chorzow ascended in the 1930s, enjoying a period of dominance. Administrators also decreased the size of the Ekstraklasa from 12 to 11 and then to 10 teams in an effort to improve the standard.

Crowds were generally poor. Cracovia suffered a shock relegation, albeit bouncing back after a single season, while Ruch continued to play the best football in the country.

Unsurprisingly, the 1939 season wasn’t completed. The Second World War completely disrupted Polish football not only through the war itself, but in the following years, too.

Poland was a very different country by the time the next Ekstraklasa season took place in the late-1940s.

Lviv and Wilno were annexed by the Soviets, pushing many of their players to either join other clubs or create new ones inside the Polish borders.

Poland received a lot of former German territory, notably incuding Silesia. Places like Wroclaw and Zabrze became hubs of Polish football and produced numerous champions.

Ekstraklasa Format

There are 18 teams in the Ekstraklasa, meaning nine fixtures in each gameweek to place football bets on.

Prior to 2020-21, there had been just 16 teams in the Ekstraklasa, with the league being split into a bottom half and a top half after 30 matchdays.

The teams then had seven more fixtures against teams in their mini leagues with the top seeds in each section playing four of the seven at home.

For 2021-22, there are 18 teams in the Ekstraklasa, each playing each other home and away.

The league winners in 2020-21 earned a place in the first round of Champions League qualifying, while second and third went into the second qualifying round for the Europa Conference League.

Fourth place entered into the first round of Conference League qualification.

Slask Wroclaw have the largest stadium of the 18 teams in 2021-22 with a capacity of 45,105.

Ekstraklasa Clubs In Europe

The Ekstraklasa is in something of a sports betting slump when it comes to continental play. Poland currently ranks 28th by the UEFA coefficient, behind Azerbaijan and Hungary and just ahead of Kazakhstan.

This represents a low point. Poland was as high as 16th by the same metric in 2003-04 and was even regarded as a top-10 league back in the late-1960s and early-1970s.

Most Successful Teams

Legia Warsaw have won seven of the last nine Ekstraklasa titles, taking them to 15 overall.

This makes the club the most successful team in Poland and leaves them top of the all-time league table.

Gornik Zabrze, who last won in 1988-89, are tied with Wisla Krakow on 14 Ekstraklasa titles apiece.

Ruch Chorzow with 13 are the only other team with more than seven. All of Lech Poznan’s seven titles have been won since 1983.

Top Goal Scorers

• Ernst Pohl – 189

• Lucjan Brychczy – 182

• Gerard Cieslik – 168

• Tomasz Frankowski – 167

• Teodor Peterek – 157

• Wlodzimierz Lubanski – 155

• Kazimierz Kmiecik - 153

• Pawel Brozek – 149

• Jan Liberda – 146

• Teodor Aniola – 138

Most Ekstraklasa Appearances

• Lukasz Surma – 559

• Marcin Malinowski – 458

• Marek Chojnacki – 452

• Arkadiusz Glowacki – 435

• Dariusz Gesior – 427

• Lukasz Madej – 417

• Janusz Jokjo – 416

• Marek Zienczuk - 416

• Zygfryd Szoltysik – 395 

• Pawel Janik – 389

Ekstraklasa Winners:

• 1927 – Wisla Krakow

• 1928 – Wisla Krakow

• 1929 – Warta Poznan

• 1930 – Cracovia

• 1931 – Garbarnia Krakow

• 1932 – Cracovia

• 1933 – Ruch Chorzow 

• 1934 – Ruch Chorzow

• 1935 – Ruch Chorzow

• 1936 – Ruch Chorzow

• 1937 – Cracovia

• 1938 – Ruch Chorzow

• 1948 – Cracovia 

• 1949 – Wisla Krakow

• 1950 – Wisla Krakow

• 1951 – Wisla Krakow

• 1952 – Ruch Chorzow

• 1953 – Ruch Chorzow

• 1954 – Polonia Bytom

• 1955 – Legia Warsaw

• 1956 – Legia Warsaw

• 1957 – Gornik Zabrze

• 1958 – LKS Lodz

• 1959 – Gornik Zabrze

• 1960 – Ruch Chorzow

• 1961 – Gornik Zabrze

• 1962 – Polonia Bytom

• 1962-63 – Gornik Zabrze

• 1963-64 – Gornik Zabrze

• 1964-65 – Gornik Zabrze

• 1965-66 – Gornik Zabrze

• 1966-67 – Gornik Zabrze

• 1967-68 – Ruch Chorzow

• 1968-69 – Legia Warsaw

• 1969-70 – Legia Warsaw

• 1970-71 – Gornik Zabrze

• 1971-72 – Gornik Zabrze

• 1972-73 – Stal Mielec

• 1973-74 – Ruch Chorzow

• 1974-75 – Ruch Chorzow

• 1975-76 – Stal Mielec

• 1976-77 – Slask Wroclaw

• 1977-78 – Wisla Krakow

• 1978-79 – Ruch Chorzow

• 1979-80 – Szombierki Bytom

• 1980-81 – Widzew Lodz

• 1981-82 – Widzew Lodz

• 1982-83 – Lech Poznan

• 1983-84 – Lech Poznan

• 1984-85 – Gornik Zabrze

• 1985-86 – Gornik Zabrze

• 1986-87 – Gornik Zabrze

• 1987-88 – Gornik Zabrze

• 1988-89 – Ruch Chorzow

• 1989-90 – Lech Poznan

• 1990-91 – Zaglebie Lubin

• 1991-92 – Lech Poznan

• 1992-93 – Lech Poznan

• 1993-94 – Legia Warsaw

• 1994-95 – Legia Warsaw

• 1995-96 – Widzew Lodz

• 1996-97 – Widzew Lodz

• 1997-98 – LKS Lodz

• 1998-99 – Wisla Krakow

• 1999-2000 – Polonia Warsaw

• 2000-01 – Wisla Krakow

• 2001-02 – Legia Warsaw

• 2002-03 – Wisla Krakow

• 2003-04 – Wisla Krakow

• 2004-05 – Wisla Krakow

• 2005-06 – Legia Warsaw 

• 2006-07 – Zaglebie Lubin

• 2007-08 – Wisla Krakow

• 2008-09 – Wisla Krakow

• 2009-10 – Lech Poznan

• 2010-11 – Wisla Krakow

• 2011-12 – Slask Wroclaw

• 2012-13 – Legia Warsaw

• 2013-14 – Legia Warsaw 

• 2014-15 – Lech Poznan

• 2015-16 – Legia Warsaw

• 2016-17 – Legia Warsaw

• 2017-18 – Legia Warsaw

• 2018-19 – Piast Gliwice

• 2019-20 – Legia Warsaw

• 2020-21 – Legia Warsaw

*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

FIRST PUBLISHED: 22nd March 2022