ŁKS Łódź

ŁKS Łódź (Łódzki Klub Sportowy) (Polish pronunciation: [ˌɛwkaˈɛs ˈwut͡ɕ]) is a Polish Sports Club which is publicly owned by Łódź City Council. They are best known for their football club but are represented in many sports such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, athletics and in the past ice hockey The club is based at Al. Unii Lubelskiej 2 in the West of Łódź, Poland. The club was founded in 1908.

In 2009 the new Atlas Arena ^[2][3] was completed adjacent to the football stadium. It is an indoor arena and has already hosted international events in basketball, volleyball and boxing. The City council intend to construct a brand new stadium on the site of the current football stadium. It is intended to be complete in time for Euro 2012. Although Lodz is not a host city it is hoped the failure by the Ukraine to be ready on time ^[4] will lead to Poland hosting the entire tournament on its own and therefore requiring more host cities. There are currently 4 Polish host cities (Warsaw, Gdańsk, Poznań, Wrocław)and 2 back-up cities (Kraków, Chorzów), but 7-8 stadia would be required to host the tournament. It is envisioned the new stadium will hold approx 34,000 seats as required by UEFA.^[5] Due to their rivalry Widzew Łódź have ruled out using this new stadium and instead intend to rebuild their own stadium. Support for the project has been undermined by the re-call election of the Lodz City President in early 2010. The interim president has questioned the cost of the stadium. The city has also announced a public auction for their stake in the club as they can no longer afford to cover the clubs loses. The future of the project is therefore uncertain.^[6]

Football Club

They have a fierce rivalry with cross-town club, Widzew Łódź, with the derby match between the two clubs being intense both on and off the field.

Their nickname Rycerze Wiosny (Spring Knights) has been given to them due to their usually strong performance in the second round of the league, after Winter break.

Achievements

• Ekstraklasa (First division):
  • 1st Place(2): 1958, 1998
  • 2nd Place(1): 1954
  • 3rd Place(3): 1922, 1957, 1993
• Polish Cup:
  • Winner(1): 1957
  • Finalist(1): 1994
• Polish SuperCup:
  • Finalist(2): 1994, 1998

Current squad

As of 30 August 2011

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Players out on loan

ŁKS in Europe

Notable players

See also

• ŁKS Lotto Łódź - women basketball team STBL
• Football in Poland
• List of football teams
• UEFA Champions League
• UEFA Cup

References

External links

• http://www.lkslodz.pl/ - official website
• http://www.lksfans.pl/ - unofficial website
• Atlas Arena Site