 | ||||
| Full name | Morski Związkowy Klub Sportowy Arka Gdynia | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Śledzie (The Herrings) Żółto-Niebiescy (The Yellow and Blues) | |||
| Founded | 1929; 96 years ago (1929), asKlub Sportowy Gdynia | |||
| Ground | Stadion GOSiR | |||
| Capacity | 15,139[1] | |||
| Chairman | Wojciech Pertkiewicz | |||
| Manager | Dawid Szwarga | |||
| League | Ekstraklasa | |||
| 2024–25 | I liga, 1st of 18 (promoted) | |||
| Website | www | |||
 Current season | ||||
Morski Związkowy Klub Sportowy Arka Gdynia (lit. 'Maritime Union Sports Club Arka Gdynia',Polish pronunciation:[ˈmɔrskʲizvjɔ̃sˈkɔvɨˈklupspɔrˈtɔvɨˈarkaˈɡdɨɲa]) is a professionalfootball club based inGdynia,Poland, that plays in theEkstraklasa after winning the2024–25 I liga. The club was founded asKlub Sportowy Gdynia in 1929.[2]
| Active departments ofArka Gdynia | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
The history of Arka dates back to 1929, when a group of workers of thePort of Gdynia foundedKlub Sportowy (Sports Club) Gdynia (abbreviated KS Gdynia). In 1932, a new stadium of KS was opened atPolanka Redłowska. This location was used by the club until 2000. In 1934,Klub Sportowy Kotwica (Sports Club Anchor) was registered. Both team existed until 1939.
In 1949,Rybacki Klub Sportowy ("Fishermen Sports Club") MIR was formed. Three years later, its name was changed toKlub Sportowy Kolejarz-Arka Gdynia. In 1953, the team for the first time won promotion to the third level of Polish football. In 1959, Arka's U-19 became Polish runner-up, and in 1960, after a dramatic game vs.Hutnik Kraków, Arka won promotion to the Second Division.
In 1964, Arka merged with Doker Gdynia, to form Morski Związkowy Klub Sportowy (MZKS; "Maritime United Sports Club") Gdynia. In 1972, its name was changed into Arka. Two years later Arka won promotion to theEkstraklasa. Relegated after one year, Arka returned to the top level in 1976. In 1979 Arka, managed byCzesław Boguszewicz, became the first team from PolishBaltic Sea coast to win thePolish Cup. In the final game, which took place inLublin, Arka beatWisła Kraków 2–1. In itsUEFA Cup Winners' Cup debut, Arka lost to Bulgarian sidePFC Beroe Stara Zagora (3–2, 0–2).
In 1982, Arka was relegated from the top level, to return there in 2005. In the1982 World Cup inSpain, Arka'sJanusz Kupcewicz was among top players of Polish national team, which won bronze medal.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Arka played either in the third or second division, with a number of promotions and relegations. In 2001, after six years in the third level, Arka again won promotion to the second division, and in 2005, the team returned to Ekstraklasa.
In 2011, the City of Gdynia completed the construction of a newstadium, located on Olimpijska Street. On 19 February 2011, Arka tied 1–1 withBeroe Stara Zagora in a friendly game to commemorate the opening of their new venue. That year, Arka were relegated from the top level.
In 2016, Arka was promoted to the top level again after taking first place in the I liga. Soon after getting promoted, Arka won thePolish Cup for the second time, and thePolish Super Cup twice: in 2017 and 2018.
By tier:
Arka is one of the most supported clubs in Poland, drawing in support from mostly acrossPomerania. Outside theTricity, Arka has fan-clubs in all major cities and towns in the region, such asTczew,Wejherowo,Braniewo andKościerzyna for example, as well as fan-clubs in places further away such asZakopane andLublin Voivodeship, and even two fan-clubs in Germany set up by expatriate Arka fans, inOberhausen andStuttgart.[3]
The fans have an alliance with fans ofCracovia andLech Poznań, and the three are known as "The Great Triad" (Wielka Triada). Fans ofLechia Gdańsk,Śląsk Wrocław andWisła Kraków also share a friendship called "The Three Kings of Great Cities" (Trzej Królowie Wielkich Miast) and any match between the two alliances is a considered a big rivalry.[4]
Arka fans maintain alliances with several other fans aside from Cracovia and Lech, many of them lasting now for decades: fans ofZagłębie Lubin (since 1983),Gwardia Koszalin (since 1989), andKSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (since 2004) are all considered good friends.[5] The friendship withPolonia Bytom fans dates back to 1974, and is one of the longest friendships in supporter history which has survived to date.[6]
The greatest rival or Arka isLechia Gdańsk, a team with whom they contest the so-calledTricity Derby or Pomeranian Derby. Fans of both teams remain venomously hostile and since the early 1970s the history of games between Arka and Lechia is marked by riots and violence. Relations with another Gdynia football teamBałtyk Gdynia used to be friendly until the 1980s, when they turned hostile. Due to Bałtyk's successive relegations and their declining numbers of fans this rivalry is now of lesser importance.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Ferdinand Fritsch (1950)
Herman May (1953)Czesław Bartolik (1954–1955)Tadeusz Foryś (1956)Jan Gazur (1957–1958)Edward Kołpa (1959)Roman Sawecki (1960)Henryk Serafin (1961)Piotr Nierychło (1962)Stanisław Malon (1962–1963)Józef Barbachen (1963–1964)Edward Brzozowski (1964–1965)Grzegorz Polakow (1965–1971)Jerzy Słaboszowski (1971–1975)Stefan Żywotko (1975–1976)Konrad Araucz (1976–1977)Janusz Pekowski (1977)Jerzy Steckiw (1977–1979)Czesław Boguszewicz (1979–1980)Stanisław Stachura (1980–1981)Grzegorz Polakow (1981-198x)Zbigniew Strzelecki (198x-198x)Konrad Araucz (198x-198x)Zbigniew Strzelecki (198x-198x)Andrzej Trywiański (198x-198x)Janusz Inżyński (198x-198x)Adam Adamus (198x-198x)Krzysztof Szkoda (198x-198x)Andrzej Bikiewicz (198x-1987)Jerzy Jastrzębowski (1987–1989)Andrzej Bikiewicz (1989-19xx)Mieczysław Rajski (19xx-1991)Jacek Dziubiński (1991–1993)Ryszard Lipiński (1993)Stanisław Stachura (1993)Jacek Dziubiński ()Grzegorz Witt (1994–1995)Grzegorz Polakow (1994–1995)Grzegorz Witt (1994–1995)Jacek Dziubiński ()Marian Geszke (1995)Ryszard Lipiński (1995–1996)Jacek Dziubiński (1995–1996)Jarosław Kotas (1996–1997)Andrzej Bussler (1996–1998)Jacek Dziubiński (1998–1999)Wojciech Niedźwiedzki (1998–1999)Stanisław Stachura (1999–2000)Mieczysław Gierszewski (2000–2001)Wiesław Pisarski (2001)Marek Kusto (2001–2003)Mieczysław Rajski (2003–2004)Piotr Mandrysz (2003–2004)Wojciech Wąsikiewicz (2003–2004)Mirosław Dragan (2004–2005)Wojciech Wąsikiewicz (2005–2006)Zbigniew Kaczmarek (2006)Wojciech Stawowy (2006–2007)Robert Jończyk (2007–2008)Czesław Michniewicz (2008–2009)Marek Chojnacki (2009)Dariusz Pasieka (2009–2011)
František Straka (2011)Petr Němec (2011–2012)Paweł Sikora (2012–2014)[8]Piotr Rzepka (2014)Dariusz Dźwigała (2014)Grzegorz Niciński (2014–2017)Leszek Ojrzyński (2017–2018)Zbigniew Smółka (2018–2019)Jacek Zieliński (2019)
Aleksandar Rogić (2019–2020)Krzysztof Sobieraj (2020)Ireneusz Mamrot (2020)Dariusz Marzec (2020–2021)Ryszard Tarasiewicz (2021–2022)
Hermes (2022–2023)Ryszard Wieczorek (2023)Wojciech Łobodziński (2023–2024)Tomasz Grzegorczyk (interim) (2024)Dawid Szwarga (2024–present)| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–80 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 1R |  Beroe Stara Zagora | 3–2 | 0–2 | 3–4 |
| 2017–18 | UEFA Europa League | 3Q |  Midtjylland | 3–2 | 1–2 | 4–4(a) |
54°29′35.29″N18°31′52.37″E / 54.4931361°N 18.5312139°E /54.4931361; 18.5312139
