AFC Warszawa - February

A word from the manager

When I got in the car to take my children to school on Tuesday, 3rd February, the thermometer read -21! It’s cold right now in Poland, and needless to say our mid-season preparations are taking a bit of a hit.

We were back at it last Wednesday with our first training session back (there are some photos below which will give you a feel of how it was!), but we had to cancel training on Sunday due to the extreme cold. At the time of writing (Wednesday 4th February, 10am) we’re going to train tonight, and hopefully follow that up with our second session of the week on Sunday, although it looks like the temperatures dip again over the weekend, so we’ll see.

Not ideal preparation so far then, but it’s the same for most teams at this level, and for once, we’re happy to have an extended winter break, as playing league matches in these conditions would be impossible.

We have managed to line up two friendlies, both against sides from the league above, at the beginning of March. We’ll hopefully be able to livestream those for anyone who wants to watch. We also traditionally have an ‘internal friendly’ as part of our preparations, where we pick two AFC teams to play each other, we’ll do our best to stream that too.

With very little to report on this month, we’ve written up a brief explainer of the Polish league pyramid for those unfamiliar with it, and highlighted AFC’s place in that. Only eight promotions and we’ll be lining up against Legia Warszawa and Lech Poznan!

By the time of our next newsletter we’ll be getting ready for some mid-season friendlies and closing in on a return to league action. It’s been a long (cold) wait, but the spring round is getting closer.

Until then, Up The Knaves!

The Knaves

Whilst reading AFC’s match reports or in certain social media posts you may have come across the term ‘The Knaves’ - the official nickname of AFC Warszawa.

A few years ago when we were busy getting all the legal paperwork in order, registering the club to enter the league, designing a kit and sending off player forms to different football associations across Europe the idea of a nickname for the club was discussed. Among the first suggestions were ‘Buraki’ (The Beetroots) due to the vegetable’s link to Poland and it being a name with which can be used in jest towards someone who is uncultured. ‘The Hoopoes’ after the bird which is seen in the countryside around Warsaw was also mentioned.

With various other names coming and going it was decided that it would be a good idea to relate the name to Barry Hines’s book A Kestrel for a Knave, which was made into the film Kes. With the story set in the bleak landscape of northern England and containing one of the finest football scenes in literature ‘The Kestrels’ was first mooted before finally settling on ‘The Knaves’.

To anyone not familiar with the book or film we recommend finding a copy of either. Here’s to you Billy Casper!!

For those who aren’t currently in Poland and not keeping up to date with the weather conditions out here (probably all of you) we can confirm that it’s been very cold with lots of snow. We were starting to think that these kinds of winters were a thing of the past…. However, with only seven weeks to go until the spring round of games it’s time to get back out on the pitch, start kicking a ball around again and run off that Christmas turkey, pierogi or whatever the players have been overindulging in. Some more than others!

First it was a practice match against a local team on Sunday 25th January. While our opponents are more used to playing 6 & 7-a-side games it was a good run-out and chance to try out a few different tactical options. Although our opponents never gave up AFC ran out comfortable winners. With the snow piled high on all sides of the pitch and temperatures hovering around -8C thankfully no injuries were picked up.

The following Wednesday saw our first pre-season training. This consisted of a light session which combined ball-work with some fitness drills in a balmy -3C! With the polish winter school holidays currently running we should be back to full attendance in early February when we can increase the intensity.

The focus this month is on a team that has been around the Warsaw leagues for quite a while now - Amigos Warszawa.

Home matches: Victoria Sulejówek, 6 Krasińskiego, Sulejówek

Home colours: Red and Black

Their debut season was back in 2001/02 when they participated in Klasa A (West) and finished with a very respectable 34 points from 26 matches and in 10th place. The team then dropped out of Klasa A in 2016 and although they managed promotion in 2020 the 2020/21 campaign was to be their last season to date in the higher division.

With a great team spirit and a club culture based around ‘Sport - Music - Drink’ Amigos represent all that is positive in the Polish lower leagues.

Previous results:

Season 2025/26

AFC Warszawa 4-1 Amigos Warszawa

Cara
Razes
Beubry-Niejinsky
Gelo

The focus this month is on a team that has been around the Warsaw leagues for quite a while now - Amigos Warszawa.

Home matches: Victoria Sulejówek, 6 Krasińskiego, Sulejówek

Home colours: Red and Black

With a great team spirit and a club culture based around ‘Sport - Music - Drink’ Amigos represent all that is positive in the Polish lower leagues.

Previous results:

Season 2025/26

AFC Warszawa 4-1 Amigos Warszawa

Cara
Razes
Beubry-Niejinsky
Gelo

The focus this month is on a team that has been around the Warsaw leagues for quite a while now - Amigos Warszawa.

Home matches: Victoria Sulejówek, 6 Krasińskiego, Sulejówek

Home colours: Red and Black

With a great team spirit and a club culture based around ‘Sport - Music - Drink’ Amigos represent all that is positive in the Polish lower leagues.

Previous results:

Season 2025/26

AFC Warszawa 4-1 Amigos Warszawa

Cara
Razes
Beubry-Niejinsky
Gelo

The Polish football pyramid is, for most regions, made up of four tiers administered by the Polish FA - the PZPN - and then regional FA’s looking after the next five tiers.

At the pinnacle, The Ekstraklasa. This is where clubs such as Legia Warszawa, Lech Poznan, and Widzew Lodz compete, names familiar to most football fans.

Depending who you talk to, and which titles count and which don’t, Legia Warszawa have won the league a record 15 times (they had the 92/93 title taken off them due to match-fixing allegations), with Gornik Zabrze and Ruch Chorzow winning it 14 times each. Legia Warszawa are Poland’s most successful club, with 15 titles, 21 Polish cups, and 6 Super Cups. They have never been relegated from the top flight, but at the time of writing, are currently sitting 17th out of 18th in the league.

Moving down one tier, giants Wisla Krakow are currently top of the I Liga, having been relegated from the top flight in 2022. Other notable clubs in the second tier include Polonia Warszawa - Legia’s big rivals from the capital city - and LKS Lodz, both of whom have two league titles to their name. Ruch Chorzow are also in the second tier.

Three teams are relegated from the top flight, with two going automatically from the second tier, with one more joining them from a four-team playoff.

Moving on, the II Liga and III Liga make up the leagues administered by the national football association, and this is where the bigger clubs tend to have their second teams playing. Both Legia Warszawa’s and Lech Poznan’s II teams play in the III Liga (fourth tier), with Slask Wroclaw’s second team currently the highest ranked of the B teams, playing in the third tier.

Form the fifth tier down, leagues are run by the local FA’s. We are in the mazowieckie, or Masovian, region. The regional leagues are tough places to get out of, with typically just one or two automatic promotion spots. The Masovian IV league (5th tier), for example, has just one automatic spot in a league of 18 teams.

Ursus Warszawa play in this league. We mention them in particular as their third team currently sit top of our league, Klasa B, Group 3. ‘The Tractors’ thirds beat us 2-1 earlier in the season, with some of their players that day having had minutes for their first team - four leagues above us.

For us, Klasa A remains the target - for now! But with Legia Warszawa currently in trouble in The Ekstraklasa, maybe there’s room for one more club from Poland’s capital city to take their place in the top flight and fight for European places? Just 8 promotions to go for The Knaves…

The Polish football pyramid is, for most regions, made up of four tiers administered by the Polish FA - the PZPN - and then regional FA’s looking after the next five tiers.

At the pinnacle, The Ekstraklasa. This is where clubs such as Legia Warszawa, Lech Poznan, and Widzew Lodz compete, names familiar to most football fans.

Three teams are relegated from the top flight, with two going automatically from the second tier, with one more joining them from a four-team playoff.

The Polish football pyramid is, for most regions, made up of four tiers administered by the Polish FA - the PZPN - and then regional FA’s looking after the next five tiers.

At the pinnacle, The Ekstraklasa. This is where clubs such as Legia Warszawa, Lech Poznan, and Widzew Lodz compete, names familiar to most football fans.

Three teams are relegated from the top flight, with two going automatically from the second tier, with one more joining them from a four-team playoff.

Form the fifth tier down, leagues are run by the local FA’s. We are in the mazowieckie, or Masovian, region. The regional leagues are tough places to get out of, with typically just one or two automatic promotion spots. The Masovian IV league (5th tier), for example, has just one automatic spot in a league of 18 teams.

For us, Klasa A remains the target - for now! But with Legia Warszawa currently in trouble in The Ekstraklasa, maybe there’s room for one more club

The Goal of the Month winners are in—now it’s time to crown the Goal of the Autumn Round!

Newsletter

AFC Warszawa - February

A word from the manager

The Knaves

2026 begins…

meet the opponents - Amigos Warszawa

The Polish football pyramid

goal of the autumn round

how to keep up with us