Ekstraklasa
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| Country | Poland |
|---|---|
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Founded | 4-5 December 1926 |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | I liga |
| Domestic cup(s) |
Polish Cup Polish SuperCup |
| International cup(s) |
UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League |
| Current champions |
Legia Warsaw (11th title) (2015–16) |
| Most championships |
Górnik Zabrze Wisła Kraków (14 titles each) |
| TV partners | nc+, Eurosport 2 |
| Website | Official website |
 2016–17 Ekstraklasa season
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The Ekstraklasa (Polish pronunciation: [ˌɛkstraˈklasa]) (since July 2016 currently named Lotto Ekstraklasa due to sponsorship reasons) is the top Polish professional league for men's association football clubs (it is the country's primary football competition). Contested by 16 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the I liga. Seasons starts in July, and ends in May or June the following year. Teams play a total of 37 games each, totalling 296 matches in the season. Games are played on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. The winner of the Ekstraklasa qualifies for the Polish SuperCup. The Ekstraklasa is now operated by the Ekstraklasa SA (English: Ekstraklasa ).
The Ekstraklasa (former I liga) was officially formed as Liga Polska on 4-5 December 1926 in Warsaw, since 1 March 1927 as Liga Piłki Nożnej (Polish pronunciation: [ˈlʲiɡa ˈpiwki ˈnɔʐnɛj]), but the Polish Football Association (Polish: Polski Związek Piłki Nożnej, PZPN) had been in existence since 20 December 1919, a year after the independence of Poland in 1918. The first games of the freshly created league took place on 3 April 1927, while first national non-league football championship took place in 1920.
A total of 80 clubs have played in the top division of Polish football since the founding of the league, of which 16 clubs have won the title. The current champions are Legia Warsaw, who won their eleventh title in 2015–16.
4-5 December 1926 in Warsaw, representatives from several Polish clubs met each other. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss about possibility of creating a league. It is unknown who came up with the idea of a league. A country wide league was thought to be a much more practical solution than hitherto practiced two-stage system of regional games, followed by a national game.
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