PZPN

In 1921, for the first time the Polish championship games were conducted, and Cracovia’s players were crowned Poland's maiden champions. On 18 December of the same year, the national team made its debut in an official international match. The Bialo-czerwoni (White-Reds) lost 0:1 (0:1) to Hungary in Budapest; however, the discipline gained more and more supporters. At the end of 1921, 126 clubs were already operating, bringing together 2,397 athletes.

The following year, three consecutive district football associations were set up: in Upper Silesia, Lublin and Vilnius.

In 1925, the Polish College of Football Referees was founded, and a year later the first final of the Puchar Polski, or Polish Cup, was held. Wisła Kraków won the trophy by defeating Sparta Lwów (2:1). December 2, 1926, the first conciliatory conference was organized Warsaw, in order to create the league. The idea was supported by the majority of prominent clubs, and its opponents were the Polish Football Association and regional organizations.

In the 30s, the league experienced some statutory turmoil. In 1933, there was an attempt to divide it into two groups, but after a year, the old system was re-established. The best Polish club in this period was Ruch Chorzów. The "Blues" won the Polish championship five times then.

Just before the beginning of the World War II, our team won (4:2) against Hungary, the then vice-champions of the world. During the Nazi occupation, the Germans forbade the Poles to practice sport, but the ball was played in the conspiracy. In Warsaw, Cracow, Lodz, Poznan, Radom, and many other cities, there were regular fixtures.

In 1946, the first post-war Polish champion was determined. On the ruins of the destroyed city, Polonia Warsaw won the title, playing without their own stadium. Year later, the national team played its first postwar match, against Norway (1:3). In 1948, the league was resumed after a year break, and the champion was Cracovia. In 1949, the reform of the league was conducted, by reducing the number of teams to 12.

In 1952, our national team played at the Helsinki Olympics, without success, just like eight years later in Rome. Still weak and searching for its own shape, the team was able only to one-time victories.

The year 1962 brought another change in the competition. Polish FA approved the cycle "autumn - spring". As a result of the decision on the reorganization, the champion of Poland was determined in the mid-year, after an early competition, and the matches were held in two groups, 7 teams in each. Górnik Zabrze held sway domestically with six league titles in the 1960s, a record-breaking achievement. The team of Lubański, Szołtysik, Kostka and Oślizło was also the first, and so far the only Polish team, that advanced to the final stage in European competition. In 1970, Górnik lost the decisive match in Vienna, with Manchester City (1:2) in the final of the Cup Winners’ Cup. At the same time, Legia Warszawa went trough to the European Cup semi-finals.

After the success of Polish clubs, the time has come for the national team. The Bialo-czerwoni, led by Kazimierz Górski, won the Olympic gold medal in Munich (1972), silver medal in Montreal (1976) and a medal for third place in the finals of the World Cup in Germany (1974). Tomaszewski, Deyna, Gadocha, Lato, Szarmach, Kasperczak, Gorgoń - those names were known all the world! This success was not properly exploited. The silver medal of coach Górski’s team in 1976 in Montreal was considered as a failure, and the distinguished coach gave way to Jacek Gmoch. To this day, football supporters wonder why the Bialo-czerwoni did not succeed at the World Championships in Argentina in 1978, having - seemingly - the strongest lineup in the history of Polish football. This year was not successful, not only because of the failure of the national team. The Polish Football Association president Edward Sznajder died in a car accident. The football by the Vistula River sank deep into crisis.

In 1991, Kazimierz Górski became the president of Polish FA, and four years later he was succeeded by Marian Dziurowicz. At the time, the biggest success was the silver medal, won by the team led by Janusz Wójcik at the Olympic Games in Barcelona (1992).

In 1999, Michał Listkiewicz became president of Polish FA, and tried to introduce reforms in the association’s law. The changes in the game system (in 2001, split into groups: the championship group and the relegation group, later – reduction of the number of teams in the league to 14), introducing a licensing system, intended to adjust the structure of Polish clubs to the European requirements, implementing a uniform system of training for young players, improving the infrastructure – those were some of the tasks he set at the start of his term.

Four years later, similar fate befell the squad led by Paweł Janas. Despite great expectations from the fans and the media, the Bialo-czerwoni fell at the group phase of Weltmaisterschaft 2006. Subsequently, it was a Dutchman Leo Beenhakker, who took over the national team.

On the 8th of June 2012 Poland drew with Greece 1:1 in the inaugural game of the UEFA Euro 2012. Robert Lewandowski scored the only goal for the white-and-reds. On June 12, Poland drew with Russia 1:1 in the second match of Euro with Jakub Błaszczykowski, team’s captain, netting for Polish side. In the last game, which was to decide on the qualification for the quarter-finals, Polish National Team lost to Czech Republic 0:1 in Wroclaw.

On the 10th of July 2012 the board of the Polish Football Association selected a new Polish National Team head coach. Franciszek Smuda was replaced by Waldemar Fornalik, former coach of Ruch Chorzów.

25th of September 2012 president Grzegorz Lato stated that he will no longer be a candidate for reelection. “Everybody expected changes so they should be happy to hear my decision. I believe that what I am doing is for the best for the PFA, as well as for Polish football.”

On the 16th of October 2013 due to the failed attempt to qualify for 2014 World Cup, the Polish Football Association decided to part ways with head coach Waldemar Fornalik. Ten days later, on the 26th of October, Adam Nawałka was selected as the new head coach of the Polish National Team. 

On 11 October 2015, Poland won 2-1 against Ireland at the National Stadium, thus securing their second-place promotion spot for EURO 2016. Robert Lewandowski and Grzegorz Krychowiak were the ones to score for Adam Nawałka's squad.

Despite the great start to the quarterfinal match of the European Championship, a goal by Robert Lewandowski and an incredible fight they had put up throughout the entire game, the Polish national team lost to Portugal 3-5 in the penalty shootout and thus concluded their run in EURO 2016. In the regulation game time, there was a 1-1 draw. Adam Nawałka's team could go back home with their heads held high – reaching the quaterfinals is the White-and-Red's biggest success in the history of their appearances in the European Championship.

From 16 to 30 June 2017, the Polish Football Association held the UEFA Under-21 European Championship. The tournament took place in six cities: Gdynia, Bydgoszcz, Lublin, Kielce, Krakow and Tychy. Germany captured the trophy in the grand final after defeating Spain 1-0.

At the World Cup in Russia, the Polish national team played against Senegal, Colombia and Japan. The White-and-Reds took the last place in the group and won a consolation game against Japan in Volgograd. The winning goal was scored by Jan Bednarek after an assist from Rafał Kurzawa.

After many years of hiatus, the team coached by Czesław Michniewicz won a promotion to the UEFA European Under-21 Championship. The White-and-Reds took second place in the group and had to enter a knockout playoff against Portugal. They lost 0-1 in the first game in Zabrze, but defeated their rivals 3-1 in the rematch in Chaves. Poland is to face Belgium, Italy and Spain in the finals.

Two games before the end of the UEFA EURO 2020 Qualifiers, the Polish national team has secured their place in the final tournament. In the eighth round, the White and Reds defeated North Macedonia 2:0 thanks to goals scored by Przemyslaw Frankowski and Arkadiusz Milik.

In the final tournament of UEFA EURO 2020, the Polish national team unfortunately failed to advance to the knockout stage. After defeats against Slovakia, Sweden and a draw with Spain, the White and Reds finished at the last place in the group.

Paulo Sousa is no longer the head coach of the Polish national team, as announced by the President of the Polish Football Association. "As the Management Board, we have unanimously decided to terminate the contract with Paulo Sousa. As part of the agreement, the former head coach will pay compensation to PZPN corresponding to the federation's expectations," announced president Cezary Kulesza.

The Polish national team beat Sweden 2-0 in the final of the 2022 World Cup play-offs at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów. Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zieliński were the ones to score the winning goals for the team led by head coach Czesław Michniewicz. The White-and-Reds advanced to their fourth consecutive major football tournament. After EURO 2016 and 2020, as well as the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the time has come for the 2022 World Cup. #HeadedForKatar!

The Polish Football Association announces that Czesław Michniewicz will stand down as head coach of the Polish national team as of 31 December 2022. Czesław Michniewicz held several meetings with PZPN president Cezary Kulesza, vice-presidents and the management board of PZPN. During them, the head coach summarised the performance of the Polish national team at the World Cup in Qatar and also discussed the organisational aspects of the national team's participation in the World Cup. After a thorough analysis of all the information, PZPN has decided not to extend Czesław Michniewicz's contract, which expires at the end of the year.

The Polish Football Association informs that as of September 13, 2023, coach Fernando Santos ceased to be the coach of the Polish national team.

Another major football event will take place in Poland! Tuesday's UEFA Executive Committee meeting officially endorsed the candidature of the PGE Narodowy stadium in Warsaw as the venue for the UEFA Super Cup match. The winner of the Champions League will face the victor of the Europa League for the prestigious trophy in Poland in 2024.

This is proof of the great trust that UEFA has placed in us. We are a reliable and proven partner for the entire European football community. We are very pleased that in 2024 we will be able to organise another final of such a prestigious competition in Poland. The whole world will be watching the clash between the winner of the Champions League and the winner of the Europa League. This is certainly a great success for the Polish association. The organisation of such events is one of our goals, which we consistently pursue, said Cezary Kulesza, President of the Polish Football Association.

In the past, Polish stadiums have twice hosted competitors in the UEFA Europa League final. The first of these took place in 2015 at the PGE Narodowy in Warsaw. Back then, LaLiga team Sevilla FC beat Ukrainian club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 3:2 after a thrilling match. The scorer of one of the goals was Grzegorz Krychowiak.

In 2021, the European cups arrived in Poland again. The UEFA Europa League final took place at the Polsat Plus Arena in Gdańsk, with Villarreal CF competing against Manchester United. There was no shortage of emotions - after regulation time and extra time, the score was 1:1, and everything had to be decided in penalty shoot-out. The Spaniards were more effective shooting from the 12 yard spot, winning against the English 11:10.

Let us recall that in the 2024/2025 season, another Polish stadium will also host the European cup final. In June 2023, the UEFA Executive Committee decided that the Tarczyński Arena in Wrocław will host the final match of the Europa Conference League. – This is a very good period for us. The European Under-21 Championship and the U-20 World Cup are over, and still, in addition to the European Conference League final and the UEFA Super Cup match, the European Women's Under-19 Championship awaits us. It is rare that the organisation of so many international events is entrusted to the same association. This makes us prourd, added Łukasz Wachowski, Secretary General of the Polish Football Association.