Football in Poland
Encyclopedia
Football is the most popular sport in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. Over 400,000 Poles play football regularly, with millions more playing occasionally. The first professional clubs were founded in the early 1900s, and the Polish national football team played its first international match in 1921.

There are hundreds of professional and amateur football teams in Poland; which are organized into the national 1st league, 2nd level, 2 regional 3rd levels, 18 regional 4th levels, 49 regional 5th leagues and a variety of other lower level leagues. Additionally, there are the Polish Cup and Polish Supercup competitions.

History

The history of football in Poland started in the late 19th century with the rising popularity of the new sport. At the time, the Polish state was partitioned
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...

. The first decades of Polish football are therefore connected with the history of Football in Austria
Football in Austria
Football is a popular sport in Austria, second only to alpine skiing. The Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB , was founded in 1904 and has been a member of FIFA since then.-League system:...

 and the Austrian Football Association
Austrian Football Association
The Austrian Football Association is the governing body of football in Austria. It organizes the football league, Austrian Bundesliga, the Austrian Cup and the Austrian national team, as well as its female equivalent. It is based in Vienna....

, which was founded in 1904.

The first Polish football clubs were Lechia Lwów
Lechia Lwów
Lechia Lwów was the first Polish professional football club, founded on summer 1903 in Lwów....

 (1903), Czarni Lwów
Czarni Lwów
Czarni Lwów was one of the first Polish professional sports clubs with the well developed football section as well as hockey among the several other sports. The football club was started in the late 19th century in Lwów as a school football section Sława Lwów...

 (1903), Pogoń Lwów
Pogon Lwów
LKS Pogoń Lwów is a former Polish professional sports club which was located in Lwów , and existed from 1904 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. It was the second oldest Polish football club behind other teams from Lwów - Czarni and Lechia...

 (1904), Resovia Rzeszów
Resovia Rzeszów
Resovia Rzeszow is a Polish sports club, based in Rzeszów, Poland.-Club names:* Cywilno Wojskowy Klub Sportowy Resovia* Fusion with KS Wisłok Rzeszów to Ogniwo Rzeszów* CWKS Resovia...

 (1905), Cracovia (1906) and Wisła Kraków (1906). The Polish national federation, called the Polish Football Union (Polski Związek Piłki Nożnej, PZPN), was founded on December 20, 1919, in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

 when 31 delegates elected Edward Cetnarowski
Edward Cetnarowski
Edward Cetnarowski was a Polish sports official, gynaecologist and one of most famous personalities of the sports club Cracovia. He was born October 3, 1877 in Rzeszów and died September 3, 1933 in Kraków....

 as the first president. The PZPN joined FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

 in 1923 and UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

 in 1955.

In a similar fashion to other European states, football appeared in Poland in the late 19th century. In 1888 Prof. Henryk Jordan
Henryk Jordan
Henryk Jordan , was a Polish philanthropist, physician and pioneer of physical education in Poland...

, a court physician of the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

s and the pioneer of sports in Poland, opened a sports park in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

's Błonia, a large open space surrounding the demolished city walls of that town. The park, along with the Sokół society founded in 1867, became the main centres to promote sports and healthy living in Poland. It was Jordan who began promoting football as a healthy sport in the open air; some sources also credit him with bringing the first football to Poland from his travels to Brunswick
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....

 in 1890. Other sources mention Dr. Edmund Cenar as the one to bring the first ball and the one to translate The Cambridge Rules
The Cambridge Rules
The Cambridge Rules were a code of football rules first drawn up at Cambridge University, England, in 1848, by a committee that included H. de Winton and J. C. Thring. They are also notable for allowing goal kicks, throw-ins, and forward passes and for preventing running whilst holding the ball...

 and parts of the International Football Association Board
International Football Association Board
The International Football Association Board is the body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football.-Operations:...

 regulations to Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

.

On July 14, 1894 during the Second Sokół Jamboree in Lwów a short football match was played between the Sokół members of Lwów and those from Kraków. It lasted only six minutes and was seen as a curiosity rather than a potentially popular sport. Nevertheless, it was the first recorded football match in Polish history. It was won by the Lwów team after Włodzimierz Chomicki scored the only goal - the first known goal in Polish history.

This match precipitated the popularity of the new sport in Poland. Initially the rules and regulations were very simplified, with the size of the field and the ball varying greatly. Despite being discouraged by many educational societies and the state authorities, the new sport gained extreme popularity among pupils of various gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...

s in Galicia. The first football teams were formed and in 1903–1904, four Lwów-based gymnasiums formed their own sport clubs: the IV Gymnasium for Boys formed a club later renamed to Pogoń Lwów
Pogon Lwów
LKS Pogoń Lwów is a former Polish professional sports club which was located in Lwów , and existed from 1904 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. It was the second oldest Polish football club behind other teams from Lwów - Czarni and Lechia...

, while the pupils of the I and II State Schools formed the Sława Lwów club, later renamed to Czarni Lwów
Czarni Lwów
Czarni Lwów was one of the first Polish professional sports clubs with the well developed football section as well as hockey among the several other sports. The football club was started in the late 19th century in Lwów as a school football section Sława Lwów...

. In the same season the Lechia Lwów
Lechia Lwów
Lechia Lwów was the first Polish professional football club, founded on summer 1903 in Lwów....

 was also formed. It is uncertain which of the clubs was created first as they were initially poorly organized; however, the Czarni Lwów are usually credited as being the first Polish professional football team. The following year, the popularity of the sport spread to nearby Rzeszów
Rzeszów
Rzeszów is a city in southeastern Poland with a population of 179,455 in 2010. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River, in the heartland of the Sandomierska Valley...

 where Resovia Rzeszów
Resovia Rzeszów
Resovia Rzeszow is a Polish sports club, based in Rzeszów, Poland.-Club names:* Cywilno Wojskowy Klub Sportowy Resovia* Fusion with KS Wisłok Rzeszów to Ogniwo Rzeszów* CWKS Resovia...

 was formed, while in the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

-held part of Poland, the 1. FC Katowice
1. FC Katowice
1. FC Kattowitz was an ethnically German association football club playing in what was Kattowitz, Silesia Province in Germany and was active during the inter-war period and World War II when the two countries struggled over control of the region...

 and Warta Poznań
Warta Poznan
Warta Poznań is a football club based in Poznań, Poland. Founded in 1912, the club are two-time winners of the Polish Football Championship, in 1929 and 1947, but currently reside in the Polish First League. The name means the Guard in Polish and also a name of river Warta on which Poznań is...

 were formed.

On June 6, 1906 a representation of Lwów youth came to Kraków for a repeat match, this time composed of two already organized teams, the Czarni and the team of the IV Gymnasium. Kraków's representation was badly beaten in both meetings (4:0 and 2:0 respectively). The same summer the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show
Buffalo Bill
William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a United States soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory , in LeClaire but lived several years in Canada before his family moved to the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for service to the US...

 set up camp at Kraków's Błonia, right outside of the traditional playground area and Jordan's garden. On August 5, 1906 the team of the Kraków-based Jan Sobieski Gymnasium played a match against the British and American members of Buffalo Bill's troupe, winning 1:0. The only goal scored by Stanisław Szeligowski was also the first goal scored by a Polish team in an international meeting. The success led to the popularisation of football in Kraków and to creation of the first Kraków-based professional football team, Cracovia - initially composed primarily of students of the Jan Sobieski Gymnasium. By the autumn of that year there were already 16 teams in Kraków, including Wisła Kraków(It is said that actually Wisła Kraków was the first professional football team and not Cracovia Kraków). In 1911, a Kraków-based Union of Polish Football for Galicia was formed and entered the Austrian Football Federation. The union inspired the creation of a number of teams, including Polonia Warszawa
Polonia Warszawa
Polonia Warsaw is a Polish sports club with football and basketball teams, founded in 1911, and is the oldest such club in Warsaw, where it is based.- History :...

 formed later that year as the first football club in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

.

After the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, most of the Galician football players, many of them members of either Strzelec or Sokół, joined Piłsudski's Polish Legions
Polish Legions in World War I
Polish Legions was the name of Polish armed forces created in August 1914 in Galicia. Thanks to the efforts of KSSN and the Polish members of the Austrian parliament, the unit became an independent formation of the Austro-Hungarian Army...

. The unit, fighting alongside the Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...

, fought mostly in various parts of Russian-held Poland, which led to popularisation of the new sport in other parts of Poland. After Poland regained her independence, on December 21, 1919 the Polish Football Association
Polish Football Association
The Polish Football Association is the governing body of football in Poland. It organizes the Polish football leagues , the Polish Cup, the Polish SuperCup, the Polish League Cup, and the Polish national football team...

 (PZPN) was formed. Headed by Edward Centrarowski, it united most of the then-existent Polish football clubs. The league could not be formed due to the Polish-Bolshevik War, but in 1922 the PZPN published the rules of football and the following year it joined FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

. In 1921 the league was resumed and the first Champion of Poland
Polish Championship in Football
Polish Championship in FootballYear, 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place* 1913: Cracovia, Pogoń Lwów, Czarni Lwów * 1920: abandoned * 1921: Cracovia, Polonia Warszawa, Warta Poznań...

 was Cracovia, followed by Pogoń Lwów
Pogon Lwów
LKS Pogoń Lwów is a former Polish professional sports club which was located in Lwów , and existed from 1904 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. It was the second oldest Polish football club behind other teams from Lwów - Czarni and Lechia...

 in 1922, 1923, 1925 and 1926. As Poland was then a fully independent state, in 1921 the Polish national football team was formed. On December 18, 1921 it played its first international match in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

 against the Hungarian team
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....

 and was defeated 1:0. In the third international match in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

 on May 28, 1922 Poland defeated Sweden
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...

 2:1, scoring its first international victory.

During World War II, football in occupied Poland was subject to significant restrictions (see Football in occupied Poland (1939–1945)
Football in occupied Poland (1939–1945)
On September 1, 1939, the armed forces of Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west initiating World War II. Two weeks later, on September 17, Soviet Union joined Germany in their attack on the Second Polish Republic. By early October, Poland was defeated. The occupied Poland was the only country...

) for more.

In 1955 the PZPN became one of the founding members of UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

.

Corruption in Polish football

In 2005 Polish authorities began an investigation into widespread corruption within Polish football.

In July 2006, the Polish sports minister criticized the PZPN (Polish Football Association)
Polish Football Association
The Polish Football Association is the governing body of football in Poland. It organizes the Polish football leagues , the Polish Cup, the Polish SuperCup, the Polish League Cup, and the Polish national football team...

 for failing to take adequate steps to fight corruption, and announced an audit of the organization. In January 2007, PZPN board member Wit Żelazko was arrested by Wrocław police. Shortly thereafter, the entire PZPN board was suspended by the sports ministry. This move displeased FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

 which announced that the principle of autonomy of football associations was of utmost importance. The Polish sports ministry, Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczynski, and most fans felt that the battle against corruption was more important, but when FIFA threatened sanctions, the sports ministry backed down and agreed to re-instate the PZPN board.

In September 2008, the Polish Olympic Committee made a request to the Polish Arbitration Tribunal to suspend the management of the PZPN a second time, stating that the PZPN was guilty of "[violating] its statutes in a continuous and flagrant fashion." This request was granted and Robert Zawłocki was named as temporary administrator. However, FIFA again threatened to suspend Polish teams from international competition.

On April 15, 2009, the total number of arrests reached 200, including referees, observers, coaches, players as well as some high-ranking officials of the PZPN. By the end of April 2009, only 15 referees remained who were allowed to preside over top-flight matches.

Security measures

A series of new security measures are set to come into force in August 2009 which will require all clubs to improve their fan identification systems. Fans who have received a stadium ban will now be obliged to appear at a police station during matches. Those who enter a stadium despite a ban, assault security officials or other workers, or throw dangerous materials, will face a sentence of up to three years in prison, rising to five years if the individual is masked or otherwise tries to conceal their identity.

UEFA Champions League

The following teams have qualified for elimination rounds in the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

.
  • Legia Warsaw (1970 - Semi-finals] 1995-96
    UEFA Champions League 1995-96
    The 1995–96 UEFA Champions League was the 41st season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the fourth since its rebranding as the UEFA Champions League. The tournament was won by Juventus, who beat defending champions Ajax on penalties in the final for their first championship...

     - Quarter-finals)
  • Widzew Łódź  (1983 - Semi-finals] 1996-97
    UEFA Champions League 1996-97
    The 1996–97 UEFA Champions League was the 42nd edition of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the fifth since its rebranding as the UEFA Champions League, and the last involving only clubs that were champions of their domestic leagues. The tournament was won by Borussia Dortmund in a...

     - Group Stage)

EURO 2012

On the 18th of April 2007 the President of UEFA, Michel Platini, announced that the hosts of the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship will be Poland and Ukraine. Both countries automatically qualify for the event and are preparing for the historic event.

See also

  • Sports in Poland
  • Poland national football team
    Poland national football team
    The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...

  • Ekstraklasa
  • Młoda Ekstraklasa
  • Polish Championship in Football
    Polish Championship in Football
    Polish Championship in FootballYear, 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place* 1913: Cracovia, Pogoń Lwów, Czarni Lwów * 1920: abandoned * 1921: Cracovia, Polonia Warszawa, Warta Poznań...

  • Polish Cup
    Polish Cup
    The Polish Cup in football or officially Remes Puchar Polski, is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa title...

  • Polish SuperCup
    Polish SuperCup
    The Polish SuperCup in football is an annually held match between the champion of the Ekstraklasa and the Polish Cup winner. To this date the Polish SuperCup has been played out 21 times with the Polish Cup winner taking the trophy 13 times, while the Ekstraklasa champions had won the trophy 8 times...

  • Polish Cup (women)
  • Polish women's national football team
  • The first game: December 18, 1921. Hungary - Poland 1-0
    The first game: December 18, 1921. Hungary - Poland 1-0
    The 1921 football game between Hungary and Poland was a historic event for the Poles.-Historical background:In the fall of 1918, when World War I came to an end, several Eastern European nations, including Poland, regained independence...

  • Polish Roster in World Cup Soccer France 1938
  • The last game: August 27, 1939. Poland - Hungary 4-2
  • Polish soccer (football) in interwar period
    Polish soccer (football) in interwar period
    The interwar period of Polish football began in the late fall of 1918 after First World War, when Poland regained independence, which had been lost at the end of 18th century . The newly created country soon started to organize its administration and several national organizations...

  • Football Junior Championships of Poland
    Football Junior Championships of Poland
    Football Junior Championships of Poland Under-19 is a competition with a long, 71-year old history, which started in the summer of 1936.-1936:...

  • Polish Football League 1927-1939
    Polish Football League 1927-1939
    -Beginnings:In the years 1921–1926, the football championships were organized in a non-league way. Firstly, there were regional games, then 9 champions of those regions were divided into 3 groups - western, southern and northern and finally, there were champions of these groups playing each...


External links

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