By Jaroslaw Adamowski
May 12 – Municipal authorities in Katowice have bought shares worth PLN 1.1 million (€280,000) in their local football club GKS. The deal follows two other acquisitions of shares made earlier this year making a total of PLN 2 million (€510,000) invested to date.
With the latest acquisition, the city will now hold 58.84% stake in the club which is aiming to overhaul its finances and secure the club’s promotion to the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of Poland’s professional football league.
The new funds will help the club’s drive to secure a permission to play in next year’s Liga I season. As a result of its on-going financial woes, a transfer ban by the Polish Football Association (PZPN) had been imposed on the club. The new money will allow the club to pay off its debts to Poland’s tax authorities and some of its former footballers.
GKS was also operating under a limit on its players’ salaries, making it harder for the Polish club to take on new players.
Similar financial constraints have been applied by the PZPN to other Ekstraklasa clubs, including Widzew Lodz.
Set up in 1964, GKS Katowice maintains a large following concentrated in Poland’s south-western Silesia region despite the club’s relegation from the top tier in the 2004/2005 season.
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