page_title: Łódź
section_title: Sport
hierarchical_section_title: Łódź / Culture / Sport
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Wnętrze hali widowiskowo-sportowej w Łodzi (maj 2009)
context_page_description: Łódź, written in English as Lodz, is the third-largest city in Poland and a former industrial centre. Located in the central part of the country, it has a population of 679,941. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately 120 kilometres south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canting, as it depicts a boat, which alludes to the city's name.
  Łódź was once a small settlement that first appeared in 14th-century records. Despite being granted town rights in 1423, it remained the private property of the Kuyavian bishops and clergy until the late 18th century. The Second Industrial Revolution brought rapid growth in textile manufacturing and in population due to the inflow of migrants, notably Germans and Jews. Ever since the industrialization of the area, the city has struggled with multinationalism and social inequalities, which were documented in the novel The Promised Land by Nobel Prize-winning author Władysław Reymont. The contrasts greatly reflected on the architecture of the city, where luxurious mansions coexisted with redbrick factories and dilapidated tenement houses.
context_section_description: The city has experience as a host for international sporting events such as the 2009 EuroBasket, and it will be one of the six host cities of the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, with the opening and final to take place at Stadion Widzewa. Łódź will also host the sixth edition of the European Universities Games in 2022.
  Under communism it was common for clubs to participate in many different sports for all ages and sexes. Many of these traditional clubs still survive today. Originally they were owned directly by a public body, but now they are independently operated by clubs or private companies. However they get public support through the cheap rent of land and other subsidies from the city. Some of their sections have gone professional and separated from the clubs as private companies. For example, Budowlani S.A is a private company that owns the only professional rugby team in Łódź, while Klub Sportowy Budowlani remains a community amateur club.
  Budowlani Łódź – rugby (six times Polish champions), hockey, wrestling, volleyball
  ŁKS Łódź – association football (two times Polish champions), basketball (Polish champions 1953), volleyball (two times Polish champions), handball, boxing
  SMS Łódź – association football, volleyball, basketball
  KS Społem Łódź – road and track cycling
  SKS Start Łódź – football, swimming
  Widzew Łódź – association football (four time Polish champions, semi-finalists of the 1982–83 European Cup)
  In Ekstraklasa of Polish beach soccer Łódź have three professional clubs: Grembach, KP and BSCC.
caption: Atlas Arena in Łódź
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