Poland will be making their 20th straight appearance in the FIVB World League this year, after first taking part in 1998 and hauling in a bronze medal in 2011 and then gold in 2012, when they swept USA in straight sets in the final.
They have competed in the Final Six tournaments of the last two editions of the World League, finishing fourth in 2015 (after losing to USA 3-0 in the bronze medal game) and fifth last year when they hosted the finals in Krakow.
Poland have played an important role in the development of the sport since their appearance at the inaugural FIVB Men’s World Championship in 1949. They won their first World Championship gold in 1974. Thirty years later they seized their second gold medal when they hosted the 2014 World Championship and beat Brazil in the final in Katowice. The Poles dominated the international scene in the mid-1970s. They have participated in the Olympic Games nine times, winning gold in Montreal in 1976. Poland ranked fifth at the Rio 2016 Games.