FK Polonija Vilnius still without a sponsor. Fans organise fund-raising.

The senior football team of FK Polonija Vilnius has not played in over half of a year. The reason is simple – lack of money. It is sad, even more so considering that it was disbanded while it was in the first league and its players did not lack successes or motivation.

“The primary problem is the lack of a main sponsor, with whom we could have a signed contract and who could cover approximately 70% of the operating costs of the club,” explained in the conversation with Wilnoteka Stefan Kimso, the chairman of the sports club ‘Polonia’. “If money is found, we could get back to the first league.”

Fans also dream about the return of the club to game. It is through their initiative that the fund-raising for the club’s running is organized. “We would like the club to come back to game, even if to the second league,” said Kondrad Michalkiewicz. “We know that the time for submitting requests passed, yet we hope that if money is found, Polonia will play again.

The call for help was heard by the fans of Arka Gdynia, who before the match with Stomil Olsztyn distributed donation stickers. The funds raised were handed over to Polonia for their co-financing. They managed to gather over 2000 zlotys, the amount which was transferred into Polonia’s account.

„The club must have a sponsor,” emphasizes Stefan Kimso. “The financing of the club is quite a costly matter. Annually around 80.000 euros is needed.” The chairman of the club does not lose hope for finding a sponsor. Fans try to gather funds on their own, but FK Polonija Vilnius still does not play. It is hard to imagine a better gift for the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the club than a return to the first league. In the meantime, a new and young generation of football players is growing, with the juniors of Polonia having successfully started in the struggles in the second league of the sports schools.

FK Polonija Volnius played two season in the first league, that is in 2012 and 2013. In the first season they ranked at 5th place, whereas in 2013 at 11th. In Febraury 2014, the chairman of the sports club ‘Polonia’, Stefan Kimso, assured the fans and supporters of the Vilnius club that, even though the request for the license had been submitted after the deadline and the club was still looking for potential sponsors, the players of FK Polonija Vilnius would appear in the first league of the Lithuanian Football Federation. Unfortunately, the team was forced at the last moment to withdraw from the game in the first league. “We were seeking; we played to the final whistle,” said Stefan Kimso in the conversation with Wilnoteka. This year the sports club FK Polonija VIlnius will mark the 25th anniversary of its existence.