Blind Football: Poland will play against Wisła at Euro 2026!

On Tuesday, July 1, the Polish national blind football team begins its fight to qualify for Euro 2026 in France. The city of Krakow is the host of the qualifying tournament, and representatives of our section could not be missing in the ranks of the national team.

Seven players and two Wisła BF staff members make up the Polish national team, which will compete for the first-ever European Championships Division II as hosts. For our local community, the fact that Kraków was chosen by the IBSA Federation to host the tournament is an added bonus.

"It's a huge honor, an added boost of motivation, and a certain responsibility. Each of us wants to have a successful qualifying campaign and advance, and playing in front of our home crowd is an added boost. We simply want to do our part and let the fans enjoy the game and the results." - says Marcin Ryszka, captain of the White Star BF.

Poland's opponents in the tournament, which runs from July 1st to 6th, will be Spain, Romania, Kazakhstan, and Kosovo. The teams will play each other in a round-robin format, with the top two teams advancing. On the final day, there will also be gold and bronze medal matches.

"It's shaping up to be a short but intense tournament. There are few matches, and there's little room for error. Any slip-up could be decisive, so we all need to remain vigilant and focused. It will undoubtedly be a completely different type of game than we're used to in our domestic leagues." - explains Martin Jung, striker of Wisła BF.

For the Polish national team, this will be a battle to qualify for their third European Championship. The first European Championships with our team took place in 2015 in Great Britain – Marcin Ryszka, Martin Jung, and Krzysztof Bednarkiewicz (goalkeeper) remember that tournament. All three are also in the current squad.

"The guys and I are joking that we're fighting for a tournament hat trick. The task won't be easy, regardless of whether we're talking about Spain or Kosovo; each team is in Krakow to secure one of two slots that will entitle them to travel to the Euros." - ends goalkeeper Krzysztof Bednarkiewicz.

The players called up from Wisła Blind Football Kraków, in addition to the aforementioned Marcin, Martin, and Krzysztof, also include Paweł Zinkow, Gabriel Olech, Kacper Domagała, and Mateusz Krzyszkowski. The Polish-American team is co-founded by coach Dominik Foryś and physiotherapist Marek Żychowski.

It is also worth emphasizing that the people responsible for our city's candidacy, as well as the organization of the Division II European Championships, are Piotr Niesyczyński and Tomasz Klasa - people also associated with the functioning of the blind football section.

The national team's match will take place at the MOS Kraków Zachód facility (Plac Na Groblach 23) - below you will find the schedule of matches with Poland's participation:

• July 1, 4:00 PM Poland - Kosovo
• July 2, 4:00 PM Poland - Spain
• July 3, 4:00 PM Poland - Romania
• July 5, 4:00 PM Poland - Kazakhstan

Congratulations to everyone, and we're keeping our fingers crossed for the successful performances of our section's representatives and the entire national team! Good luck!