The 2019–20 Ekstraklasa (also known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its
sponsorship
Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...
by
PKO Bank Polski) was the 94th season of
the Polish Football Championship, the 86th season of
the highest tier domestic division in the
Polish football league system
The Polish football league system refers to the league system for association football in Poland.
The men's system
As of the 2023–24 season.
The Ekstraklasa lies at the top of the Polish football system, followed by I liga, II liga and III l ...
since its establishment in
1927
Events January
* January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...
and the 12th season of the
Ekstraklasa
(; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...
under its current title. The league was operated by the Ekstraklasa
SA.
The regular season was played as a
round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament or all-play-all tournament is a competition format in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & ...
. A total of 16 teams participated, 14 of which competed in the league during the
previous season, while the remaining two were promoted from the
2018–19 I liga. It is the third Ekstraklasa season to use
VAR. The season started on 19 July 2019 and concluded on 19 July 2020 (the fixtures were announced on 3 June 2019 and revised on 13 May 2020 due to the outbreak of
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
).
After the 20th matchday the league went on a winter break between 23 December 2019 and 8 February 2020. On 13 March 2020, the Ekstraklasa SA suspended the league due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. After consultation with the
Polish government
The government of Poland takes the form of a Unitary state, unitary semi-presidential republic, semi-presidential Representative democracy, representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Poland, president is the head of state and t ...
, the league resumed
behind closed doors without any spectators on 29 May 2020. All matches of 31–37 round have been played with "no more than 25 percent of the number of seats allocated to the public".
Each team played a total of 30 matches in the regular season, half at home and half away. After the 30th round, the league split into two groups: ''championship round'' (top eight teams) and ''relegation round'' (bottom eight teams). Each team played 7 more games (teams ranked 1 to 4 and 9 to 12 played four times at home). Therefore, each team played a total of 37 matches. The team at the top of the Championship round won the league title. However, the rules for promotion and relegation from the league have changed: starting from the 2019–20 season, three teams were relegated from Ekstraklasa to
I liga
I liga (, ), currently named Betclic I liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, is the men's second professional association football division of the Polish football league system, below the Ekstraklasa and above the II liga via promotion/rel ...
, while from the I liga to Ekstraklasa two teams advanced directly, while teams from 3-6 places fought in a play-off where the winner was awarded with a promotion to Ekstraklasa.
The defending champions were
Piast Gliwice, who won their 1st Polish title
the previous season. The two clubs promoted were
Raków Częstochowa
Robotniczy Klub Sportowy Raków Częstochowa Spółka Akcyjna (commonly referred to as Raków Częstochowa, or simply Raków) is a Polish professional football club, based in Częstochowa, that competes in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of natio ...
, returning to Ekstraklasa after 21 years, as well as
ŁKS Łódź
ŁKS Łódź (''Łódzki Klub Sportowy Łódź''; ) is a Polish sports club based in Łódź. They are best known for their football club but are represented in many sports such as basketball, volleyball, boxing, and in the past ice hockey, ...
, who make a return to Ekstraklasa after 7 years.
Legia Warsaw
Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...
clinched their fourteenth Ekstraklasa title on the twenty eight matchday of the season, after a 2–0 win against
Cracovia.
Teams
A total of 16 teams participated in the 2019–20 edition of the Ekstraklasa.
Changes from last season
Stadiums and locations
:''Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.''
#
Upgrading to 31,871.
#
Upgrading to 21,163.
#
Due to the renovation of the Municipal Football Stadium "Raków" in Częstochowa
Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...
, Raków played home matches at the GIEKSA Arena in Bełchatów
Bełchatów () is a city in central Poland with a population of 55,583, as of December 2021. It is located in Łódź Voivodeship, southwest of Warsaw.
The Bełchatów Power Station, Elektrownia Bełchatów, located in Bełchatów, is the largest ...
.
Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
From 19 June 2020, it was possible for spectators to take 25% of possible seats. This regulation come into force by matchday 31.
Regular season
League table
Positions by round
Results
Play-offs
Championship round
League table
Positions by round
Results
Relegation round
League table
Positions by round
Results
Season statistics
Top goalscorers
Top assists
Clean sheets
Hat-tricks
Individual statistics
* Youngest footballer this season:
Kacper Urbański 15 years, 105 days
* Oldest footballer this season:
Marcin Wasilewski 40 years, 39 days
* Youngest goal scorer this season:
Iwo Kaczmarski
Iwo Kaczmarski (born 16 April 2004) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for I liga club Miedź Legnica, on loan from club Empoli.
Club career
A native of Kielce, Kaczmarski started his career with his hometown club K ...
16 years, 93 days
* Oldest goal scorer this season:
Ľubomír Guldan 37 years, 156 days
Attendances
Before COVID-19 pandemic (after 26th round)
Total attendances
Awards
Monthly awards
Player of the Month
Young Player of the Month
Coach of the Month
Annual awards
See also
*
2019–20 I liga
*
2019–20 II liga
The 2019–20 II liga was the 72nd season of the third tier domestic division in the Polish football league system since its establishment in 1948 and the 12th season of the Polish II liga under its current title. The league was operated by the P ...
*
2019–20 III liga
*
2019–20 Polish Cup
*
2019 Polish Super Cup
Notes
References
External links
*
Ekstraklasa at uefa.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:2019-20 Ekstraklasa
Ekstraklasa seasons
1
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
Ekstraklasa
(; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...