The University of Gdańsk's futsal team finished eleventh at the European Academic Championships in Split. The coveted top eight of the tournament was within reach - only in the group stage's final minutes did the Gdańsk team lose hope of reaching the quarter-finals.

Before starting the championships in Croatia, the team from Tri-City had set themselves the goal of finishing in the top eight of the pack, and they almost kept their word. The group phase started with a 3:2 victory over the Technical University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands.

In the second match, the Gdańsk's team learned about the strength of the International Caucasus University team from Tbilisi, considered the tournament's favourite. The Georgians were in the lead twice, but in dramatic circumstances, thanks to Karol Majchrzak's second goal of the match, they had to settle for a 3:3 draw. In the third group match, Gdańsk was losing after less than a minute against the Johann Gutenberg University of Mainz. Still, then the Poles ruled the court, eventually winning 6:2. They also maintained their effectiveness in the match against the University of Zagreb. The Gdańsk players led until the break at 3:0, in the second half at 4:2, but unfortunately, they let themselves be hammered by more goals and lost the points (4:5).

'We warned each other, knowing that we were in for a tough second half because already in the first half, Zagreb had their situations and created more. We were convinced that they would push on. We lacked some strength to distance them from their own goal. There is certainly a big disappointment because the top eight missed us by one goal. A draw of 3:3 or more would have given us a promotion,' explains AZS UG coach Wojciech Pawicki.

In the match for promotion to the zone of places 9-12, the Tri-City futsal players had no mercy for their rivals from the Swiss Federal Institute of Sport in Magglingen. After 20 minutes, the AZS UG players built up a considerable lead (5:0). They continued to control the course of events on the court after the change of sides (7:1). In the next match, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim became an insurmountable obstacle. The players from Scandinavia led from the 16th minute after a goal by Magnus Brautehaug. After the break, the Norwegians increased their lead to 2:0. Gdańsk managed to respond with a goal by Zbigniew Barańczyk, but the following goals were scored by their rivals (1:4). In the match for 11th place, AZS UG again clashed with the University of Mainz. And just like in the group phase, the team from the Tri-City did not succumb to the German university. The Gdańsk team confidently won 6:2 after two goals by Dawid Lewczuk and Michal Sadowski, as well as hits by Wojciech Węgrzyn and Jakub Domżalski.

'The matches against universities from Zagreb and Tbilisi provided the boys with a million new experiences. They hadn't yet experienced futsal like this in the First League or academic competition. It was pure pleasure. We regret not advancing to the quarter-finals because we would have had three more matches at this level. We ended up against weaker teams, so the motivation was no longer the same,' Wojciech Pawicki admits.

The team of the University of Physical Education from Ivano-Frankivsk won the men's EAC futsal tournament in Split. The King Juan Carlos University of Madrid won in the women's event.

The starts of Poland's representatives at the European Academic Championships are supported by AZS's strategic sponsor, the PZU company, and the Ministry of Sport and Tourism.