The 80th anniversary of  field hockey in Poland is just being observed in Poznań. The place of celebrations was not chosen at random.

It is Poznań where the seat of  the Polish Field Hockey Association is situated. It is also Poznań that has the biggest number of hockey clubs, which are the core of the National Team in hockey.
It all began almost 90 years ago in Lwów, then the city of Austrian Empire. The discipline was known in such European countries as Ireland, France and the Netherlands. The fatherland of modern hockey is England. First hockey clubs were founded in Britain. The rules for the game were worked out in Harrow in 1852. The first national association was founded in England in 1886. The news from England reached Poland and had a significant impact on the interest in field hockey in Lwów.
The first official game of field hockey took place in Lwów, which then belonged to Poland, in 1907. The Polish Field Hockey National Association was founded at the end of October 1926 in Poznań. One year later the Association became a member of the International Hockey Federation.
Polish hockey teams have been a force to be reckoned with since Polish national men’s team participated for the first time in the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952. Men’s teams have participated in the Olympic Games five times (1952, 1960, 1972, 1980, 2000), and women’s team once (1980). Polish men’s teams have took part in World Championships (1975, 1978, 181/1982, 1986, 1998 and 2002), ten times in all the previous European Championships and once in the Youth World Championships (2005).
Both the national and club teams are the world leaders in hall hockey. Senior team placed second in the World Championships in 2003. Earlier, the Youth national team won the European Championships in 1996. Pocztowiec Poznań became the European Club Champion in 2003. Many international events, including the Intercontinental Tournament in Poznań in 1993, were organised in Poland.