From November 7 to 11, Sosnowiec will host the world championship of yorkyball, that is to say football 2 against 2. The Poles are the pioneers, and in November they will defend the title of vice-world champions.
Yorkyball, as it is the official name of the sport, is a specific variety of football, associated with the rules of squash. Four players (two per team) play in a 5 by 10 by 3 meter cage. The team consists of an attacker and a defender. The games take place in partially or fully glazed rooms. The goals are square meter by meter and the ball must never be touched by hand. Compared to traditional football, the ball is smaller, similar to an indoor ball. The game is played in three won sets, each ending after the seventh goal has been scored.
This sport comes from France, it was invented by Frenchman Gilles Paniez, the first match was played in 1987 in his garage. In Poland, Jakiball appeared in December 2009 in Sosnowiec. The first pitches were built on the initiative of Adrian Siejak and his father Arkadiusz, who lived in France for many years, where they had their first contact with 2 on 2 football. And already in 2013, the World Cup was held for the first time in Poland, in Krakow. The Yorkyball Sosnowiec club then became club world champions and the Polish national team became vice-world champions. Now, after 10 years, the World Cup returns to our country.
Hala Zagórze in Sosnowiec will host the tournament. The competition will last five days, and in addition to the men’s national championship, there will also be a women’s championship and a club world championship. Eight countries will participate in the premiere: Poland, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Canada, Japan and Israel. France is the defending champion.
