Recently, local elections were held in Poland. As a result, there will be a change of power in Chorzów. The new mayor of the city is Szymon Michałek, who won in the first round. He has frequently spoken about the construction of the Ruch Chorzów stadium, eagerly anticipated by fans for many years. Was it they who decided?

Empty promises

The issue of building a new Ruch Chorzów stadium has been ongoing for many years. Successive politicians made promises to the Blue supporters, but so far, nothing has come of it. The former president, Andrzej Kotala, also promised a new stadium for Ruch in the past. Likewise, during the electoral campaign, he once again assured that a new stadium would be built in Chorzów. The same was said before the elections in 2010, 2014, and 2018. If you also don't want to be dependent any longer, check out the offer of No Deposit Bonuses.

Last year, during the parliamentary election campaign, former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pledged support for building a new stadium at Cicha. In April, together with the Minister of Sport Kamil Bortniczuk, he met with Michałek. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki assured that his government is able to co-finance the construction of a new Ruch stadium with even 100 million złotys, rejoiced a well-known Blue fan back then. However, nothing came of this promise either. Even Donald Tusk, during a meeting with residents of the Silesian Voivodeship, listened to an appeal from one of Chorzów's fans. He even went to the fan's house for a Poland-Czech match. At that time, he promised that the stadium would be built.

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Time for new "Blue" blood

Now fans have said enough. Former president Andrzej Kotala came second in the elections. He received 33.92% of the votes (12,144). Szymon Michałek, on the other hand, was supported by 19,572 Chorzów residents. This gave him 54.67% of the votes and a win in the first round.

Szymon Michałek is a well-known figure among Ruch Chorzów supporters. He has been associated with the Blues since childhood. In 2008, he founded the fan group Positive Fan Movement. He was also a member of the Ultras Niebiescy 08' group. As he himself said, he led chanting during three matches in the stands. He is the president of the Cicha 6 Association. For nine years, he has been leading the Family Sector at the Chorzów stadium, which is the largest in Poland. In 2019, Michałek almost became the president of Ruch.

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Support from the entire community

One of his presidential goals will be to build a new stadium for Ruch. The Chorzów club currently plays its home matches at the Silesian Stadium, but its home is at Cicha 6. The outdated stadium does not meet licensing requirements. A few months ago, fearing a construction disaster, the artificial lighting was dismantled. Since then, the club has been forced to play at other stadiums. Initially, the choice fell on Piast Gliwice Stadium, and for several months now, Ruch has returned to Chorzów and plays its home matches at the Silesian Stadium.

Before the local elections, Szymon Michałek received support from all Ruch Chorzów fan groups. We realize that not everyone may like this, not everyone has to like everyone, but if we don't support Szymon Michałek and his candidates together, side by side, now, we may regret this decision forever, wrote the Great Movement Association in an official statement published on social media.

This candidacy was also officially supported by people associated with the club, led by President Seweryn Siemianowski. After the official results were published on the X portal, Ruch's official profile congratulated Michałek. Szymon Michałek has become the new President of Chorzów. Blue congratulations! Good luck! the announcement reads.

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Victorious celebration in market

Ruch fans also enthusiastically welcomed the election results. On April 8, supporters of the Blues gathered in large numbers in the market square in Chorzów to celebrate the victory of their representative in the mayoral elections. The meeting was set for the symbolic hour of 19:20, referring to the year of the club's founding. Michałek received a Ruch Chorzów jersey with the number 2024 and his name with the title PRESIDENT printed on it.

I will certainly do everything to ensure that this stadium is built. That's what I can say. I have no intention of giving specific dates, but from the beginning, we will work to secure funding from the Ministry of Sport, so I would really like to meet with Minister Nitras and depending on whether he agrees to finance it or not – we will take further steps. If yes, it will be much easier, the procedure will be faster; if not, we will do it at our own expense, and it will take a bit longer, Szymon Michałek said during this meeting.