1921 Hungary Vs Poland Football Match - Historic Background

Historic Background

Once an ancient kingdom, from the years 1772 to 1795, Poland was partitioned by its three powerful neighbors—Russia, Habsburg Austria, and Prussia. As the result of the partitions, Poland disappeared from the map of Europe for 123 years. Despite several insurrections, the Poles did not manage to win back their independence throughout the 19th century. In the fall of 1918, when World War I came to an end, several Eastern European nations, including Poland, regained independence.

The newly reestablished country quickly started to organize not only its political administration, but also its sports organizations. Envoys of several soccer clubs, which had previously existed under either Prussian, Russian, or Austrian rule, met in Warsaw on December 20 and 21, 1919, thus establishing the Polish Football Association.

In the years 1919 and 1920, Poland fought several wars with its neighbors, including the Polish-Soviet War, the Polish-Ukrainian War, the Polish-Lithuanian War, the Great Poland Uprising, Silesian Uprisings, as well as border conflicts between Poland and Czechoslovakia). Under the circumstances, no soccer games took place. Only when these conflicts were over, starting in spring of 1921, did the first games for the Championships of Poland take place, with the Cracovia club winning the first title.