logo

On Saturday, May 10th 2014, another branch of the Lechia Gdańsk Football Academy was opened, marking the first time the “White and green future with LOTOS” programme expanded beyond the Province of Gdańsk.

Sport

On Saturday, May 10th 2014, another branch of the Lechia Gdańsk Football Academy was opened, marking the first time the “White and green future with LOTOS” programme expanded beyond the Province of Gdańsk. In 2012 and 2013, ten such branches were opened, with the Elbląg Academy raising the number to eleven.

“Eleven is an important number in football − there are eleven players on a team, and penalty kicks, which often decide the fate of a match, are taken from eleven metres. This is also true for the academies launched as part of the ‘White and green future with LOTOS’ initiative. This eleventh branch is especially important because it is located outside of the Province of Gdańsk and represents the continuous growth of the project and its ability to push new limits. It may be the key to the project's success − and I am deeply convinced that this initiative will be successful,” said Paweł Olechnowicz, President of the Management Board of Grupa LOTOS S.A.

The Elbląg branch has been created on the basis of an agreement between Lechia Gdańsk Football Academy and the Concordia Municipal Youth Sports Club.

“We think Elbląg is very important because it is relatively close to Gdańsk. Elbląg is a big town, and even now young athletes can get excellent coaching there. I believe that together we can raise the quality of training even higher, so that both Lechia and Concordia can benefit from a new generation of footballers in the future. This is our first branch outside of the Province of Gdańsk, and probably not the last one, as we are receiving many applications from the neighbouring provinces,” added Tomasz Bocheński, president of the Lechia Gdańsk Football Academy.

Concordia Elbląg was established in 1987. In the year marking the club’s 25th anniversary, the seniors team celebrated their biggest success yet, securing their promotion to the second league. But training young athletes remains at the heart of the club’s activity.  

“Joining the project is a great opportunity for our young players, as we will be provided with Lechia’s training routine which, paired with a sponsor as strong as LOTOS, will guarantee the club’s stable and continuous development. We are a family-based initiative short on finance, and Lechia and LOTOS have offered to help us meet our needs. Although it is in a different province, Elbląg has always had strong ties with Gdańsk due to its close geographical proximity. In fact, we have worked with Lechia on our seniors team; now we are only strengthening the cooperation by expanding it to include juniors,” commented Marek Burkhardt, president of Concordia Elbląg.

The Elbląg branch will train children born between 2002 and 2008. Through the courtesy of the Elbląg authorities, the young members of the Concordia club can use the sports facilities of the Municipal Sport and Recreation Centre.

Grupa LOTOS is Poland’s General Skiing Sponsor, Official Partner of Robert Kubica and the strategic partner of the LOTOS Rally Team of Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Jarek Baran. It is involved in social and sports programmes, such as the National Ski Jumping Development Programme “In Search for the Champion’s Successors”. The Company is also the main sponsor of Lechia Gdańsk, and also supports the Lotos Trefl Gdańsk volleyball team and the Trefl Sopot basketball team in the Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot conglomeration. Grupa LOTOS sponsors junior basketball as part of the Gdynia Basketball Talents initiative, the GKS Wybrzeże speedway academy in Gdańsk, and the Gdańsk Sailing Club.

Communication Office, Grupa LOTOS S.A., ul. Elbląska 135, 80-718 Gdańsk, Poland, tel. (+48) 58 308 87 31, (+48) 58 308 83 88, e-mail: media@grupalotos.pl