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PGE Narodowy renamed after Polish football legend

Warsaw’s PGE Narodowy stadium has been renamed in honour of Polish football legend Kazimierz Górski, who managed the national team during the 1970s.

The 58,000-capacity venue serves as the home of the Polish national team and opened in 2012 ahead of the UEFA European Championship later that year, which Poland co-hosted alongside Ukraine.

Górski has been named an official patron of PGE Narodowy, which has been sponsored by Polska Grupa Energetyczna since 2015. The new official name of the stadium is PGE Narodowy im. Kazimierza Górskiego.

A ceremony was held yesterday (Sunday) to mark the renaming of the stadium after Górski, who died in 2006 at the age of 85. Górski’s son Dariusz attended the ceremony, along with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

A commemorative plaque was also unveiled at the entrance of the stadium. The ceremony was held ahead of Poland’s 5-0 World Cup qualifying win against San Marino.

Morawiecki said: “He was a man of enormous ambitions. In difficult years, he gave Poles hope to regain our greatness, because he was a true patriot and a man born to win. I am very happy that this stadium will be named after Kazimierz Górski. PGE Narodowy is a stronghold of Polish fans – Poland has not lost a match here for seven years.”

Górski managed Poland from 1971 to 1976 and led the team to an Olympic gold medal at the 1972 Games in Munich. Poland also finished third at the 1974 FIFA World Cup in Germany before claiming a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

Górski also managed Legia Warsaw, Panathinaikos and Olympiacos among others during a managerial career which spanned over 25 years.

Image: Mister No/CC BY 3.0/Edited for size