Rakow Czestochowa

Sports club "Racovia" was established in 1921 in the village of Raków. The club dissolved in 1925 due to lack of registration. In 1927, the club was reactivated under the name of the Robotniczy Klub Sportowy (Workers Sports Club) Raków. A year later, the village became a district of Częstochowa. The club operated under the patronage of the Polish Socialist Party and was financially supported by the Częstochowa steelworks. In 1937, the club was promoted to Klasa A. During the German occupation (World War II), the club did not function. In the years 1951–1955, a Raków's stadium with an athletics track was built. In the years 1962–1966, the football team competed in the second league.

On 9 July 1967, Raków lost 0–2 to Wisła Kraków in their first Polish Cup final appearance. In 1972, Raków's players reached the semi-finals of the Polish Cup, which they lost to Legia Warsaw. In the years 1978–1980, 1981–1984 and 1990–1994 the club played in the second league. In 1993, the junior team took 2nd place in the Football Junior Championships of Poland. In 1994, for the first time in club history, Raków were promoted to Ekstraklasa. They competed in the top-flight for four seasons until being relegated after the 1997–98 season. The club suffered back-to-back relegations in 1999–2000 and 2000–01, dropping down to the IV liga. The club finally made it to back to the Polish second division, I liga, in 2016.

Promotion and European football

The club won the I liga in 2018–19, earning promotion to Ekstraklasa for the first time in 21 years. In the same season, they impressed in the 2018-19 Polish Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the competition by beating the likes of Lech Poznań in the round of 32 and Legia Warsaw in the quarter-finals. They finished the 2019–20 season in 10th place.

In the 2020–21 season, Raków finished the league as runners-up. This was the highest ever league position in their history, and it secured their place in the newly formed UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers for the 2021–22 season, their maiden appearance in European football. Further success followed when Raków won its first major trophy on 2 May 2021, defeating I liga side Arka Gdynia in the final of the Polish Cup by a score of 2–1. On 17 July 2021, Raków Częstochowa defeated reigning Ekstraklasa title holders Legia Warsaw on penalties to win the 2021 Polish Super Cup.

Their first ever appearance in European football was in the second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League, facing Lithuanian team Sūduva, with the game finishing 0–0 (4–3 pens) after both legs. They faced Russian Premier League side Rubin Kazan in the third qualifying round, beating them 1–0 on aggregate score. In the final qualifying round, they faced Belgian side Gent, which they beat 1–0 in the first leg, but lost 0–3 in the second leg, losing 1–3 on aggregate, eliminating them from the competition.

On 2 May 2022, Raków defeated Lech Poznań 3–1 and secured its second consecutive Polish Cup. In the race for the league title that season, Raków lost out to the same opponents by just five points, with the champions being decided on the penultimate day of the season. On 9 July 2022, Raków won their second consecutive Polish Super Cup with a 2–0 win over Lech Poznań. In the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying phase, the team defeated FC Astana (6–0 agg.) and FC Spartak Trnava (3–0 agg.), but lost to Slavia Prague (2–3 agg.) in the play-off round.

On 7 May 2023, Raków won the Ekstraklasa championship for the first time in their history and made it to the last qualifying round of the Champions League where they faced FC Copenhagen from Denmark.

Players and pupils

The club's alumni include Jakub Błaszczykowski, Jerzy Brzęczek and Jacek Magiera. Former Polish internationals such as Jacek Krzynówek and Tomasz Kiełbowicz also played for the club.