GKS Bełchatów

Association football club in Poland

Football club

Akademia GKS Bełchatów

Full name| Fundacja Akademia GKS Bełchatów[1]
Nickname(s)| Gieksa
Brunatni (The Browns)
Torfiarze (The Turfers)
Founded| 26 November 1977; 47 years ago (1977-11-26)
Ground| GIEKSA Arena
Capacity| 5,264
Manager| Patryk Rachwał
League| III liga, group I
2023–24| III liga, group I, 4th of 18
Website| https://gksbelchatow.com.pl

Home colours

Away colours

|

Current season

GKS Bełchatów [ɡʲɛkaˈɛs bɛwˈxatuf] is a Polish professional football club based in Bełchatów. The club currently competes in group I of the III liga.[2]

## History

[edit]

GKS Bełchatów entered Poland's Klasa A in 1977 under the name of Węgiel Brunatny Bełchatów,[3] and gained promotion to the III liga in the 1981–82 season.[3] It took the club another seven years to rise to the II liga (1986/1987 season), before winning a place in the top-tier I liga in 1992.[3] After another spell in II liga, the club again won promotion to the I liga at the end of the 2004–05 season. The club finished the 2005–06 season in 10th place, with 37 points.[4] The following season they challenged for the league title. After spending much of the latter part of the 2006–07 season in first place, they were ultimately overtaken by Zagłębie Lubin and had to settle for second place.[5]

On 11 March 2022, the club, then playing in the II liga, withdrew from the league and did not start playing in the spring round. As a consequence, they were moved to the last place in the 2021–22 season standings and their remaining matches being declared 0–3 forfeits for their opponents.[6] They declared liquidation on 20 April 2022.[7] On 31 May 2022, the Łódź Football Association admitted its academy (Akademia GKS Bełchatów) as its continuator to the Łódź group of the fifth division for the 2022–23 season.[8]

## Honours

[edit]

* Ekstraklasa:
* Runners-up: 2006–07
* Polish Cup:
* Runners-up: 1995–96, 1998–99
* Ekstraklasa Cup:
* Runners-up: 2006–07
* Polish Super Cup:
* Runners-up: 2007

## Fans and rivalries

[edit]

The fans are called Torfiorze (the "Turfers" in translation).[9] They have friendly relations with fans of Wisła Sandomierz.[10] Their biggest rivals are neighbours RKS Radomsko, and as Bełchatów is located in the Łódź Province, they also have rivalries with the two traditional well-established Łódź teams, ŁKS and Widzew.[10]

## Bełchatów in Europe

[edit]

Season  | Competition  | Round  |  | Opponent  | Home  | Away  | Aggregate

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

2007–08 | UEFA Cup | 1Q  |  | Ameri Tbilisi | 2–0  | 0–2  | 2–2 (4–2 pen)
2Q  |  | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | 2–4  | 1–1  | 3–5

## Players

[edit]

### Current squad

[edit]

As of 26 February 2025[11]

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

|
|
|

1  | GK |  POL | Jakub Tomkiel
2  | DF |  POL | Mateusz Szymorek
4  | DF |  POL | Patryk Czerech
6  | MF |  POL | Damian Michalak
7  | MF |  POL | Bartłomiej Bartosiak
8  | MF |  POL | Artur Golański
9  | FW |  POL | Marcin Manikowski
10  | MF |  POL | Piotr Gryszkiewicz
11  | MF |  POL | Dawid Woźniakowski
15  | MF |  POL | Tomasz Urban
16  | DF |  POL | Mikołaj Grzelak
17  | FW |  UKR | Serhiy Napolov
18  | DF |  POL | Szymon Sarnik
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

19  | MF |  POL | Jakub Bartosiński
20  | MF |  POL | Mikołaj Błaszczyk
22  | MF |  UKR | Artem Syreishchykov
23  | GK |  POL | Alan Ostrowski
24  | MF |  POL | Patryk Pytlewski
30  | MF |  POL | Łukasz Wroński (captain)
33  | MF |  POL | Natan Wysiński
70  | MF |  POL | Igor Czapla
71  | DF |  POL | Jakub Poliński
77  | DF |  POL | Marcin Ryszka
78  | GK |  POL | Konrad Kassyanowicz
-- | DF |  POL | Adam Dębiński (on loan from KKS 1925 Kalisz)

### Out on loan

[edit]

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

|
|
|

21  | MF |  POL | Oliwier Niklas (at Sokół Aleksandrów Łódzki until 30 June 2025)
-- | MF |  POL | Kamil Jasiński (at Polonia Piotrków Trybunalski until 30 June 2025)
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

-- | MF |  POL | Adam Łaski (at Podlesianka Katowice until 30 June 2025)

### Notable players

[edit]

Players who have been capped at any time and/or have over 80 appearances for the club

Notable Polish players

* Grzegorz Baran
* Bartłomiej Bartosiak
* Jacek Berensztajn
* Rafał Boguski
* Edward Cecot
* Mateusz Cetnarski
* Grzegorz Fonfara
* Łukasz Garguła
* Janusz Gol
* Artur Golański
* Mikołaj Grzelak
* Tomasz Jarzębowski
* Marcin Komorowski
* Kamil Kosowski
* Rafał Kosznik
* Jacek Krzynówek
* Mariusz Kukiełka
* Piotr Kuklis
* Łukasz Madej
* Paweł Magdoń
* Michał Mak
* Maciej Małkowski
* Radosław Matusiak
* Filip Modelski
* Dawid Nowak
* Arkadiusz Piech
* Dariusz Pietrasiak
* Jacek Popek
* Patryk Rachwał
* Grzegorz Rasiak
* Marek Rzepka
* Dariusz Rzeźniczek
* Łukasz Sapela
* Maciej Stolarczyk
* Mateusz Szymorek
* Bartosz Ślusarski
* Jakub Tosik
* Mariusz Ujek
* Maciej Wilusz
* Łukasz Wroński
* Tomasz Wróbel
* Marcin Żewłakow

Notable foreign players

* Aghvan Papikyan
* Amar Ferhatović
* Omer Joldić
* Mate Lacić
* Carlo Costly
* Valerijs Sabala
* Daniils Turkovs
* Marius Skinderis
* Dainius Suliauskas
* Emilijus Zubas
* Hristijan Kirovski
* Zlatko Tanevski
* Alexis Norambuena
* Jhoel Herrera
* Alexander Sánchez
* Emile Thiakane
* Jeremiah White
* Raúl González

## Managers

[edit]

* Wlodzimierz Tylak (March 7, 1992 – June 20, 1993)
* Wladyslaw Lach (July 1, 1993 – Aug 31, 1995)
* Krzysztof Pawlak (Sept 1, 1995 – June 30, 1996)
* Janusz Bialek (July 27, 1996 – Sept 21, 1996)
* Marek Pochopień (Sept 28, 1996 – Dec 31, 1996)
* Bogusław Kaczmarek (March 5, 1997 – May 14, 1997)
* Jerzy Wyrobek (May 17, 1997 – June 30, 1998)
* Krzysztof Pawlak (July 1, 1998 – May 9, 1999)
* Marek Pochopień (May 10, 1999 – June 30, 1999)
* Orest Lenczyk (1999)
* Krzysztof Wolak (1999–2000)
* Ryszard Polak (2000)
* Jan Złomańczuk,  Piotr Szarpak & Adam Mażysz (May 9, 2000 – April 22, 2001)
* Józef Dankowski (2001)
* Krzysztof Tochel (Oct 2001 – May 2, 2002)
* Jacek Zieliński (June 11, 2002 – Sept 10, 2002)
* Mariusz Kuras (Sept 11, 2002 – Oct 6, 2005)
* Orest Lenczyk (Oct 10, 2005 – March 21, 2008)
* Jan Złomańczuk (interim) (March 21, 2008 – May 21, 2008)
* Paweł Janas (May 21, 2008 – Jan 3, 2009)
* Rafał Ulatowski (2009 – May 24, 2010)
* Maciej Bartoszek (June 2, 2010 – June 30, 2011)
* Paweł Janas (June 17, 2011 – Aug 31, 2011)
* Kamil Kiereś (Sept 1, 2011 – Sept 25, 2012)
* Jan Złomańczuk (Sept 25, 2012 – Nov 14, 2012)
* Michal Probierz (Nov 14, 2012 – Dec 21, 2012)
* Kamil Kiereś (Jan 9, 2013 – March 23, 2015)
* Marek Zub (2015)
* Kamil Kiereś (May 21, 2015 – June 22, 2015)
* Rafał Ulatowski (2015–2016)
* Krystian Kierach (interim) (2016)
* Andrzej Konwiński (2016)
* Mariusz Pawlak (2017–2018)
* Artur Derbin (2018–2020)
* Marcin Węglewski (2020–2021)
* Patryk Rachwał (June 25, 2021 – Nov 15, 2021)
* Kamil Socha (2021–2022)
* Bogdan Jóźwiak (June 22, 2022 – April 27, 2024)
* Patryk Rachwał (interim) (April 29, 2024 – June 13, 2024)
* Artur Derbin (June 13, 2024 – January 5, 2025)
* Patryk Rachwał (January 7, 2025 – present)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Fundacja Akademia GKS Bełchatów". ngo.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2023-07-23.
2. ^ "Czas rozpocząć świętowanie! GKS wygrywa i awansuje do III ligi". GKS Bełchatów (in Polish). Retrieved 2023-07-23.
3. ^ a b c "GKS Bełchatów - sezon po sezonie - Historia Polskiej Piłki Nożnej - HPPN.PL". www.hppn.pl.
4. ^ "Orange Ekstraklasa 2005/2006". www.90minut.pl.
5. ^ "Dziesięć lat temu GKS Bełchatów zaszokował piłkarską Polskę". Dziennik Łódzki. November 9, 2016.
6. ^ "GKS Bełchatów wycofał się z rozgrywek 2 ligi". www.lodz.tvp.pl (in Polish).
7. ^ "Oficjalnie: GKS Bełchatów ogłosił upadłość". weszlo.com (in Polish). 2022-04-28. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
8. ^ "OFICJALNIE: GKS Bełchatów-reaktywacja. Klub zgłoszony do nowych rozgrywek". transfery.info (in Polish). 31 May 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
9. ^ Kieruzel, Adam (November 27, 2020). "Bełchatów. Kibice GKS utworzyli mural z podobizną papieża Jana Pawła II [ZDJĘCIA]". Bełchatów Nasze Miasto.
10. ^ a b "GKS Bełchatów — zgody, układy, kosy, grupy, grill i inne".
11. ^ "Zawodnicy" (in Polish). GKS Bełchatów. Retrieved 1 September 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* GKS Bełchatów at Soccerway

* v
* t
* e

GKS Bełchatów - current squad

* 1 Tomkiel
* 2 Szymorek
* 4 Czerech
* 6 Michalak
* 7 Bartosiak
* 8 Golański
* 9 Manikowski
* 10 Gryszkiewicz
* 11 Woźniakowski
* 15 Urban
* 16 Grzelak
* 17 Napolov
* 18 Sarnik
* 19 Bartosiński
* 20 Błaszczyk
* 22 Syreishchykov
* 23 Ostrowski
* 24 Pytlewski
* 30 Wroński (c)
* 33 Wysiński
* 70 Czapla
* 71 Poliński
* 71 Ryszka
* 78 Kassyanowicz
* Dębiński
* Manager: Rachwał

* v
* t
* e

III liga * 2024–25 clubs

Group I|

* Broń Radom
* GKS Bełchatów
* GKS Wikielec
* Jagiellonia Białystok II
* Lechia Tomaszów Mazowiecki
* Legia Warsaw II
* ŁKS Łomża
* Mławianka Mława
* Pelikan Łowicz
* Polonia Lidzbark Warmiński
* Sokół Aleksandrów Łódzki
* Stomil Olsztyn
* Świt Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki
* Unia Skierniewice
* Warta Sieradz
* Victoria Sulejówek
* Wigry Suwałki
* Wisła Płock II

Group II|

* Błękitni Stargard
* Cartusia Kartuzy
* Elana Toruń
* Flota Świnoujście
* Gedania Gdańsk
* Gryf Słupsk
* Kotwica Kórnik
* Lech Poznań II
* Noteć Czarnków
* Pogoń Nowe Skalmierzyce
* Pogoń Szczecin II
* Polonia Środa Wielkopolska
* Sokół Kleczew
* Unia Swarzędz
* Vineta Wolin
* Wda Świecie
* Wybrzeże Rewalskie Rewal
* Zawisza Bydgoszcz

Group III|

* Carina Gubin
* Górnik Zabrze II
* Górnik Polkowice
* Karkonosze Jelenia Góra
* Lechia Zielona Góra
* LKS Goczałkowice-Zdrój
* Miedź Legnica II
* MKS Kluczbork
* Odra Bytom Odrzański
* Podlesianka Katowice
* Polonia Słubice
* Pniówek Pawłowice Śląskie
* Stal Brzeg
* Stilon Gorzów Wielkopolski
* Śląsk Wrocław II
* Ślęza Wrocław
* Unia Turza Śląska
* Warta Gorzów Wielkopolski

Group IV|

* Avia Świdnik
* Chełmianka Chełm
* Czarni Połaniec
* Korona Kielce II
* KS Wiązownica
* KSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski
* Lewart Lubartów
* Podhale Nowy Targ
* Podlasie Biała Podlaska
* Pogoń-Sokół Lubaczów
* Sandecja Nowy Sącz
* Siarka Tarnobrzeg
* Star Starachowice
* Świdniczanka Świdnik
* Unia Tarnów
* Wisła Kraków II
* Wisłoka Dębica
* Wiślanie Skawina

Authority control databases |

* VIAF

|

*[No.]: Number
*[Pos.]: Position
*[GK]: Goalkeeper
*[DF]: Defender
*[MF]: Midfielder
*[FW]: Forward
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Tomkiel]: Jakub Tomkiel
*[Czerech]: Patryk Czerech
*[Michalak]: Damian Michalak
*[Manikowski]: Marcin Manikowski
*[Woźniakowski]: Dawid Woźniakowski
*[Urban]: Tomasz Urban
*[Sarnik]: Szymon Sarnik
*[Bartosiński]: Jakub Bartosiński
*[Błaszczyk]: Mikołaj Błaszczyk
*[Syreishchykov]: Artem Syreishchykov
*[Ostrowski]: Alan Ostrowski
*[Pytlewski]: Patryk Pytlewski
*[Wysiński]: Natan Wysiński
*[Czapla]: Igor Czapla
*[Poliński]: Jakub Poliński
*[Ryszka]: Marcin Ryszka
*[Kassyanowicz]: Konrad Kassyanowicz
*[Dębiński]: Adam Dębiński