BKS Stal Bielsko-Biała is a Polish sports club, with two departments: the men's football team and the women's volleyball team. The club is based in Bielsko-Biała. The football team plays in the Polish lower divisions, whereas the volleyball team is one of the top sides in the country. History BKS Stal Bielsko-Biala (full name: Biala Sports Club Stal Bielsko-Biala) was founded in 1922 in Biala Krakowska, the town which in 1951 merged with Bielsko, to form Bielsko-Biala. The formation of BKS was connected with the rebirth of the Second Polish Republic: both Biala (located in former Austrian Galicia), and neighbouring Bielsko (which had belonged to the Duchy of Teschen) were the towns with large German communities. Local Poles wanted to create their own sports organization, as a counterbalance to the already existing German ones. BKS was based on the Sports Association Szczerbiec, formed in 1913. The hues of BKS were based on the colours of the city of Biala: red and green; in 1949 yellow was added. The club was under the patronage of several industries, most notably under the Bielsko Sewing Machine factory Befama (Bielska Fabryka Maszyn Włókienniczych "Befama"), under which the club expanded rapidly and later the FSM factory, which still exists today under a Fiat ownership. Football From the very beginning, the officials of BKS were determined to form a football team. Apart from footballers, BKS had the departments of table tennis and gymnastics. In 1927, a stadium was built in Biala. To commemorate this occasion, an international football tournament took place, with teams from Czechoslovakia and Weimar Germany. In interwar Poland, the football team of BKS Bielsko played in local A Class, which was roughly the equivalent of the third level of Polish football system. BKS failed to win promotion to the top level of local football, the so-called Silesian League, or Silesian A-Class (see Lower Level Football Leagues in Interwar Poland). In May 1945, following World War II, during which ethnic Poles were forbidden to officially play football games, BKS was recreated. In the early 1950s, BKS Stal, as it was called since 1949, gained a wealthy sponsor: the Textile Machine Factory Befama. Apart from Befama, other local factories also supported the club. In 1957, the stadium of BKS was renovated, and to mark the event, Stal tied 4–4 in a friendly game with Cracovia. Until 1973, BKS Stal remained in the regional leagues, either