Disaster looms large! The liquidation of a legend has just begun.

Disturbing news regarding AZS Częstochowa has appeared on the official PlusLiga website. It turns out that the District Court in Częstochowa has issued a decision to initiate proceedings to dissolve the club (i.e., the AZS joint-stock company), without conducting liquidation proceedings.

AZS Częstochowa in liquidation. The end of the legend at Jasna Góra?

The AZS Częstochowa volleyball players have won six titles of best club in Poland in their history. The last one was in 1999. They also won six silver and four bronze medals at the Polish Championships. Polish Cups? Of course, two.

European Cup? There was also a Challenge Cup in 2012.

There wouldn't be enough space in this or the next few posts to list all the trophies and distinguished figures of the Częstochowa AZS. A small sampling includes: Stanisław Gościniak, Edward Skorek, Marek Kwieciński, the brothers Krzysztof and Andrzej Stelmach, Marcin Nowak, Dawid Murek, Piotr Nowakowski, Piotr Gruszka, Radosław Panas, Krzysztof Gierczyński, Michał Winiarski, and the late Arkadiusz Gołaś.

So what? It looks like this story might have a particularly sad ending.

Unfortunately, AZS Częstochowa's magic faded away at some point. In 2017, they were relegated from the PlusLiga for the first time since 1987, when Polkomtel (today's Plus, the title sponsor of the volleyball league and national team) wasn't even on the cards.

The following season, AZS won gold in the PlusLiga, qualifying for the play-offs to return to the elite league. However, Łuczniczka Bydgoszcz was better there. AZS was thus left without promotion, with no funding, and as it soon turned out, the 2018/19 season was the last in its senior history. The Polish Volleyball Federation (PZPS) refused to grant them a license to play another club.

In July 2019, an auction of the club's trophies took place. The starting price? For example, one of the trophies was... 412 złoty. That's the price of the 1995 Polish Championship trophy. Medals and several other valuable items were also up for auction. For some, it was a sentimental moment, while for the bailiff, the auction was supposed to be some kind of response to enormous debts.

Norwid, Hope for the Future. Volleyball from Two Different Worlds

Eco-Team AZS Stoelze Częstochowa may now be a sort of "successor" to AZS. But only because of the club's name. It's an association founded in 2013 with the goal of filling the youth training gap in the then-flailing AZS.

The name AZS therefore functions legally in Częstochowa. What's more, it operates on sound principles. The Częstochowa second-division team, whose primary goal is to train young people, officially belongs to the largest association (AZS) in Poland, operating continuously for 115 years. And that's the extent of the common associations with that decaying legend. The liquidation of the AZS joint-stock company should not be confused with what Wojciech Pudo – the originator and creator of a space for talented young people to play – has been creating for over a decade. This includes winning gold medals at the Youth Polish Championships.

What do we learn from the official PlusLiga website about the liquidation of the AZS joint-stock company?

"According to the court's decision, any person with a legitimate interest in objecting to the dissolution of the entity without liquidation and its deletion from the register has the right to file an objection within three months of the announcement. This is the last chance to stop the process, which could lead to the definitive end of the company's operations without any liquidation procedure or settlement of assets. Meanwhile, the company itself has been silent for many months. The management board is not issuing any announcements, convening general meetings, publishing no reports, and contact with shareholders has been completely severed. Shareholders are complaining about the lack of any responses, decisions, or attempts to salvage the situation," we read.

Norwid may offer some solace for Częstochowa fans. The club, which built its history on youth coaching, reached the PlusLiga. Currently led by newly elected president Łukasz Żygadło , is taking increasingly serious steps into the PlusLiga. In the 2024/25 season, it achieved a sensational advancement to the playoffs.

As you can see, Częstochowa has chosen a different direction . A good one, in that it offers new opportunities to develop strong volleyball at a center that simply deserves it.

In the context of AZS, too much has clearly happened to revisit this river. Although I certainly feel sorry for the legend, and it's hard to believe that it could have even gotten to this point.

Read also: The Only Place on Earth Like This, or How I Went to Formula 1 Read also: Kewin Sasak in Bartosz Kurek's Shoes. This is the hero of the Polish National Team.