PZPN

In the first part of the conference, Przemysław Prętkiewicz, Director of the Department of Amateur Football of the Polish Football Association, dr. hab. Mateusz Juchniewicz (Senior Expert Siltro Consulting) and Dawid Prokopowicz (Senior Sales Consultant Google) shared their insights with the participants. All the speakers introduced the conference guests to the new strategy of the Polish Football Association. “We want to prepare the association's strategy keeping in mind how football will change. It is not a revolution, but rather a harmonious development, in line with the times,” said Przemysław Prętkiewicz. “We understand the strategy as an engagement of the community, not as a document. We are clear about our vision of development for the next years and we want it to be the development of Polish football, not of the Polish Football Association,” he added.

"A good strategy cannot be created in the comfort of our offices. It is too serious an issue for the organisation. We need to listen to the voice of the different communities and the purpose of the research is precisely to invite conversations, not to create statistics,” stressed dr. hab. Mateusz Juchniewicz. Speakers on the first panel also addressed modern technology in football, changing rules and regulations, and the changing view of football by fans.  They even made predictions about what football might look like in 2030.

The second panel of the conference was entitled “International sporting events in Poland – legacy and measurable value for many”. The speakers included Łukasz Wojtowicz, Chief of the CEO Office of UEFA Events, and Marek Doliński, Director of the Department of Event Organisation, Security and Infrastructure of the Polish Football Association. They focused on discussing Poland's experience in organising major UEFA and FIFA events, such as UEFA EURO 2012, the 2015 UEFA Europa League final, the 2017 UEFA European U-21 Championship, the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup or the 2021 UEFA Europa League final.

The speakers also focused on the fact that, in 2023 alone, Poland has been selected to host as many as four major international events. The first of these — the UEFA Super Cup match between Real Madrid and Atalanta BC — is already behind us. In 2025, Wrocław will host the final of the UEFA Conference League, as well as the 2025 Women's U19 EURO finals. A year later, Poland will be organising the 2026 Women's U-20 World Cup. Moreover, the Polish Football Association has applied to host UEFA Women's Euro 2029, as well as the 2026/2027 UEFA Women's Champions League finals.

It is rare that the organisation of so many international events is entrusted to the same association. We are a reliable and proven partner for the entire football community. It is a great source of pride for the Polish Football Association. Organising such events serves not only to promote the federation, but also our country as a whole", said Marek Doliński.

The director of the Department of Event Organisation, Security and Infrastructure of the Polish Football Association also emphasised that the development of women's football is vital for the federation. "Women's football is one of the four priority pillars of the Polish Football Association. Being entrusted with organising the youth European Championships and World Cup is a recognition of our efforts and commitment to the development of women's football", he stressed.
In the third part, the guests were Piotr Borys (Secretary of State at the Ministry of Sport and Tourism), Hannu Tihinen (FIFA High-Performance Specialist), Tomas Danilevičius (Regional Technical Consultant Europe, FIFA) and Marcin Dorna, Sports Director of the Polish Football Association. The speakers discussed the perspective of player development, creating an environment for the best and making young players compete. They also addressed the topic of natural adaptation to senior football and the acquisition of international experience and confidence.

Further, the speakers touched on the subject of the individual pathway and selection of participants in youth programmes offered by the Polish Football Association, such as Talent Pro and Future Pro. They highlighted the role of the Polish Football Association in charting pathways for young players and presented the assumptions behind such processes. In addition, they discussed internal and foreign scouting tools and the Observation and Scouting System. The biggest challenges on the road to success in football were presented as well.

The final, fourth panel focused on increasing participation and building a positive image of women's football. Speakers included Marion Gavat (MA Regional Coordinator, FIFA), Krzysztof Nowak (President of GKS Katowice), Lidia Kołucka-Żuk (Executive Director of Sponsorship at Orlen S.A.) and Grzegorz Stefanowicz, Director of the Women's Football Department of the Polish Football Association.

The fourth panel discussed how to increase attendance at women's football matches based on the example of cooperation with Arena Gdańsk Operator and breaking the attendance record at a women's national team match. Challenges on the way to promote women's football were also presented and the topic of breaking down cultural and social barriers in the context of changing perceptions of women's football was discussed. Grzegorz Stefanowicz introduced the conference participants to the campaign "Girls. Team not only on the pitch" and the topic of festivals for girls in the Regional Football Associations.
They also discussed how regional league bodies can help to increase the number of girls playing football, how to attract and activate sponsors in women's football and what the future of women's football is, emphasising the importance of making it more popular and equalising standards.

The panels were chaired by Aldona Marciniak and Krzysztof Marciniak.