Widzew Łódź

RTS Widzew Łódź (Polish pronunciation: ) is a Polish football club based in Łódź. The club was founded in 1910. Its official colours are red and white, hence their nicknames Czerwona Armia (Red Army) and Czerwono-biało-czerwoni (Red-white-reds). They compete in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of the Polish football league system, since the 2022-23 season. The club was founded on 5 November 1910; 107 years ago as Towarzystwo Miłośników Rozwoju Fizycznego Widzew (Society of Lovers of Physical Development Widzew) in Widzew, then a suburb (now district) of Łódź. In 1922 the club transformed into Robotnicze Towarzystwo Sportowe Widzew (Workers' Sports Society Widzew). Widzew has won four Polish league championships (in 1981, 1982, 1996 and 1997) and the 1985 Polish Cup. They have appeared in 117 matches in European Cups, of which they won 42. Widzew knocked European giants Manchester United out of the 1980-81 UEFA Cup, although their biggest achievement was reaching the semi-final of the 1982–83 European Cup. In the beginning of season 2007/2008 Widzew was bought by one of the wealthiest men in Poland - Sylwester Cacek. In January 2008, while playing in the Second League, the Polish Football Association ruled that Widzew Łódź should be relegated due to their involvement in a corruption scandal. However, Widzew became champion that year, and were allowed to stay in the second division, which was renamed First League (I liga) before the start of the 2008-2009 season. Despite the deduction of six points as a penalty, Widzew managed to become champions once again, and were finally promoted to the Ekstraklasa. In total, Widzew played 35 seasons at the highest level before being relegated in the 2013-2014 season. Due to financial problems, Widzew finished last at the end of the 2014–15 I Liga season. Subsequently, the club ruled by Sylwester Cacek went bankrupt. In consequence local businessmen led by Marcin Ferdzyn and Grzegorz Waranecki decided to take on amateur status as a new association called Stowarzyszenie Reaktywacja Tradycji Sportowych Widzew Łódź (Association of the Reactivation of the Sports Traditions of Widzew Łódź), which continues the tradition of the old RTS Widzew Łódź. The new association was registered in a Polish court on 2.07.2015, and within a few weeks of summer 2015 they managed to find new coach Witold Obarek and collect a new squad, which started the 2015/2016 season in the fifth tier of Polish football.