Poland is situated in Eastern Europe and is currently one of the newest countries in terms of membership of the European Union, having joined in 2004. However, despite that, the country was actually founded in its modern day form in 1025. The capital has been Warsaw for hundreds of years and this is the country’s most popular tourist attraction. Almost 36 million people live in Poland today and all of them are coming to terms with the change that induction into European Union has brought. Although the Polish currency remains the Zloty at the moment, many individuals have moved to other European countries to make a better living.

Football is the national sport in Poland, as in many other European countries, but Poland has not been as successful as some of its closest rivals. The national team is currently at 20 in the FIFA rankings. Their best ranking came in September 2007 when they hit 16th, with the lowest ever place coming in March 1998. At that point they sat at 61st in the world. Strangely enough, Poland has never made the European Championship finals. They have come close during the qualifying stages but have never been able to translate that into actual qualification. However, that is not to say that the country has not had a measure of success on the world stage.

Poland has actually qualified for the World Cup 7 times, with the first tournament they played in being 1938. The team’s best finish was actually 3rd in both 1974 and 1982. However, they went better in the Olympics several times. Poland has actually won three medals in the Olympics since 1972. The gold came in Munich (1972) and has since been joined by two silvers (Montreal 1976 and Barcelona 1992).

The domestic football is played out via the Orange Ekstraklasa. It is the equivalent of the Premier League and was formed in 1927. There are currently 16 teams in the Ekstraklasa and they play each other twice through the season. The Polish Cup runs parallel to the league and is considered inferior but it gives smaller teams the opportunity to participate in national competition. Any team, including old boys and reserves, can actually take part in the cup and this gives it an appeal that few countries’ cups actually have.

The teams that play in the Ekstraklasa are spread out all over the country, with Zaglebie Lubin being the most successful since domestic football began. Other prominent teams include Legia Warsaw, Widzew Lodz and Wisla Krakow. However, the beginning of the 2007/08 season was clouded as a result of 9 of the 16 teams being accused of corruption. A number of the teams involved have had points deducted and thus stand a higher chance of being relegated at the end of the year. Unfortunately, the sport may have lost a few fans in Poland in the process.