Arrange a match in the Internet, then play it in reality – this is the idea of Playarena, the biggest Polish minifootball league. Few weeks ago the number of players in all Playarena’s leagues reached 200 000.
The idea was simple: a web page, where you can arrange football matches with other players from your city. Noone could expect, how successful it will get: after seven years, there are 200 000 players involved in competition.
How is it organized? There are dozens of local leagues, located in every major city in Poland. During the 11-month long season, teams compete for the city championship and qualification to Nike Playarena Polish Championship. In July, the best teams from all over Poland participate in four preliminary tournaments, then the best of the best (16 teams) fight for the title of champion in the final tournament in Warsaw, capital city of Poland. In 2014, it was SAN Flying Dragons Łódź who claimed the title.
Nike Playarena Polish Championship is also very important in the context of Polish National Minifootball Team. Klaudiusz Hirsch – Polish team’s coach – watches all tournaments very closely and the choice of his team is based on players’ performance in NPP Championship.
“Our aim is 300 000 players involved in our project”– says Wojciech Dudek, one of the founders of Playarena.
Looking at the rapid pace of Playarena’s progress – it seems like Dudek and his crew will have to look for another aim soon.