Stal Mielec is a Polish football club based in Mielec, Poland. The club was established on April 10, 1939. Historically, the club has enjoyed great successes within Poland's Ekstraklasa Premier League, winning the title twice but had undergone significant management changes and financial difficulties within the past two decades, which forced the club from participation in the Premier League. After winning the Polish third-tier league title in 2016, Stal Mielec was promoted to I Liga, the second-tier league. After finishing second in I Liga in 2020, Stal Mielec was promoted to the EkstraklasaPremier Leaguefor the first time since the 1995-96 season. The club also has a men's handball team that plays in the Superliga.
1948 – Związkowy Klub Sportowy Metalowców PZL Mielec
1949 – Związkowy Klub Sportowy Stal Mielec
1950 – Koło Sportowe Stal przy Wytwórni Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego Mielec
1957 – Fabryczny Klub Sportowy Stal Mielec
1977 – Fabryczny Klub Sportowy PZL Stal Mielec
1995 – Autonomiczna Sekcja Piłki Nożnej FKS PZL Stal Mielec
1997 – Mielecki Klub Piłkarski Stal Mielec
1998 – Mielecki Klub Piłkarski Lobo Stal Mielec
1999 – Mielecki Klub Piłkarski Stal Mielec
2002 – Klub Sportowy Stal Mielec
2003 – Klub Sportowy FKS Stal Mielec
1939–1945 - the beginning and interwar period
The football club was one of the first two at the PZL Mielec, established in 1939. The team was made up of players playing in other clubs in Mielec and employees of the PZL, an aerospace company. In the first match played, the team defeated the Gymnastic Society "Sokół" Mielec with 4–1 victory. Three more matches were played against Dzikovia Tarnobrzeg, Metal Tarnów and a team made up of players from an ammunition factory in Nowa Dęba. The match against Okęcie Warszawa planned for September did not take place, because World War II started and any sports games were forbidden. However, the matches were played illegally in the meadows beyond the communal forest and in other towns. The only official match was played against a German military unit and ended with the score 1–2.
The construction of the club's current stadium, Stadion Stali Mielec at Solskiego 1, was concluded in 1953. The stadium underwent a major renovation, completed in 2013. It maintains a seating capacity for 7,000 spectators. Before the 2013 renovation, it maintained seating capacity for 30,000 spectators, and hosted numerous European Champions Cup, UEFA Cup, and Polish national team matches, including FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship qualifiers.
