The Polish national team has started competing in the Nations League. Its goal is not only to stay in Division A, but also to have a more favorable seeding in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. However, after the September training camp and two matches played, there is no reason for optimism. Although the White and Reds won 3:2 against Scotland, their performance left much to be desired, and the decisive goal was scored at the very end. They performed even worse against Croatia, and this time they failed to win three points. They lost 0:1 and dropped to third place in the table. However, this is not the only reason for concern.
Szkolnikowski reveals disturbing data after Polish matches. Interest in sports is falling
The national team matches are not very popular. This is best evidenced by the data presented by Marek Szkolnikowski at the X. “The match with Scotland was watched by 3.2 million viewers (TVP1+TVP Sport), and with Croatia by 3.5 million. This translates into a 22 percent market share, i.e. only every fourth Polish home had the Nations League on,” revealed the former director of TVP Sport. He also revealed that in previous years the viewership of these games was about half a million higher.
It is possible that the poor attitude of the players and the lack of successes may have a significant impact on this, which discourages watching. But not only that. Szkolnikowski also gave other reasons and drew rather sad conclusions. Michał Probierz's team does not really have an influence on the first four points.
“1. Fewer and fewer people watch linear TV. 2. Market fragmentation means that without well-thought-out promotion, it is difficult to break through with even the most desirable content. 3. Distraction of attention makes it increasingly difficult to keep the viewer for the entire 90 minutes; near live clips in social media and summaries of the most important events are much more interesting. 4. There is no 1:1 conversion from TV to the Internet,” we read.
“Sport too boring and predictable”
The role of the Polish national team looks a bit different when it comes to the fifth point. “The decreasing interest in sports, which are becoming too boring and predictable for the new generation. Football is still in a counter-trend, but despite everything the declines are significant and will continue,” Szkolnikowski emphasized. This is not a very optimistic perspective. However, it seems that if Poles were successful in football, the interest in matches could be greater.
Now the national team players will return to club competition. They will return to training camp in October. Then they will play two Nations League matches, both at home. First, they will face Portugal (October 12), and then they will play the return match with Croatia (October 15).