For the 25th time, the IPA Poznań Region of the International Police Association – Polish Section, hosted the International Football Tournament from August 24th to 27th, 2023. The idea of the organizers 25 years ago was to consolidate all uniformed services through friendly sports competition. And it succeeded, as sports friendships have lasted for a quarter of a century.
In this anniversary edition of the tournament, 20 teams from uniformed services participated, including the Police, Polish Army, Municipal Guard, State Fire Service, Military Counterintelligence Service, and the National Fiscal Administration. The perfectly prepared POSIR stadium in Poznań’s Golęcin district served as the venue for the matches. This year, we also hosted teams from IPA Debreczyn from Hungary and the IPA Moldova team.
Adding prestige and significance to this event was the Honorary Patronage of:
– The Regional Police Commander in Poznań, nadinsp. Piotr Mąka
– Marshal of the Wielkopolska Voivodeship, Marek Woźniak
– The Starosta of Poznań, Jan Grabkowski
– The President of Poznań, Jacek Jaśkowiak
– The President of the Polish Section of IPA, Piotr Wójcik
On Friday morning, the ceremonial and jubilee Tournament opening took place. It was conducted by the Chairman of the IPA Poznań Region, Witold Drzażdżyński, in the presence of invited guests. Also in attendance was a representative from the Wielkopolska Police, Deputy Police Commander in Poznań, insp. Mariusz Wiśniewski.
The group stage matches began, which identified the 12 teams advancing to the Saturday football matches. Already on that day, participants highlighted the high level of teams participating in the tournament, and the players left a lot of effort on the field. Right after the matches, the Chairman of the IPA Poznań Region, together with representatives of the Polish Section of IPA and members of the organizing committee, awarded trophies to the teams from 13th to 20th place.
Saturday brought further group stage matches for places 5-12. The teams competing for the top 4 spots in the Tournament were:
– IPA Poznań
– 2nd Tactical Air Wing
– 31st Tactical Air Base
– National Fiscal Administration team
In the match for the 3rd place, the team of the 31st Tactical Air Base proved to be better, thus the 4th place was taken by the IPA Poznań team – the hosts of the Tournament.
The final was an intense battle between the 2nd Tactical Air Wing team from Poznań and the National Fiscal Administration team. The match ended with a score of 3 to 2 in favor of the 2nd Tactical Air Wing team from Poznań!!! Congratulations to the winners and all the teams taking part in the competition!!!
After the matches concluded, there was a presentation of trophies and medals, as well as small commemorative gifts for the top four teams. Of course, awards for individual achievements were also presented, including Best Scorer and Goalkeeper of the Tournament, and the Fair Play Team. The Fair Play Tournament trophy went to the NSZZP@IPA Piła players!
The title of the Best Scorer of the Tournament, along with a tangible prize, was won by the representative of the 2nd Tactical Air Wing – Jakub Nowak.
The title of the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament and a tangible prize were awarded to the representative of the National Fiscal Administration, Adam Ciulkin.
Each team received a commemorative trophy.
Final Tournament standings:
1st place – 2nd Tactical Air Wing
2nd place – National Fiscal Administration
3rd place – 31st Tactical Air Base
4th place – IPA Poznań
5th place – Orły Jarocin
6th place – IPA Gniezno
7th place – Military Counterintelligence Service
8th place – KP Poznań Nowe Miasto
9th place – Convoy Department of the Regional Police Headquarters in Poznań
10th place – NSZZP@IPA Piła
11th place – OPP Poznań
12th place – IPA Debreczyn
13th place – KPP Kępno
14th place – State Fire Service Wolsztyn
15th place – IPA Moldova
16th place – KP Poznań Północ
17th place – Criminal Department of the Poznań City Police Headquarters
18th place – NSZZFSG Poznań Ławica
19th place – Municipal Guard Poznań
20th place – Poznań City Police Headquarters
Once again, congratulations to all participants of the sports competition, and see you next year at the XXVI Tournament.
