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| Organising body | PZPN |
|---|---|
| Founded | 19 February 2000; 25 years ago (2000-02-19) (new formula) 2008; 18 years ago (2008) (as III liga) |
| Country | Poland |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of clubs | 72 (4 groups of 18) |
| Level on pyramid | 4 |
| Promotion to | II liga |
| Relegation to | IV liga |
| Domestic cup | Polish Cup |
| Current champions | Unia Skierniewice (Group I) Sokół Kleczew (Group II) Śląsk Wrocław II (Group III) Sandecja Nowy Sącz (Group IV) (2024–25) |
| Sponsor(s) | Betclic |
| Current:2025–26 III liga | |
III liga (Trzecia liga,lit. 'Third League'), currently namedBetclic III liga due to its sponsorship byBetclic,[1] is a Polishfootballleague that sits in the fourth tier of thePolish football league system. Until the end of the 2007–08 season, III liga referred to a league at the third tier (now calledII liga) but this was changed with the formation of theEkstraklasa as the top level league in Poland.
Groups of III liga are divided based onadministrative division of Poland. Top teams of III liga are promoted toII liga and bottom teams are relegated toIV liga.
The current fourth tier of the Polish national league system was established on 19 February 2000, under the nameIV liga. Previously, the fourth tier of competition was held under many different names depending on the region, includingmacro-regional league,macro-regional class,inter-voivodeship league,district league, among others.
In August 2000, the first official season of new fourth tier commenced with teams spread across 21 territorial groups. In five voivodeships (Lower Silesia, Lesser Poland, Masovia, Silesia and Greater Poland), the competition was divided into two groups, the winners of which met in a two-legged play-off for the championship and promotion to the third tier. In the remaining 11 voivodeships, only one group was held, the winner of which automatically earning promoted to a higher division. In subsequent editions, the number of groups was gradually reduced and the number of teams in each of them was limited. In 2001, both Lower Silesian groups were merged, in 2002 - the Masovian ones, and in 2006, the Lesser Poland groups. In 2007, the fourth tier consisted of 18 regional groups. In 14 voivodeships, the games were played with a single-group system, and in two voivodeships, with a two-group system.
Starting from the 2008–09 season, the league was renamed toIII liga, and reduced to 8 groups. The winners of each group (in the case of voivodeships with two groups, the winners of the play-offs between the winners of both groups) formed four play-off pairs, winners of which were promoted to theII liga.
The latest restructure came in effect ahead of the 2016–17 season, with the numbers of teams reduced to 72 across four groups.
For the 2024–25 season, seventy-two clubs participate. The clubs are split into four parallel groups of 18 with their group affiliation being based on the regional location. The competition is played in around-robin format, with each team facing others in their respective group twice, at home and away. The champions of each group achieve automatic promotion to theII liga, while the second-placed teams first face each other in a play-off, the winners of which qualify for a promotion/relegation play-off against 13th and 14th-placed II liga teams. The bottom four teams in each group are relegated to theIV liga, though the number of relegated teams may increase depending on territorial affiliation of the teams demoted from the II liga.[2]
The following 72 clubs are competing in the III liga for the2025–26 season.
Seasons 2000–01 — 2007–08[edit]18–21 parallel divisions as IV liga (one or two in each of16 Voivodeship)
| Seasons 2008–09 — 2015–16[edit]8 parallel divisions as III liga.[3] | Seasons 2016–17 and onwards[edit]4 parallel divisions as III liga.[4]
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