A number of the male footballers who have reached international status with Poland were not born in the country. Some were born outside of the country and moved there at a young age while others became naturalised citizens of Poland. The Poland national football team was formed in 1921 and exists to this day, with a break between 1939 and 1946 during World War II. During this period, Poland underwent significant territorial changes after the war, involving the loss of its eastern territories to the Soviet Union and the acquisition of western lands previously belonging to Germany. The following list takes these changes into account. For example, Kazimierz Górski, born in 1921 in Lviv, is not included on this list, whereas Taras Romanczuk, born in 1991 in Kovel, is, because both cities were part of Poland before 1945, but since then they are part of Ukraine.
| Country | Total |
|---|---|
 Germany | 9 |
 France | 3 |
 Czechia | 3 |
 Russia | 2 |
 England | 2 |
 Brazil | 2 |
 Hungary | 1 |
 Romania | 1 |
 Denmark | 1 |
 Nigeria | 1 |
 Armenia | 1 |
 Ukraine | 1 |
 Italy | 1 |
 Uzbekistan | 1 |
 Austria | 1 |
The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I. The Second Republic ceased to exist in 1939, after Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Slovak Republic, marking the beginning of the European theatre of the Second World War. The Polish government-in-exile was established in Paris and later London after the fall of France in 1940.
Olsztyn is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents in 2021.
Zabrze is an industrial city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It lies in the western part of the Metropolis GZM, a metropolis with a population of around 2 million. It is in the Silesian Highlands, on the Bytomka River, a tributary of the Oder.
Gliwice is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river. It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital of the Silesian Voivodeship.
Bytom is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital.
Tychy is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Katowice. Situated on the southern edge of the Upper Silesian industrial district, the city borders Katowice to the north, Mikołów to the west, Bieruń to the east and Kobiór to the south. The Gostynia river, a tributary of the Vistula, flows through Tychy.
Jastrzębie-Zdrój is a city in the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland with 86,632 inhabitants (2021). Its name comes from the Polish words jastrząb ("hawk") and zdrój.
The Treaty of Riga was signed in Riga, Latvia, on 18 March 1921 between Poland on one side and Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine on the other, ending the Polish–Soviet War (1919–1921). The chief negotiators of the peace were Jan Dąbski for the Polish side and Adolph Joffe for the Soviet side.
Radomsko is a city in southern Poland with 44,700 inhabitants (2021). It is situated on the Radomka river in the Łódź Voivodeship. Located in the Sieradz Land, it is the county seat of Radomsko County.
Dzierżoniów is a town located at the foot of the Owl Mountains in southwestern Poland, within the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Dzierżoniów County, and of Gmina Dzierżoniów.
Football is the most popular sport in Poland. Over 400,000 Poles play football regularly and 27%, with millions more playing occasionally and 27% being very interested in it. The first professional clubs were founded in the early 1900s, and the Poland national football team played its first international match in 1921.
Cracovia is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. The club is five-time Polish champion, besides being the inaugural Polish champion, winner of the Polish Cup and the Polish Super Cup in 2020. Founded in 1906, Cracovia is the oldest Polish club still in existence. They play in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of the national football league system.
The Franco-Polish Alliance was the military alliance between Poland and France that was active between the early 1920s and the outbreak of the Second World War. The initial agreements were signed in February 1921 and formally took effect in 1923. During the interwar period the alliance with Poland was one of the cornerstones of French foreign policy.
LKS Pogoń Lwów is a former Polish professional sports club which was located in Lwów, Lwów Voivodeship, and existed from 1904 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. It was the oldest Polish football club, only behind other teams from Lwów – Czarni and Lechia. With numerous departments, among them football, ice hockey and track and field, Pogoń was a major force of Polish sports in the interbellum period; its football team was never relegated from the elite Polish Football League. The club ceased to exist in September 1939, following German and Soviet aggression on Poland. On 2 July 1939, Pogoń played last pre-war official home game, drawing 1–1 with AKS Chorzów. The last pre-war game of the Pogoń's football team took place in Warsaw on 20 August 1939. Lwów's side lost 1–2 to Polonia Warsaw. The last goal was scored by the 20-year-old forward Piotr Dreher. A club under the same name wishing to continue its traditions was formed in 2009.
Słupca is a town in Greater Poland Voivodeship, central Poland, and the seat of Słupca County. It has 13,773 inhabitants (2018).
Wacław Michał Kuchar was a Polish sports champion, Olympian, and multiple football, track and field and speed skating champion of the country.
The 1921 football game between Hungary and Poland was a friendly match played on 18 December 1921, of historical importance in Poland, as it was the first international match in the history of the Poland national football team. Even though Hungary won the match 1–0, the game helped Poland establish its national football team following its reestablishment as a sovereign nation following World War I.
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 (see: Partitions of Poland). The newly created country soon started to organize its administration and several national organizations. Among them was the PZPN – Polski Zwiazek Pilki Noznej, which was created on 20 and 21 December 1919 in Warsaw. According to some sources, several officials representing around 30 Polish Football clubs were then present in Warsaw, but the list of them has been lost.
The Polish minority in the Czech Republic is a Polish national minority living mainly in the Trans-Olza region of western Cieszyn Silesia. The Polish community is the only national minority in the Czech Republic that is linked to a specific geographical area. Trans-Olza is located in the north-eastern part of the country. It comprises Karviná District and the eastern part of Frýdek-Místek District. Many Poles living in other regions of the Czech Republic have roots in Trans-Olza as well.
Ekstraklasa, officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams.
