Gwardia Koszalin is a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 multisports club, founded in 1946 in the northern city of Koszalin

Koszalin

Koszalin ; is the largest city of Middle Pomerania in north-western Poland. It is located 12 km south of the Baltic Sea coast. Koszalin is also a county-status city and capital of Koszalin County of West Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999...

. Besides football, Gwardia supports other departments - handball, boxing, and judo. The departments are autonomous, and have their own, separate budgets.

Gwardia, like all Polish sports organizations bearing that name (Guards in English), was originally supported by the Polish Police

Milicja Obywatelska

Milicja Obywatelska was a state police institution in the People's Republic of Poland. It was created in 1944 by Soviet-sponsored PKWN, effectively replacing the pre-war police force. In 1990 it was transformed back into Policja....

. It was founded as Milicyjny Klub Sportowy (Militia's Sports Club), and in 1948 the name was changed to Gwardia. The stadium and clubhouse are located on 34 Falata Street, and stadium's capacity is 25.000. Club's hues are red-white-blue.

Even though Gwardia's football team has never won promotion to the Ekstraklasa, the club raised several notable players, such as Piotr Rzepka, Mirosław Okoński, Miroslaw Trzeciak

Miroslaw Trzeciak

Mirosław Wojciech Trzeciak , nicknamed Franek, is a retired Polish footballer who played as a striker.-Football career:...

, Robert Dymkowski

Robert Dymkowski

Robert Dymkowski is a former Polish football player. He played for Pogoń Szczecin, PAOK Salonika, and Widzew Łódź. He ended his career in 2005....

, also Sebastian Mila

Sebastian Mila

Sebastian Mila is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Śląsk Wrocław in the Polish Ekstraklasa.-Club career:...

, who was transferred there in his early teens, from a local side Baltyk Koszalin. Gwardia spent some years in Polish Second Division, and the biggest success of its football team was reaching quarter-finals of the Polish Cup

Polish Cup

The Polish Cup in football or officially Remes Puchar Polski, is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa title...

, in 1975/1976, when, after beating Gornik Zabrze

Górnik Zabrze

Górnik Zabrze is a Polish football club from Zabrze. The club has won numerous championships, and was a dominant force in the 1960s and 1980s. For now Górnik has the most titles in Poland. The club plays in white or dark blue - red kit, and is based at the Ernest Pohl Stadium...

, they lost to Śląsk Wrocław. Currently, Gwardia's footballers participate in games of the local league of Western Pomerania.