Wieczysta Kraków

Wieczysta Kraków is a Polish football club based in Kraków. In the 2024–25 season, they will compete in II liga, the third tier of the national football league system, after winning group IV of the 2023–24 III liga.

History
During the German occupation (World War II), it was forbidden to organize football matches under the threat of severe repression. Due to these restrictions on the meadows of Rakowice, then a village on the borders of Kraków, numerous football competitions were held secretly. Eventually, the local community, on the initiative of Edward Ignaszewski, decided to establish a sports club in such difficult times, thus forming Wieczysta Kraków in 1942.

In the '50s and '60s, Wieczysta Kraków was playing in the class A and B leagues (then the fourth and fifth tiers of the Polish football league). In 1966, with the reorganization of the Polish league system, the III Liga, the new third tier was introduced dividing into regions. Wieczysta Kraków was included in the district league (fourth tier) of Polish league. Performances at such a high level did not last long. In 1968, the team dropped to class A (fifth tier), and a year later it is relegated another class lower, to the sixth tier of Polish league. The following years of the last century brought sports stabilization in the form of regular performances at the regional level.

The club played the 1997/98 season in the IV liga, after winning promotion to the fourth tier. After six years at this level, the club was relegated finishing the 2002/03 season as 18th, the bottom of the table. For the coming twelve seasons, Wieczysta Kraków played in the Liga okręgowa, that was the fifth and after another reorganization in 2008 the sixth tier of the Polish football league. In the 2014/15 season, the club finished 13th (second from bottom) in the Liga okręgowa, thus getting relegated to the seventh tier. In the first season in Klasa A, the club finished second, thus missing out on immediate promotion back to the sixth tier. The next season, 2016/17, they finished first in the league, thus winning promotion back to Liga okręgowa.

In 2021, they won promotion to IV liga, finishing first in regional league's Kraków II group. They were the richest amateur club in the country at the time, and won the league with 28 wins out of 28 games, scoring 216 and conceding only 8. On 29 September 2021, they achieved their first victory in the central level of the Polish Cup, winning 2–1 against the I liga club Chrobry Głogów and advancing to the cup's round of 32.

In the 2021–22 season Wieczysta finished the league season in first place, with 93 points and losing only one game all season, finishing eleven points ahead of second placed Wiślanie Jaśkowice. The team then had to face the champion of the other Małopolska group: the reserves of Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza. The first leg took place on 25 June 2022 in Kraków which Wieczysta won 4–0 with all goals coming from Maciej Jankowski. Wieczysta won the second leg 3–0 winning the tie 7–0 on aggregate, and were promoted to the III liga securing a second consecutive promotion.

Wieczysta started the 2022–23 season at the III liga level with two wins, a draw and two defeats. On 29 August 2022, after a tied home game against Stal Stalowa Wola, coach Franciszek Smuda left the club. On 31 August 2022, Wieczysta dropped out of the Polish Cup, suffering a 0–2 defeat in the 1st round match against Radunia Stężyca. On 6 September 2022, Dariusz Marzec became Wieczysta's coach, followed by Wojciech Łobodzinski on 22 March 2023. His team recorded a disappointing end to the season. The key moment turned out to be a series of five out of six matches without a win, which contributed to the loss of the chance for promotion after the penultimate round, when promotion to the II liga was secured by Stal Stalowa Wola, and Wieczysta was further surpassed by Avia Świdnik, falling to third place in the table before the last round of the III liga. In the last match of a disappointing season, to make up for it, Wieczysta won the final of the Małopolska Polish Cup against Spójnia Osiek-Zimnodół 5–0, which guaranteed their participation in the 2023–24 Polish Cup at the central level. On 14 June 2023, the authorities of Wieczysta parted ways with coach Łobodziński, on 15 June 2023 announcing the hiring of Maciej Musiał, who signed a one-year contract.

Wieczysta strengthened their roster for the 2023–24 campaign with arrivals of former Poland internationals Michał Pazdan, Rafał Pietrzak and Jacek Góralski, as well as veteran players Saša Živec and Christoph Knasmüllner. After suffering a 1–0 loss in the first round of the 2023–24 season, Wieczysta went on to win five out of the next seven games played. On 18 August, despite being only one point behind group IV leaders Siarka Tarnobrzeg, Maciej Musiał was sacked and replaced with former Wieczysta player Sławomir Peszko.

On 18 May 2024, following a 1–0 win over Świdniczanka Świdnik, and second-placed Siarka Tarnobrzeg losing their game hours later, Wieczysta secured their promotion to II liga three rounds before the end of the season.

Honours

 * III liga, group IV
 * Champions: 2023–24


 * IV liga Lesser Poland West
 * Champions: 2021–22


 * Regional league
 * Kraków Division Group II
 * Champions: 2020–21
 * Runners-up: 2018–19, 2019–20


 * Klasa A
 * Kraków Division Group II
 * Champions: 2016–17
 * Runners-up: 2015–16


 * Polish Cup:
 * National
 * Round of 32: 2021–22
 * Lesser Poland (regional)
 * Winners: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
 * Runners-up: 2019–20
 * Kraków District
 * Winners: 2019–20, 2020–21
 * Runners-up: 1952, 2016–17

Seasons
Notes: P - Promoted, R - Relegated