Why Poland's National Football Team Struggles Despite Record Federation Revenue

How Poland missed the World Cup

Poland finished second in its UEFA qualifying group, three points behind the Netherlands, which sent it into the playoff path rather than direct qualification, according to football outlet Bolavip. In the playoff semi-final on 26 March 2026 Poland beat Albania 2-1, but in the final on 31 March it lost 3-2 to Sweden at a neutral venue, with Sweden's goals coming from Anthony Elanga (19'), Gustaf Lagerbielke (44') and a late Viktor Gyökeres winner (88'), while Nicola Zalewski (33') and Karol Świderski (55') scored for Poland, per ESPN's match report. The defeat ended the World Cup hopes of 37-year-old captain Robert Lewandowski, for whom the tournament would likely have been a final appearance, Bolavip noted.

• 26 March 2026: Poland 2-1 Albania (World Cup play-off semi-final) — win.
• 31 March 2026: Sweden 3-2 Poland (World Cup play-off final) — loss, elimination.
• 31 May 2026: Poland 0-2 Ukraine (friendly) — loss.
• 3 June 2026: Poland 2-2 Nigeria (friendly) — draw.
• 25 September 2026: Poland 0-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina (Nations League) — draw.
• 28 September 2026: Sweden 3-1 Poland (Nations League) — loss.
• 2 October 2026: Poland 6-0 Romania (Nations League) — Poland's first win since the Albania play-off game.

Interia Sport, citing the run that followed the Sweden play-off defeat, described it as five matches without a victory and more than six months without a win before the Romania result. The Romania match, reported by Polsat Sport, was settled by a Robert Lewandowski hat-trick (24' penalty, 47', 86'), a Nicola Ghita own goal (49'), and goals from Piotr Zieliński (62') and Jan Bednarek (66').

Record income, modest coaching pay

The Polish Football Association (PZPN) published financial results showing 2024 was its highest-revenue year in five years: statutory-activity revenue exceeded 498 million złoty, up 26% (103 million złoty) from 395 million złoty in 2023, according to a report on xyz.pl. Net profit reached 31.8 million złoty, compared with 4.5 million złoty in 2023, and statutory-activity profit swung to 42.5 million złoty after a loss the previous year. Sponsorship and broadcasting income grew to 220 million złoty, up from 128 million złoty in 2020, while match-day revenue hit a record 66.8 million złoty. Euro 2024 participation alone brought PZPN 56.4 million złoty in revenue against 28.4 million złoty in costs.

Against that backdrop, Jan Urban's pay package drew attention mainly for how small it is by international standards, not how large. Polish outlets Sportowe Fakty and Meczyki.pl, citing unofficial figures reported by Business Insider Polska (PZPN has not disclosed an official figure), put Urban's salary at roughly 200,000 złoty a month — about 2.4 million złoty, or €550,000, a year. His predecessor, Michał Probierz, was reported to have earned around €560,000 annually, a similar level. Interia Sport noted that even the best-paid Ekstraklasa (Polish top-flight) club coach earns up to about 33,000 złoty a week, making Urban's PZPN salary large only by domestic club standards.

Meczyki.pl calculated that Urban's estimated pay is about 5.5% of Ancelotti's; Sportowe Fakty put the comparable share against Jürgen Klopp's German salary at roughly 8%. Both outlets framed Urban's Poland contract as modest next to the world's highest-paid national coaches, even as Polish-language headlines describe PZPN's spending on him as a 'fortune' relative to the federation's own, smaller historical budget.

What the missed World Cup and poor attendance cost PZPN

Failing to reach the 2026 World Cup cost PZPN a guaranteed minimum of about $10.5 million (roughly 39 million złoty) in FIFA payments — a $1.5 million preparation fee plus $9 million for group-stage participation — according to figures reported by KanalSportowy.pl. The outlet estimated total losses, including sponsor bonuses and foregone commercial revenue, could reach 80-100 million złoty, more than 11% of PZPN's annual budget.

Poor results have also hit attendance. Interia Sport reported that only 46,775 fans attended the Nations League draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina at Warsaw's National Stadium, the lowest turnout for a competitive match there since a March 2025 game against Malta drew 45,872. Interia estimated PZPN lost 2-3 million złoty from the Bosnia match alone, and could lose 6-9 million złoty across three Nations League home games. Relegation to Nations League Division C would also cut UEFA's participation payment from €1.5 million to €1.125 million, a loss of €375,000 per cycle.

Analysts point to structural turnover, not just pay

Jan Urban took over on 16 July 2025 after Michał Probierz resigned, following a dispute over Probierz's decision to strip Lewandowski of the captaincy, which had led the striker to refuse to play while Probierz remained in charge, ESPN reported. Urban became Poland's fifth head coach since 2021, the outlet said. A broader comparison published by Silesion.pl found Poland has had six coaching changes since 2016 — tying Spain and the Netherlands for the most among the European federations surveyed — against a group average of about 3.3 changes per decade, roughly half Poland's rate.

As of the 6-0 win over Romania on 2 October 2026, Jan Urban remained in charge, and PZPN had not announced any change to his contract. The result ended Poland's winless run in this Nations League campaign, though the team's failure to reach the 2026 World Cup, and the financial and attendance consequences tied to it, remained the central facts behind the scrutiny of the federation's spending.