III liga

This article is about the fourth tier of Polish football. For the current third tier which was previously known as III liga, see II liga.

For other uses, see 3. Liga (disambiguation).

III liga (Trzecia liga), currently named Betclic III liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic,^[1] is a Polish football league that sits in the fourth tier of the Polish football league system. Until the end of the 2007–08 season, III liga referred to a league at the third tier (now called II liga) but this was changed with the formation of the Ekstraklasa as the top level league in Poland.

III liga

Founded	19 February 2000 (new formula) 2008 (as III liga)
Country	Poland
Confederation	UEFA
Number of teams	72 (in 2024–25)
Level on pyramid	4
Promotion to	II liga
Relegation to	IV liga
Domestic cup(s)	Polish Cup
Current champions	Pogoń Grodzisk Mazowiecki (Group I) Świt Szczecin (Group II) Rekord Bielsko-Biała (Group III) Wieczysta Kraków (Group IV) (2023–24 III liga)
Sponsor(s)	Betclic
Current: 2024–25 III liga

Groups of III liga are divided based on administrative division of Poland. Top teams of III liga are promoted to II liga and bottom teams are relegated to IV liga.

History

The current fourth tier of the Polish national league system was established on 19 February 2000, under the name IV liga. Previously, the fourth tier of competition was held under many different names depending on the region, including macro-regional league, macro-regional class, inter-voivodeship league, district league, among others.

In August 2000, the first official season of new fourth tier commenced with teams spread across 21 territorial groups. In five voivodeships (Lower Silesia, Lesser Poland, Masovia, Silesia and Greater Poland), the competition was divided into two groups, the winners of which met in a two-legged play-off for the championship and promotion to the third tier. In the remaining 11 voivodeships, only one group was held, the winner of which automatically earning promoted to a higher division. In subsequent editions, the number of groups was gradually reduced and the number of teams in each of them was limited. In 2001, both Lower Silesian groups were merged, in 2002 - the Masovian ones, and in 2006, the Lesser Poland groups. In 2007, the fourth tier consisted of 18 regional groups. In 14 voivodeships, the games were played with a single-group system, and in two voivodeships, with a two-group system.

Starting from the 2008–09 season, the league was renamed to III liga, and reduced to 8 groups. The winners of each group (in the case of voivodeships with two groups, the winners of the play-offs between the winners of both groups) formed four play-off pairs, winners of which were promoted to the II liga.

The latest restructure came in effect ahead of the 2016–17 season, with the numbers of teams reduced to 72 across four groups.

Current format

For the 2024–25 season, seventy-two clubs participate. The clubs are split into four parallel groups of 18 with their group affiliation being based on the regional location. The competition is played in a round-robin format, with each team facing others in their respective group twice, at home and away. The champions of each group achieve automatic promotion to the II liga, while the second-placed teams first face each other in a play-off, the winners of which qualify for a promotion/relegation play-off against 14th and 15th-placed II liga teams. The bottom four teams in each group are relegated to the IV liga, though the number of relegated teams may increase depending on territorial affiliation of the teams demoted from the II liga.^[2]

Clubs

Geographical criteria since the 2016–17 season.

The following 72 clubs are competing in the III liga for the 2024–25 season.

Group I	Group II	Group III	Group IV
Broń Radom GKS Bełchatów GKS Wikielec Jagiellonia Białystok II Lechia Tomaszów Mazowiecki Legia Warsaw II ŁKS Łomża Mławianka Mława Pelikan Łowicz Polonia Lidzbark Warmiński Sokół Aleksandrów Łódzki Stomil Olsztyn Świt Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki Unia Skierniewice Warta Sieradz Victoria Sulejówek Wigry Suwałki Wisła Płock II	Błękitni Stargard Cartusia Kartuzy Elana Toruń Flota Świnoujście Gedania Gdańsk Gryf Słupsk Kotwica Kórnik Lech Poznań II Noteć Czarnków Pogoń Nowe Skalmierzyce Pogoń Szczecin II Polonia Środa Wielkopolska Sokół Kleczew Unia Swarzędz Vineta Wolin Wda Świecie Wybrzeże Rewalskie Rewal Zawisza Bydgoszcz	Carina Gubin Górnik Zabrze II Górnik Polkowice Karkonosze Jelenia Góra Lechia Zielona Góra LKS Goczałkowice-Zdrój Miedź Legnica II MKS Kluczbork Odra Bytom Odrzański Podlesianka Katowice Polonia Słubice Pniówek Pawłowice Śląskie Stal Brzeg Stilon Gorzów Wielkopolski Śląsk Wrocław II Ślęza Wrocław Unia Turza Śląska Warta Gorzów Wielkopolski	Avia Świdnik Chełmianka Chełm Czarni Połaniec Korona Kielce II KS Wiązownica KSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski Lewart Lubartów Podhale Nowy Targ Podlasie Biała Podlaska Pogoń-Sokół Lubaczów Sandecja Nowy Sącz Siarka Tarnobrzeg Star Starachowice Świdniczanka Świdnik Unia Tarnów Wisła Kraków II Wisłoka Dębica Wiślanie Skawina

Champions of the Polish fourth level

Season	Group Io	Group II	Group III	Group IV
2016–17	Drwęca Nowe Miasto Lubawskie	Gwardia Koszalin	GKS Jastrzębie	Garbarnia Kraków
2017–18	Widzew Łódź	Elana Toruń	Skra Częstochowa	Resovia
2018–19	Legionovia Legionowo	Lech Poznań II	Górnik Polkowice	Stal Rzeszów
2019–20	Sokół Ostróda	KKS 1925 Kalisz	Śląsk Wrocław II	Motor Lublin
2020–21	Pogoń Grodzisk Mazowiecki	Radunia Stężyca	Ruch Chorzów	Wisła Puławy
2021–22	Polonia Warsaw	Kotwica Kołobrzeg	Zagłębie Lubin II	Siarka Tarnobrzeg
2022–23	ŁKS Łódź II	Olimpia Grudziądz	Polonia Bytom	Stal Stalowa Wola
2023–24	Pogoń Grodzisk Mazowiecki	Świt Szczecin	Rekord Bielsko-Biała	Wieczysta Kraków

Groups

Seasons 2000–01 — 2007–08 18–21 parallel divisions as IV liga (one or two in each of 16 Voivodeship) 2000–01 season – 21 groups 2001–02 season – 20 groups 2002–03 season – 19 groups 2003–04 season – 19 groups 2004–05 season – 19 groups 2005–06 season – 19 groups 2006–07 season – 18 groups 2007–08 season – 18 groups

Seasons 2008–09 — 2015–16 8 parallel divisions as III liga.[3] Group A (Łódź – Masovian) Group B (Podlaskie – Warmian-Masurian) Group C (Kuyavian-Pomeranian – Greater Poland) Group D (Pomeranian – West Pomeranian) Group E (Lower Silesian – Lubusz) Group F (Opole – Silesian) Group G (Świętokrzyskie – Lesser Poland) Group H (Lublin – Podkarpackie)

Seasons 2016–17 and onwards 4 parallel divisions as III liga.[4] Group I (Łódź – Masovian – Podlaskie – Warmian-Masurian) Group II (Kuyavian-Pomeranian – Greater Poland – Pomeranian – West Pomeranian) Group III (Lower Silesian – Lubusz – Opole – Silesian) Group IV (Świętokrzyskie – Lesser Poland – Lublin – Podkarpackie)

References

1. "Betclic Sponsorem Tytularnym 1. Ligi do końca sezonu 2027/2028". I liga. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
2. "Nowe zasady spadków klubów 2. Ligi, awansów I spadków klubów 3. Ligi I awansów klubów 4. Ligi od sezonu 2024/2025 (cała uchwała pzpn z 7 czerwca 2024 roku)". prawopilkarskie.pl (in Polish). 7 June 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
3. Groups
4. Groups