League history

KSZO joined the C klasa, the lowest level of regional leagues in Poland at the time, in 1932 gaining promotion to B klasa the same year. In 1934, the club was promoted to A klasa, the top regional level. In 1937, it was moved to the Kraków Regional Football Association as the regional association based in Kielce the club hitherto belonged to was disbanded.

Having resumed activity after World War II, the club participated in lower-level regional leagues. In 1950, KSZO (then called Stal) was merged with another local club, Związkowiec. The management of the steelworks decided to focus on building a better football team.^[2] From the 1960s until the early 1980s, KSZO took part in third-level competitions several times. However, the club wasn't able to advance further or maintain their place for more than a few seasons.

In the early 90s, the steelworks became more committed to financing the club's activities. In 1990, the club was promoted to the III liga, the third level of Polish association football at the time, once again. Five seasons later, KSZO was promoted to the second tier for the first time.

In 1995/96, the first season after promotion to the eastern group of II liga, KSZO finished 13th out of 18 teams, avoiding relegation by just 3 points. However, at the end of the following season, the club was ranked second behind Petrochemia Płock and won promotion to the top tier of Polish football.

1997/98, the first season of KSZO in Ekstraklasa ended in relegation as the club only managed to finish 17th out of 18 teams.

Having returned to the second level, KSZO was fourth in the eastern group 1998/99. Next season, both groups were merged to create one 24-team second division. That year, KSZO was 12th. In 2000/01, the club finished second behind RKS Radomsko and was promoted to the top tier for the second time.

The 2001/02 season was played according to an unusual formula, the teams being divided into two groups ("A" and "B") of 8 teams each. Top four teams from each group advanced to the "championship group", the bottom four proceeded to the "relegation group". At the end of the first stage of the season, KSZO was ranked 6th out of 8 in group A which meant it took part in the "relegation group". There, KSZO finished 5th out of 8, which meant 13th place at the end of the season. Playoff matches against Górnik Łęczna followed, both of which were won by KSZO.^[3]

In 2002/03, after a promising start, financial problems became more and more apparent. In addition to that, a conflict between the club management and the players, that ended in most players from the first team refusing to play and leaving the club, had a detrimental effect on the club's result. A completely new squad was formed based on players from junior teams and lower-level clubs but it proved to be inadequate for the top tier. Not managing to earn even a single point during the spring round, the club was directly relegated, ultimately being ranked 15th, ahead of only Pogoń Szczecin - a club that was also experiencing major difficulties at the time.

KSZO started the 2003/04 season at the second tier but withdrew at the halfway stage of the season, its results being annulled.^[4] Due to huge debts, the association underwent liquidation.

The club was then recreated on the basis of another second-tier club, KS Stasiak Ceramika Opoczno. From that point onwards, the club took part in second division matches as KSZO SSA (sports p.l.c.) finishing mid-table for three seasons in a row. However, in 2007, the club was expelled from the second division (effectively relegated to the third level) and fined because its former chairman, Mirosław Stasiak, was accused of bribery.

KSZO finished the 2007/08 season in sixth place despite having 6 points deducted due to the aforementioned corruption accusations. Due to the reorganization of the Polish football leagues, the club was moved to the eastern group of the new II liga, which still was the third tier. KSZO won its group without losing a single match at home and was promoted to the second tier, now called I liga, again. In 2009/10, KSZO finished 8th out of 18 teams. However, the following season, the club was ranked only 16th, losing the relegation battle by a single point. KSZO participated in third-tier matches in 2011/12 but withdrew after 20 out of 30 legs and was therefore ranked last.^[5] This marked the end of KSZO SSA.

In 2011, the new club, called KSZO 1929, was formed and joined the regional group of the klasa okręgowa, the sixth level of Polish association football the same year and won promotion. The following season, KSZO 1929 won the fifth-level competition and was promoted to the III liga, group IV (the fourth division), where the club has been playing since.

2020–21 Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski season

Current squad

As of 14 March 2023^[9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  POL Karol Szymkowiak 2 DF  POL Radosław Sylwestrzak 3 DF  POL Mateusz Zając 4 DF  BRA Matheus Camargo 5 MF  POL Jakub Pawlik 6 DF  POL Kacper Dereń 8 FW  UKR Kostyantyn Cherniy 11 MF  POL Dariusz Brągiel 16 MF  POL Tomasz Persona 17 MF  UKR Artur Dumanyuk

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF  UKR Illya Tymoshenko 21 MF  POL Michał Nawrot 27 MF  POL Dawid Zalewski 29 MF  POL Bartosz Żurek 33 DF  POL Patryk Domagała 34 FW  POL Kamil Grudziński — GK  POL Jakub Burek — FW  POL Arleison Martinez — MF  POL Franciszek Lipka — DF  UKR Oleksiy Maydanevych

Famous players

Player who have played in the top-flight