Pursuit of the Lions – a club with a soul that survived borders and time

The pursuit of Lviv is 1 of the most crucial symbols of pre-war Polish football. The club, which built its legend in Lviv for decades, survived not only times of wars, changes in borders and regimes, but besides decades of non-existence to return to life after more than 60 years and proceed its mission – combining sport, historical memory and Polishness.

The pursuit of Lviv was founded in 1904 as the Gymnastics-Sport Club of the 4th Secondary School students in Lviv. Its originator was Eugeniusz Piasecki – a physical education teacher and football enthusiast. In 1907, the club adopted the name of the Lviv athletics Club "Poon" and characteristic colours: red-blue-white. In the following years, the squad rapidly grew up to be 1 of the best in Galicia, competing with Kraków Vistula, Cracovia and another leading clubs of the region.

As early as the 1920s, the Hunt of the Lions became a power. In 1922, 1923, 1925 and 1926, the club won the Polish championship. The squad was led by distinguished trainers, and players specified as Wacław Kuchar ruled the field, recognized as 1 of the most prominent athletes in Poland's history. The pursuit was not only considered to be an excellent sports team, but besides an organizational and educational model – the club put large emphasis on patriotism and physical culture.

In 1927, erstwhile the football league was established in Poland, The pursuit was her apparent contestant. Importantly, until the outbreak of planet War II, the club never fell from the top-class gameplay. Despite many financial and organizational problems in the 1930s, the lions continued to be a force that all rivals had to reckon with.

On September 1, 1939, he brutally interrupted Pogoni's operation. The final league game squad played on August 20 with Polonia Warszawa, losing 1:2. The incomplete 1939 period ended as the 3rd squad in the table. With the outbreak of war and russian business of Lviv, the club ceased to exist. Many players and activists died during the war or were exiled.

During the post-war period, Pogoni traditions were continued by another clubs – primarily Polonia Bytom, which was founded by erstwhile residents of Lviv. It was to her that many erstwhile footballers and supporters of Pogona went to. Teams specified as Pogoń Szczecin, Piast Gliwice, Odra Opole and Odra Wodzisław Śląski besides drew from the colours and spirit of the club.

Reactivation after years

The real Renaissance of Pogona occurred in the 21st century. In 2009, a group of young Poles surviving in Lviv, supported by the Polish Consulate and the Semper Fidelis Foundation, led to the authoritative reactivation of the Lviv athletics Club Pogoń. In October 2009, a solemn inauguration was held – a mass in the cathedral of Lviv, the laying of flowers at the Orląt Cemetery and the first match against Polonia Chmielnicki. fresh Pogoń started with local games in Ukraine, where it inactive operates within the Lviv circuit. However, the club did not quit cultivating its roots – social matches with Polish teams, cooperation with erstwhile Polish champions and participation in historical tournaments are a permanent part of the activity.

Importantly, The Pursuit is not limited to the elder ball. He besides runs youth and children's teams, organizes sports activities for Poles surviving in Ukraine, building bridges between the past and the future. The Lion pursuit isn't just a sports club. It is simply a symbol of the continuation of Polish identity, the conflict for independency and independency – both in a national and spiritual sense. For more than a century of existence – interrupted by war and enslavement – the club has become a legend, whose past continues to inspire.

Today, although playing on the 4th level in Ukraine, for many fans in Poland and the planet Pogoń remains a symbol of how athletics can become a carrier of national memory. The club's reactivation showed that the thought that was born in the gymnasium in Lviv in 1904, inactive lives and is well – regardless of boundaries and history.

President of Pogoni Lviv: “We do not want to fight for survival, we want to play” – interview for Galician Courier

Eugeniusz Sała's interview with Marek Horban, president of LKS Pogoń Lviv, was released on the courier portal.com. The conversation shows the current challenges and everydayness of the Polish sports club operating in the realities of the war in Ukraine – combining football with an educational and patriotic mission.

President Horban emphasizes that despite hard sporting circumstances life lasts:

"We started a fresh season, we've already had any games. Currently, the first squad of the Lion Pogoni takes seventh place in the league table".

Youth teams and a football school, where children from Polish schools no. 10 and 24 in Lviv, besides work with success.

However, the club's everyday life is not just gameplay. As noted by the President:

“The club’s function is simply a regular job. In addition to weekend games, regular training takes place – 2 each and sometimes even 4 units a day."

The club besides develops a recreational section, organizes volleyball tournaments, supports Polish schools with sports equipment and continues the initiative of the Amateur League of Poles, which since 2010 brings together teams operating in Polish houses and Roman Catholic parishes.

The pursuit of Lviv besides cares about historical memory:

“We organize exhibitions that accompany children and youth tournaments... We effort to get our young players to learn the past of the club and realize what Pogoń is, why it is worth playing in its colors and be arrogant of it."

Despite its commitment and activity, the club found itself in a serious financial crisis. In 2024, 2 projects of the Foundation for the Lion Pogon were submitted to the program "Senat Polonia 2025". Only 1 – concerning the nursery – received support.

"The second, much more crucial project... was rejected. This is simply a disaster for us. Without these measures, we have no way to function."

Therefore, the club announced a public fundraiser – “The Pursuit – a common cause” – and the club's website. As the president recalls:

"Last year we managed to rise PLN 56 thousand. We have committed these measures to the club’s current activities.”

Lack of financial assistance may mean withdrawing the elder squad from the Premier of the Circuit League, or even suspending the activities of the full club.

"It's a conflict for endurance – but we don't want to fight just for it. We want to fight for points on the field. For a Polish club that operates on the athletics map of Ukraine".

The interview shows not only the sporting determination, but besides the large passion and sense of mission of people who proudly proceed the legacy of 1 of the most earned teams in the past of Polish football.