Wojskowy Klub Sportowy Grodno (WKS Grodno) was a Polish football team, located in

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

(now

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

), on the historic territory of Kresy Wschodnie (Polish Eastern Borderlands). The club was founded in 1934, when the team of “Cresovia” Grodno merged with a few local clubs. A year later, WKS won championships of the

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

A-Class, however, it never succeeded in winning championships of northeastern Poland, year by year losing to the local powerhouse,

Śmigły Wilno Śmigły Wilno was a Polish association football team. Founded in 1933 in Wilno, Second Polish Republic (now Vilnius, Lithuania). Śmigły's full name was ''Wojskowy Klub Sportowy "Śmigły" Wilno'' (Military Sports Club "Śmigły" Wilno). The ...

. Grodno's side was supported by the garrison of the Polish Army and it ceased to exist after

Soviet invasion of Poland (1939) The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...

Retro league

In 2019, the WKS Grodno team had been reconstructed by the historical reconstruction association in Poland as part of the Retro Liga project. The players play in carefully recreated costumes and shoes according to the rules of 1938. The teams chosen for the Retro Liga were those forced to disband in 1939 after the outbreak of World War II. The other teams who took part were WKS Kutno, WKS Łowicz,

(Śmigły were not reformed as the borders after WWII meant they were now in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n territory), and

Lechia Lwów Lechia Lwów (full name: ''Lwowski Klub Sportowy "Lechia" Lwów'') was the first Polish professional association football club, founded in summer 1903 in Lwów by students of the 3rd and 4th gymnasiums as well as former members of the Sokół foot ...

(Lechia were not reformed as the borders after WWII meant they were now in

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

territory).

References

Sources

*
A June 22, 1939 newspaper article with history of WKS Grodno
Association football clubs established in 1934 Association football clubs disestablished in 1939 Defunct football clubs in Belarus 1934 establishments in Poland 1939 disestablishments in Poland Defunct football clubs in former Polish territories Western Belorussia (1918–1939) {{Belarus-footyclub-stub

Retro league

See also

References

Sources