Sports club "Racovia" was established in 1921 in the village of
Raków. The club dissolved in 1925 due to lack of registration. In 1927, the club was reactivated under the name of the Robotniczy Klub Sportowy (Workers Sports Club) Raków. A year later, the village became a district of Częstochowa. The club operated under the patronage of the
Polish Socialist Party and was financially supported by the Częstochowa steelworks. In 1937, the club was promoted to
Klasa A (third level). During the
German occupation (
World War II), the club did not function. In the years 1951–1955, a
Raków Municipal Stadium with an athletics track was built. In the years 1962–1966, the football team competed in the
second league. On 9 July 1967, Raków lost 0–2 to
Wisła Kraków in their first
Polish Cup final appearance. In 1972, Raków's players reached the semi-finals of the Polish Cup, which they lost to
Legia Warsaw. In the years 1978–1980, 1981–1984 and 1990–1994 the club played in the second league. In 1993, the junior team took 2nd place in the
Football Junior Championships of Poland. In 1994, for the first time in club history, Raków were promoted to
Ekstraklasa. They competed in the top-flight for four seasons until being relegated after the
1997–98 season. The club suffered back-to-back relegations in 1999–2000 and 2000–01, dropping down to the
IV liga. The club finally made it to back to the Polish second division,
I liga, in 2016.
Promotion and European football The club won the I liga in
2018–19, earning promotion to Ekstraklasa for the first time in 21 years. In the same season, they impressed in the
2018–19 Polish Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the competition by beating the likes of
Lech Poznań in the round of 32 and
Legia Warsaw in the quarter-finals. They finished the
2019–20 season in 10th place. In the
2020–21 season, Raków finished the league season as runners-up. This was their highest ever league position in their history, and it secured their place in the newly formed
UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers for the
2021–22 season, their maiden appearance in
European football. Further success followed when Raków won the
2020–21 Polish Cup, their first major trophy, defeating I liga side
Arka Gdynia in the final 2–1 on 2 May 2021. On 17 July 2021, Raków Częstochowa defeated reigning Ekstraklasa title holders
Legia Warsaw on penalties to win the
2021 Polish Super Cup. Their first ever appearance in European football was in the second qualifying round of the
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League, facing Lithuanian team
Sūduva, with the game finishing 0–0 (4–3 pens) after both legs. They faced
Russian Premier League side
Rubin Kazan in the third qualifying round, beating them 1–0 on aggregate score. In the final qualifying round, they faced Belgian side
Gent, which they beat 1–0 in the first leg, but lost 0–3 in the second leg, losing 1–3 on aggregate, eliminating them from the competition. On 2 May 2022, Raków defeated
Lech Poznań 3–1 and secured its second consecutive
Polish Cup. In the race for the league title that
season, Raków lost out to the same opponents by just five points, with the champions being decided on the penultimate day of the season. On 9 July 2022, Raków won their second consecutive Polish Super Cup with a 2–0 win over Lech Poznań. In the
UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying phase, the team defeated
FC Astana (6–0 agg.) and
FC Spartak Trnava (3–0 agg.), but lost to
Slavia Prague (2–3 agg.) in the play-off round. On 7 May 2023, Raków won the
Ekstraklasa championship for the first time in their history, and thus qualified for the
Champions League, where they reached the last qualifying round and faced
FC Copenhagen from Denmark. Raków subsequently played in the
Europa League that season, where they were knocked out in the group stages.
Players and pupils in 2023 The club's alumni include
Jakub Błaszczykowski,
Jerzy Brzęczek and
Jacek Magiera. Former Polish internationals such as
Jacek Krzynówek and
Tomasz Kiełbowicz also played for the club. == Players ==