In the second league it will be interesting until the end. On the pitch and beyond

In November of last year, in "PS" president Marek Finkowski was aware that in the event of promotion of the sensational Pogoń Grodzisk Mazowiecki to the first league, it would be difficult to bring the municipal facility up to the requirements of the games. Currently, around 900 spectators attend their matches. Even then, talks were underway with the authorities of Pruszków for Pogoń to play in the first league at the Znicz stadium.

On Tuesday, the PZPN licensing committee announced that the club had received a license to play in the Betclic 1st League for the next season under infrastructure supervision... at the arena in Pruszków. "The club will try to do everything to play matches at the stadium in Grodzisk Mazowiecki." The stadium in Grodzisk is to undergo modernization, its capacity will increase to two thousand seats, new lighting will also be installed, and the stand will be roofed and built up.

After a 2-1 victory over Wieczysta Kraków in the top in March, when most experts assumed Pogoń's promotion was certain, Marcin Sasal's team caught a breath, since then they have won only two of their six matches, lost three times and tied once. However, the richest team among Wieczysta Kraków did not take advantage of the slip-ups, having notched up four consecutive matches without a win and squandered their chances for direct promotion. The Krakow team and Chojniczanka are already certain of playing at least in the play-offs.

Sunday's victory of Polonia Bytom over Wieczysta (1:0) has almost confirmed that Pogoń and Polonia will advance directly to the first league. The Bytom team will most likely avoid the situation from a year ago, when as a newcomer they went wild at the end of the competition, but poor results at the beginning of the season meant that they had to settle for the play-off zone. In the semi-finals they lost to KKS Kalisz 0:1. Coach Łukasz Tomczyk is aware that if Polonia advances, it will have a very difficult time on the first league pitches.

There is also much to improve in terms of infrastructure. On Tuesday, the PZPN commission issued a statement that Polonia has indeed received a license to play in the first league, but with infrastructure supervision, and its matches as the host are to be played at the Silesian Stadium. The stadium at Piłkarska Street, where Polonia plays its matches, has one stand that can accommodate about 1,100 spectators. There are plans to build a second stand and a club building. Ultimately, however, the facility is to be a training base in the future, and the legendary Edward Szymkowiak Stadium in Bytom is to be rebuilt, but achieving this goal may take many years.

Are they ready for this?

In a sensational fifth place – in the play-off zone – is Świt Szczecin. The team from the north of the city, i.e. from Skolwin, is a newcomer with significant infrastructure problems, but with great reserves of determination. The club spent nine years in the 3rd league, and after a historic promotion, they can advance after just one year. Świt fought until the very end to avoid an organizational failure in their debut in the 2nd league.

- Infrastructure was the biggest challenge, which we fought until the very last hours... before the inauguration. Three hours before the match, when the facility was conditionally accepted, workers from our friendly companies were finishing screwing the roof covering. It was really a race against time, many people did not know the details - recalled Szymon Kufel, sports director of Świt, associated with the club for 30 years, in an interview with "PS" a few months ago .

Świt's budget is PLN 3 million, which is enough to operate at the third level of the competition; the club is based on many pillars, not on a single sponsor. However, it is still waiting for the announcement of a tender for the modernization of the stadium. The expenditure plan includes an amount in the city budget of PLN 38 million, while the budget proposal originally included PLN 55 million. The budget was voted on, but there is still no tender. On Tuesday, the PZPN Club Licensing Committee did not grant Świt a license for the next season. If Świt is promoted, it would play its home matches at the municipal stadium in Szczecin, where Pogoń usually plays.

Fierce fight for the play-offs

Although Świt and Hutnik Kraków are currently in the places that allow them to participate in the play-offs, four rounds before the regular season, nothing is certain yet. Maciej Musiał's team has won only three of the last ten matches and lost five. In May, Hutnik has not yet won three points, and ahead of them are matches with Polonia and Pogoń, as well as Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała, which is competing for the play-offs. If Hutnik advances, they will play as the host at Cracovia's stadium.

Next in the game are, among others, Zagłębie Sosnowiec, KKS Kalisz, Resovia and the reserves of ŁKS Łódź. The team from Sosnowiec is in terrible shape, it has not won a single one of the last five matches, and after losing to Świt (1:3) coach Marek Saganowski left the club. The relegated team from Betclic 1. Liga was supposed to return to it quickly, but after a good summer it started playing poorly, it is systematically losing points and has a very difficult schedule (matches with Wieczysta, Chojniczanka and Polonia).

In Kalisz they still believe in the play-offs, but they remember the drama from the last season's final, when they lost to Stal Stalowa Wola (1:2) in the promotion match. - I still feel the pain - said captain Bartosz Kieliba in "PS" .

Battle to the End

It is commonly accepted that the 3rd league is the most difficult competition in Polish football, and certainly at the central level. One team advances directly in the group, the other ends up in the play-offs, which by the way did not exist a year ago. In the past, even winning a given group did not give direct promotion to the 2nd league, only a battle in the play-offs. The difficult path to promotion can result in nesting in the fourth level of the competition for many years, or even falling lower.

That is why the competition in the second league also generates great emotions at the bottom of the table. Four teams will be relegated directly. One of them will certainly be Olimpia Elbląg, but Skra Częstochowa, which is drowning in financial problems, is also close to relegation. In March, the women's section of the club withdrew from the Orlen Ekstraliga. The reason was, of course, finances, or rather the lack thereof. Among others, the newcomer from Bielsko-Biała is fighting to stay up. The record is strongly affected by the difference in levels between the two leagues.

- The leap is huge, and I know what I'm talking about, because I've been promoted several times in my life - recently convinced president Janusz Szymura . Among those competing for their league spot are GKS Jastrzębie, which lost its most important sponsor in the winter - Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa. Wisła Puławy was close to relegation for financial reasons, but in the end the club entered the spring round, won four matches in the spring and currently holds 13th place with 33 points (play-offs for relegation).