KS ROW 1964 Rybnik is a Polish

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club based in

Rybnik Rybnik (Polish pronunciation: ; szl, Rybńik) is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km (11 miles) from the Czech border. It is ...

. The club was formed in 2003 on the basis of RKS Energetyk Rybnik (founded in 1981) and traces its roots back to ROW Rybnik's football section, which was founded in 1964, and dissolved in the early 1990s. The club was called Energetyk ROW Rybnik between 2003 and 2015. While KS ROW spent 7 seasons in the

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 ...

(1968–69, 1970–71, 1972–77), were runners-up of 1974–75

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa title. ...

and played in the

Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foo ...

( 1971,

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

), Energetyk ROW's biggest success to date has been the promotion to

2013–14 I Liga The 2013–14 I liga was the sixth season of the Polish I liga under its current title, and the sixty-sixth season of the second highest division in the Polish football league system. The season began on 27 July 2013 and concluded on 7 June 2014. ...

, the second tier in Polish league pyramid. Before the 2015-2016 season after a fan vote and a board change, the club returned its historical roots and renamed itself "KS ROW 1964", dropping its affiliation with "Energetyk".

History

The history of football in Rybnik dates back to 1920, when a group of Polish activists, who participated in the

Silesian Uprisings The Silesian Uprisings (german: Aufstände in Oberschlesien, Polenaufstände, links=no; pl, Powstania śląskie, links=no) were a series of three uprisings from August 1919 to July 1921 in Upper Silesia, which was part of the Weimar Republic ...

, formed a sports organisation in Rybnik. ROW itself was not formed until 1964, when two sports clubs, Górnik Rybnik and Górnik 23 Chwałowice, from nearby Chwałowice, merged. In its heyday (1970s), ROW Rybnik had 13 departments, including the most popular: football and

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

. ROW Rybnik was officially created on August 6, 1964, upon the decision of local authorities. Its first manager was an influential coal magnate from

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

and chairman of Rybnik Union of Coal Industry, Jerzy Kucharczyk. ROW originally had 13 departments, including ski-jumping. Each department was financially supported by a different factory: ROW’s football team was sponsored by the Chwałowice Coal Mine. In the 1966/67 season of Upper Silesian Third Division, ROW emerged as a winner, and was promoted to the 2nd division. In the summer of 1968, ROW won promotion to the

, finishing below

Zagłębie Wałbrzych Zagłębie Wałbrzych is a Polish multisports club in the south-western city of Wałbrzych. The club, based in the Biały Kamień neighbourhood, is the most famous for its football team, which competed in the Polish top division in the past. Hi ...

, but ahead of

Zawisza Bydgoszcz Zawisza Bydgoszcz () is a sports club from Bydgoszcz, Poland, founded in 1946. Its name commemorates a legendary Polish 15th-century knight, Zawisza Czarny (Zawisza the Black). The club holds many sections: football, track and field athletics, ...

and Lech Poznań. After one year, the team was relegated, to once again win promotion to the first level of Polish football, after the 1969–70 season. Once again, ROW was relegated in the summer of 1971, to return to the Ekstraklasa in mid-1972 and remain there for five years. In the 1974–75 season, ROW managed to reach the final of the

, beating

Metal Kluczbork A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

, Legia Warsaw,

Polonia Bytom Polonia Bytom () is a Polish football club based in Bytom, founded in 1920, two times Polish Champions. The team currently plays in the III liga (as of 2022–23). History Beginnings Polonia was founded on 4 January 1920 in the Upper Silesia ...

, Lech Poznań and

Górnik Zabrze Górnik Zabrze Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Górnik Zabrze S.A. or simply Górnik Zabrze (), is a Polish football club from Zabrze. Górnik is one of the most successful Polish football clubs in history, winning the second-most Po ...

in the semifinal. Final game, versus Stal Rzeszów, ended in a draw, and after penalty shootout, Stal won the Polish Cup. ROW was relegated from the Ekstraklasa after the 1976–77 season, never to return to the top division. After several years in the Second Division, the team was in 1983 relegated to the Third Division. In the early 1990s, ROWs football team was dissolved. Among top players, who put on ROW’s jersey were

Henryk Wieczorek Henryk Piotr Wieczorek (born 14 December 1949 in Chorzów) is a Polish retired footballer. He played for a few clubs, including ROW Rybnik, Górnik Zabrze and AJ Auxerre in France. He played for the Polish national team (18 matches) and was a ...

Piotr Mowlik Piotr Mowlik (born 21 April 1951 in Rybnik) is a retired Polish football goalkeeper. Career Club In 1965, Mowlik began as an apprentice with LZS Orzepowice. In 1966, he signed as a professional with ROW Rybnik where he played until 1970. Tha ...

, and Eugeniusz Lerch. Altogether, ROW played seven years in Ekstraklasa: 198 games, 50 victories, 65 draws, 83 losses, 165 goals scored. It played in the

four times. Amfiteatr 3

The football section was re-founded in 2003 on the basis of ''Energetyk Rybnik'', a small local team, and was subsequently renamed ''Energetyk ROW Rybnik'', and although continuing the traditions of the original club, is considered a new entity. Energetyk ROW's biggest success to date has been the promotion to

Honours

: :Runners-up (1): 1974–75

European record

Current squad

''As of 26 September 2021''

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://row1964rybnik.com
Former official website

Unofficial supporter-run website
Association football clubs established in 1964 1964 establishments in Poland 2003 establishments in Poland Football clubs in Silesian Voivodeship Rybnik