Wieczysta Kraków Wieczysta Kraków is a club whose origins date back to one of the darkest periods in the city's history – it was founded in 1942, during the German occupation, when any organised Polish sporting activity was strictly forbidden. The club's founding is generally credited to Edward Ignaszewski, a resident of Kraków's Rakowice district, who in spring 1940 was forced into labour at the German construction firm "Baudinst" and used his position to organise clandestine matches and secure sponsorship for the team's first uniform red kits. Traces of organised football in this part of Kraków, however, go back even further, to 1936, when local youth formed an informal team called "Wieczyszczanka." Among the club's post-war players, a special place is held by Antoni Kawula, a prolific forward who survived the horrors of the German concentration camps.
For decades that followed, Wieczysta operated as a typical local, district-level club strongly tied to the eastern part of Kraków and its ground on Chałupnika Street, remaining consistently in the shadow of the city's two biggest brands, Wisła and Cracovia. Everything changed dramatically in 2020, when businessman Wojciech Kwiecień became the club's sponsor, making no secret from the outset of his ambitions for rapid promotion and professionalisation. Players with national team experience, such as Sławomir Peszko and Radosław Majewski, began joining the squad, and the club climbed through the league system at remarkable speed – from the regional league, through the fourth, third and second tiers.
The crowning moment of that sporting revolution came in the play-off final played on 31 May 2026, when Wieczysta defeated Chrobry Głogów 2–1, sealing a historic promotion to the Ekstraklasa, the first in the club's 84-year history. The event carries symbolic weight beyond the club itself – for the first time in over three decades, three teams from the same city will compete in Poland's top division, with Wieczysta joining Wisła and Cracovia among Kraków's top-flight clubs.
Known to fans as the Yellow-Blacks for their distinctive club colours, the team plays its matches at the intimate stadium on Chałupnika Street, though due to the licensing requirements of the top division, matches in the 2026–27 season have been relocated to Wisła Kraków's stadium on Reymonta Street.