Poland gently, beyond the pyrotechnics

Words: Andy Evans

Images: Andy Evans

Think Polish club football, and for many of us in the UK we may immediately think of balaclava’d ultras rampaging with pyros, raucous atmospheres, and away fans in cages.

There can be no denying that the culture internally is very different to the UK, however, there is, of course, a whole host of clubs and cities to explore.

I have travelled around South East Poland for the last 20 years, and I would actively encourage anyone to take time out and head over for some groundhopping. There are some wonderful landscapes that roll by, fantastic people, food and drink to enjoy and stadiums that are very accessible.

Krakow is the choice for many, and getting to the city centre from the airport is superb with a rail-link built into the airport. The obvious clubs would be Wisla Krakow, and MKS Cracovia, both walkable from the city centre.

There are plenty of other teams in the locality and one that I would recommend for a groundhop and great background is just 15 minute’s walk from the city centre main square and a club called KS Nadwislan.

©Andy Evans/ Terrace Edition. PKS Korona Dobrzechów.

There is also a fantastic bar across the road from the ground.

The other suggestion would be to fly to the wonderful city of Rzeszow. Regular taxis and buses serve the airport to the city centre. The main focus there would be to take a game in and watch Stal Rzeszow who play at the 12,000 capacity Stadion Miejski w Rzeszowie.

The ground is about a 25 minute walk from the University stop on the railway or a short taxi ride from the centre. The club’s rivals Resovia Rzeszow’s ground is currently being redeveloped and they also play their home games at the same stadium.

For something different, there is also a club a few minutes away by train called ZKS Izolator Boguchwala and the ground walkable from the station of Boguchwala, which makes for an ideal alternative. Depending on the time and how you want to explore the region, there are regular trains between Rzeszow Glowny (the main station) and Jaslo.

Along the way there are several clubs close to the stations as you roll by the landscape. Two that come to mind would be LKS Czarni Czudec with its ground near the station of Czudec, or a few stops further and Wislok Stryzow’s home near the stop/town Stryzow.

©Andy Evans/ Terrace Edition. Wisłok Strzyżów.

Looking to do both Krakow and Rzeszow? Well there are, of course, regular trains from Krakow to Rzeszow the two cities mentioned above, and both the main stations are in the centre of each city.

The train passes through the city of Torun, famous for speedway, but you may decide to visit Elana Torun who are based there. Alternatively, for those who want an actual holiday and a groundhop tick why not fly to Krakow, have a night there and then jump on the train to Zakopane in the Tatra mountains?

Just three hours by rail and very cheap compared to UK rail prices, the town is superb and a real gem by the Slovakia border.

The main club there KS Zakopane’s ground is unfortunately being redeveloped at time of writing but they play currently at the complex by the ski jumping centre, a few minutes walk from the centre. You even pass through one stop on route to Zakopane called Chabowka which hosts the wonderfully named club KS Lokomotiv Chabowka.

Hopefully you will be inspired to visit South-Eastern Poland and enjoy the culture, food and visit a ground that you have not considered previously.