GKS Katowice GKS Katowice is one of the most historic and traditional clubs in Upper Silesia, which has returned to the football elite after years of crisis and wandering through the lower divisions. The club's golden era came in the 1980s and 1990s, when the team regularly finished at the top of the table, securing four national runner-up finishes. "GieKSa" truly specialized in cup competitions, though, lifting the Polish Cup three times (1986, 1991, 1993) and claiming the Polish Super Cup twice, which brought regular European football against sides like Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge and Girondins de Bordeaux.
Dark times followed those glorious years, as financial collapse forced the club to restart its rebuild from the fourth tier. A new chapter was written by manager Rafał Górak, who took over at a difficult moment and steadily built a squad capable of returning to the top. The defining moment came in 2024, when a dramatic final-round victory over Arka Gdynia secured "GieKSa" direct promotion to the Ekstraklasa after a 19-year absence.
The return to the top flight proved to be just the beginning — in the 2025/26 season the club secured its return to European competition after more than thirty years away, and in the summer of 2026 played its debut match in Conference League qualifying. The team has also moved into the new Arena Katowice, opened in 2025, replacing the well-worn Bukowa Street stadium that witnessed the club's greatest triumphs.