SPORT
Football in Poland
Football is the most popular sport in Poland with 400,000 licensees. The country has a long history in football, dating back to the late 19th century when football clubs started popping up in major cities. Since then, football has become a key part of Polish culture, with many famous players like Ireneusz Jelen or Robert Lewandosk who is current soccer player. He plays for FC Barcelona and won the Champions League with Bayern Munich and is captain of the Polish national team.
Football in Poland is organized into several leagues, ranging from the amateur league to the professional league. The highest division is the Ekstraklasa, which has 16 teams and is considered one of the most competitive leagues in Eastern Europe. The season generally begins in August and ends in May of the following year. Poland's most famous clubs are Legia Warsaw, Wisła Krakow, Lech Poznań and Górnik Zabrze. Legia Warsaw is the country's most successful club, having won the Polish league title 15 times, as well as several domestic cups. The other clubs also have a long tradition in football and have won many titles and trophies.
The Poland national football team is also very popular. The team is nicknamed the "Whites and Reds" because of their shirt colors and is led by coach Paulo Sousa. The team has had its ups and downs throughout its history, but it has managed to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup twice, in 1974 and 1982, as well as the quarter-finals of the Euros 2016. For the 2022 World Cup she managed to come out of the group stage in second position behind Argentina but was eliminated by France in the round of 16 where she lost 3-1.
In Poland there are quite a few large stadiums to host the many matches. For the best known there is the stadium of Silesia which can accommodate 52,000 people or the stadium of Warsaw which can accommodate 58,000 people which was created on the occasion of Euro 2012.
To conclude Football in Poland is very popular and a competitive league with great players including Robert Lewandowski. We can say that football is an integral part of Polish culture.