Stal Mielec


FKS Stal Mielec, commonly known as Stal Mielec, is a Polish professional football club based in Mielec. The team competes in the I liga, the second level of the football league system.
The club was established on 10 April 1939. Historically, the club has enjoyed great success within Poland's top division, winning the title in 1973 and 1976, but had undergone significant management changes and financial difficulties within the past two decades, which prevented the club from participation in the Poland's top league. After finishing first in the I liga in 2020, Stal Mielec was promoted to the Ekstraklasa for the first time since the 1995–96 season, where it remained until 2025.
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History

Naming history

  • 1939 – Klub Sportowy PZL Mielec
  • 1946 – Robotniczy Klub Sportowy PZL Zryw Mielec
  • 1948 – Związkowy Klub Sportowy Metalowców PZL Mielec
  • 1949 – Związkowy Klub Sportowy Stal Mielec
  • 1950 – Koło Sportowe Stal przy Wytwórni Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego Mielec
  • 1957 – Fabryczny Klub Sportowy Stal Mielec
  • 1977 – Fabryczny Klub Sportowy PZL Stal Mielec
  • 1995 – Autonomiczna Sekcja Piłki Nożnej FKS PZL Stal Mielec
  • 1997 – Mielecki Klub Piłkarski Stal Mielec
  • 1998 – Mielecki Klub Piłkarski Lobo Stal Mielec
  • 1999 – Mielecki Klub Piłkarski Stal Mielec
  • 2002 – Klub Sportowy Stal Mielec
  • 2003 – FKS Stal Mielec
  • 2018 – PGE FKS Stal Mielec
  • 2024 – FKS Stal Mielec

1939–1945 – the beginning and interwar period

The football club was one of the first two at the PZL Mielec, established in 1939. The team was made up of players playing in other clubs in Mielec and employees of the PZL, an aerospace company. In the first match played, the team defeated the Gymnastic Society "Sokół" Mielec 4–1. Three more matches were played against Dzikovia Tarnobrzeg, Metal Tarnów and a team made up of players from an ammunition factory in Nowa Dęba. A match against Okęcie Warsaw planned for September did not take place, because World War II started and all sports games were forbidden. However, the matches were played illegally in the meadows beyond the communal forest and in other towns. The only official match was played against a German military unit and ended with the score 1–2.

Honours

League

Cup

Europe

Youth teams

Stadium

The construction of the club's current stadium, Stadion Stali Mielec, was concluded in 1953. The stadium underwent a major renovation, completed in 2013. It maintains a seating capacity for 7,000 spectators. Before the 2013 renovation, it maintained seating capacity for 30,000 spectators, and hosted numerous European Champions Cup, UEFA Cup, and Poland national team matches, including FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship qualifiers.

Individual player awards

Reserves

The club operates a reserve team which currently plays in the Dębica group of the regional league, the sixth of the league pyramid. During the 2020–21 season, a third team participated in the regional league, as well as the Subcarpathian Rzeszów–Dębica Polish Cup edition.

Players

Notable players

The players below played for their respective countries at any point during their career.

Managers