Recent ownership changes, as well as some new significant sponsorship deals, suggest that the 2025/26 season of the PKO BP Ekstraklasa might be one of the hardest-fought contests in the competition's history.
The opening day results seem to confirm this. On Friday, defending champions Lech Poznań hosted last season's 6th place holders Cracovia - and took an unexpected 4-1 beating. Elsewhere, the 24/25 second runner-up Jagiellonia faced newly promoted Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza at home in Białystok, ending up smashed 4-0 by the underdog rivals.
For the first time in history, Polish football clubs competing at the top national level have five European spots to claim, including two for the Champions League qualifiers.
Partly because of that, this season we will neither witness a "turtle race" for the title, nor see one team dominating the league. On the contrary - it will be very crowded at the top, and I'm buckling up for a very exciting campaign. And if the stiffer competition, more money and impressive transfers will lead to an improvement in the sporting level too, Polish football will thrive.
- former Polish Radio sports reporter, Andrzej Janisz, predicted prior to the season's start.
In the earliest days of independent Poland's football, since 1920 the competition was played out in the cup form. Meanwhile, the first Polish Championship in the league format took place in 1927, and the country's top tier functions under its current Ekstraklasa name since 2005.
The most successful Polish club domestically is a top-tier contestant Legia Warszawa, holding 15 titles - narrowly followed by another Ekstraklasa team Górnik Zabrze and a current 2nd level club Ruch Chorzów, holding 14 titles each.
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Source: PAP, IAR