Boniek takes PZPN helm

Zbigniew Boniek has been elected as the new president of the Polish Football Federation (PZPN).

The 56-year-old succeeds Grzegorz Lato, who stepped down after guiding the association through a resoundingly successful UEFA EURO 2012, which Poland co-hosted with Ukraine this summer.

Boniek enjoyed a distinguished playing career. The Bydgoszcz-born forward scored 24 goals in 80 appearances for Poland, helping his country to third place at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

He played for Zawisza Bydgoszcz and RTS Widzew Łódź in his homeland before moving to Italy, where he enjoyed domestic and international success with Juventus, lifting the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 1984 and the European Champion Clubs' Cup the following year.

After finishing his career with AS Roma, he coached in Italy and also took the reins of the Polish national team for a short time in 2002. He has previously served as vice-president of the PZPN. "I want to be a president for all Poles involved in football, and to unite them," said Boniek. "Generally, EURO 2012 gave us a lot, and we should build on this. We can do a lot of things for our football."

The new PZPN president also said that the organisation of children's football in Poland was among his priorities.