Poles are the best-organized national minority in Norway. This is evidenced not only by the fact of organizing such events as the Gala "Outstanding Pole", Ball for the Polish Diaspora or dynamically operating Polish enterprises. This is also evidenced by the establishment of a Polish football club, which after one year of existence was promoted to a higher football league. Polonia Stavanger is currently in the 6th Norwegian league.
How it started ...
The idea of establishing a football club was born in October 2016. Then Adrian Nosal posted a post on Facebook in which he proposed creating a team. He met with a great response - after a few hours more than 30 people who were interested in playing for the team came forward. Soon, the first joint training took place, and two weeks after it was decided to register with the Norwegian Football Association.
Neither easy nor cheap club registration
However, as it turned out, registering a new soccer team in Norway is not that easy. And even more so, it is not the cheapest activity. It was the finances that stood in the way of being able to play official matches in the Norwegian leagues. When it seemed that the dream should be postponed for an undefined future, Norwegian Oyvind Jacobsen - president of the Brodd club came to the rescue. He suggested that the Poles should play as the Brodd 3 band. Although this solution was supposed to be only a transitional stage, it helped to start the official struggle for points.
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Efforts to register the Polish community in Stavanger
To this day, the team appears as Brodd 3. However, the usual name is Polonia Stavanger - this is how it is mentioned in the media and this is how the official fanpage is called on Facebook. The team also has scarves in their club colors as well as official white and red t-shirts. In turn, each player trains in the club's white and red tracksuits.
The only thing missing is Polonia Stavanger's official application to the Norwegian Football Association. However, as Adrian Nosal claims in an interview with Radio Wataha – due to promotion to the 6th league, the decision was made to continue to play as the third Brodd team. In the case of official registration of Polonia Stavanger, the games would be played as part of the 7th Norwegian league. Therefore, it would be a pity to get promoted.
photo Radoslaw Żukowski
Victory after Victory
The second year of the club's operation has already brought its first success, which was the promotion from the 7th to the 6th league. In Norwegian. Polonia Stavanger started their struggle with a difficult match with the Finnoy team, which took 3rd place last season. The Polish club coped brilliantly with this challenge. With a 4: 3 win he started the game with three points on his account. In the next two matches, Polonia Stavanger won successively against:
- 3: 1 away from Hundvag 2
- 2: 0 at home with Tasta 2
Unfortunately, there was one slip-up in the last turn. The Polish team lost 4: 1 away in the match against Paradise. You can find the entire schedule of matches for the current season here.
Ambitious plans for the future
Currently, the team consists of 24 people ranging in age from 21 to 40 years. The plans for the future, however, are ambitious. They concern, among others opening a football school for the youngest Poles, who will improve their football skills under the watchful eye of the training staff. The key issue is also acquiring sponsors, because without financial support, it is difficult to further develop the Polish football club. Nevertheless, we keep our fingers crossed for the Polish community in Stavanger and wish you continued success!
photo Archives of the Polish community in Stavanger
photo from the Archives of Polonia Stavanger
photo Radoslaw Żukowski
