Sports participation
In 2022, 65 percent of Poland's population had a physically active lifestyle. Physical fitness worsens with age; Poles aged 5 to 19 years old declare very good and good physical fitness most often, whereas one-third of those in the 70-and-over age group assess their physical condition as bad or very bad.Pleasure and entertainment are the main reasons for Poles’ participation in sports and recreational activities. For almost 22 percent of women, health reasons and doctor's recommendations figure among the dominant motivations. In recent years, the average household expenditure on sports and recreational activities increased. In 2021, Polish families spent approximately 1.4 thousand zloty on participation in sports and recreational camps; spending on equipment rental and maintenance was lower.
National football team
Initially postponed in 2020 because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the UEFA European Championships took place in June and July 2021. Poland was among the teams that participated in the event. However, having lost to Sweden on June 23, 2021, the country had left the competition. When asked to assess the national team's performance, Robert Lewandowski, the team's captain, left the best impression according to the respondents; Grzegorz Krychowiak, Poland's defensive midfielder, was considered to have played the worst.Lewandowski is an all-time leader in goals scored for the Polish national football team, with 79 goals. Włodzimierz Lubański, who has long since retired from his career with the national team back in 1980, follows the team captain with 44 goals. Subsequently, Lewandowski is also the most valuable player in the Polish squad, with an approximately 45 million euros market value as of July 2022.
