Founded on 15 June 1912, Warta Poznań is the oldest existing football club in Poznań and one of the oldest in Poland. Until then, under German rule, Polish footballers could only play in German clubs where the use of the Polish language was prohibited and German football referees were under orders to report on any footballer who used Polish words during a match. As Warta’s co-founder Edmund Szyc later stated, this rule inadvertently accelerated the foundation of a Polish football club.
Warta’s founders were young Poles who had previously played in the German clubs in Poznań, including Marian Bey, Stefan Malinowski, Stefan Mórkowski, brothers Edmund and Franciszek Szyc and Ludwik Zysnarski. They were included in the first board of the club, whose first president – as the oldest member of the board – became Franciszek Szyc. At the founding meeting, green and white were chosen as statutory colours. In 1917, Franciszek Rotnicki became chairman of the club and during that period (1917-1924), he laid the structural foundations for Warta’s future successes.
The interwar period 1918-1939 was Warta’s golden era and Warta became a leading football team in Poland. Between 1922 and 1928, Warta was always in the top three teams in the Polish football championship (there was no championship in 1924). Finally, with the Hungarian coach Béla Fürst in charge, Warta won its first Polish football championship in 1929. Although Polish teams did not yet participate in annual European football club competitions at this time, Warta’s football team travelled abroad to take part in football tournaments while foreign football teams such as Philips Eindhoven (today’s PSV) and FC Milan (today’s AC Milan) travelled to Poznań to play Warta.
After the Second World War, Warta remained a leading football team and won its second Polish football championship in 1947. However, this was the beginning of the end of Warta’s golden era, which included two championships, five seasons as runner-up and seven seasons in third place. The regional Communist leadership had a hostile attitude towards a strong sports organisation that was previously supported by independent entrepreneurs, military officers and the middle class. The club was not to play a serious role in Poland’s football any longer. In 1950, Warta’s football team was relegated from the top league, which the club co-founded in 1927.
Following the end of Communism, Warta returned to Poland’s top league in 1993, unfortunately only for two seasons. In 2018, the current owner Bartłomiej Farjaszewski bought the football section of Warta. In 2020, Warta returned to the Ekstraklasa (Poland’s Premier League) and finished fifth in the league, which represented Warta football team’s best result since winning the football championship in 1947. Fans believe that this is just the beginning of rebuilding the glory of the club.
Najważniejsze fakty historyczne...
18 August 1912. In its first game, Warta Poznań beat FC Hertha Poznań 9:2. Hertha was a so-called ‘wild card team’ as it did not belong to any football association. Warta’s squad included: Sroka – F. Szyc, Beym – Lewandowski III, Cybichowski, Malinowski – Lewandowski II, Niedzielski, Lewandowski I, Masłowski, E. Kosicki.
The year 1920. The Poznań municipal government handed over large sports grounds to Warta at Rolna Street, which served as Warta’s stadium until the 1970s. It is here that the Greens celebrated their two league championship titles.
The year 1921. Warta Poznań participated in the first Polish national football championship. Until then, the Greens regularly won the regional Wielkopolska championship. Warta finished in third place behind Cracovia and Polonia Warsaw.
18 December 1921. The national team of Poland played its first ever international match in Budapest against Hungary (0:1). A Warta player, Marian Einbacher, played in that game.
The year 1924. Marian Spojda, a Warta Poznań player, represented Poland at the Olympic Games in Paris. He spent 90 minutes on the pitch in a match against Hungary (0:5).
The Poland national team also played at Warta’s Rolna Street stadium. On 8 August 1926, Poland beat Finland 7:1. It was the first match of the Poland national team in Poznań. The Warta striker Wawrzyniec Staliński scored a hat-rick, the first ever hat-trick for the Poland team.
The year 1927. Under the club chairmanship of Stanisław Broniarz (1924-1927), Warta Poznań was a co-founder of the football league in Poland, today’s Ekstraklasa. Warta Poznań was part of the league until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.
The year 1929. Warta Poznań won the poll for the most popular football club in Poland. The reward was a clock of the Omega brand, which served as the stadium clock for the Rolna Street stadium.
11 August 1929. Warta played a match against the Dutch champions Philips Eindhoven (today’s PSV Eindhoven). It was the first football match broadcast on Polish radio. Warta won 5–2.
The year 1929. Warta Poznań won its first Polish football championship. The championship title was only confirmed several weeks after the end of season when the football association officially awarded a walkover to Warta for its match against Turyści Łódź.
1929-1939. Warta Poznań published a club magazine called „Warciarz” – 90 issues were published in 10 years, which considerably surpassed similar publications in other Polish football clubs.
1932. Kajetan Kryszkiewicz was the top goal scorer in the Polish league, with 15 goals, the only Warta player to ever become the league’s top goal scorer.
13 September 1933. The friendly match between Warta Poznań and Legia Poznań was the first football match in Poland to be played using artificial lighting.
1938. The Warta Poznań striker Fryderyk Scherfke scored the first goal for Poland at the World Cup. Scherfke converted a penalty in a match against Brasil (5:6) in Strasbourg/France.
30 November 1947. Warta Poznań won its second – and so far, last – Polish football championship. In the presence of over 20 000 spectators, Warta won against Wisła Kraków 5–2.
1962. Warta’s Municipal Stadium (later E. Szyc stadium) hosted the Poland-Hungary international match, watched by 58 000 fans. The stadium hosted 10 Poland internationals during 1931-80.
May 1971. The Warta Poznań match against ŁKS Łódź (1:1) at the Edmund Szyc Stadium was attended by ca. 50 000 fans, which remains Warta’s record match attendance to-date.
12 September 1976. Maciej Żurawski was born, one of the most famous Warta Poznań footballers (72 Poland caps, 1998–2008). Former Warta striker played at the 2002 and 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008. He scored 17 goals for Poland.
15 May 1993. Warta Poznań was already losing 0:2 against Stilon Gorzów but managed to turn the game around and won 3:2. The victory sealed Warta’s return to the Ekstraklasa after 43 years.
31 July 2020. Warta Poznań sealed its return to the Ekstraklasa for the second time. The Greens won the promotion playoffs against Radomiak Radom 2:0 at the Grodzisk municipal stadium.
18 sierpnia 1912 r. w swoim pierwszym meczu Warta Poznań pokonała 9:2 FC Herthę Poznań, która także była tzw. dziką drużyną, czyli nie należała do żadnego związku piłkarskiego. Skład Warty z tamtego meczu wyglądał następująco: Sroka – F. Szyc, Beym – Lewandowski III, Cybichowski, Malinowski – Lewandowski II, Niedzielski, Lewandowski I, Masłowski, E. Kosicki.
18 sierpnia 1912 r. w swoim pierwszym meczu Warta Poznań pokonała 9:2 FC Herthę Poznań, która także była tzw. dziką drużyną, czyli nie należała do żadnego związku piłkarskiego. Skład Warty z tamtego meczu wyglądał następująco: Sroka – F. Szyc, Beym – Lewandowski III, Cybichowski, Malinowski – Lewandowski II, Niedzielski, Lewandowski I, Masłowski, E. Kosicki.