Chelsea Football Club ‘honoured to participate’ in March of the Living
Premier League champions will send a delegation - including former manager Avram Grant and Olympic legend Sir Steve Redgrave - to Poland next week.
Chelsea Football Club has said it is “honoured” to take part in next week’s March of the Living.
The Premier League Champions will send a delegation to Poland for the annual commemoration that takes place on the eve of Israel’s Holocaust Memorial Day.
The contingent will include club directors Bruce Buck and Eugene Tenenbaum, Olympic legend and Chelsea supporter Sir Steve Redgrave, ex-manager Avram Grant, U18 manager Jody Morris, and academy players.
Grant, who’s father was a Holocaust Survivor and who recently gained Polish citizenship, said: “Being the child of a Holocaust survivor and having relatives who died in Auschwitz, it is very special for me to join this March.
“Auschwitz stands for indescribable sadness and evil, but my father taught me to always remain hopeful. Despite all his struggles, he was the most optimistic man in the world and believed that always, in every situation, there is hope.
“I am very humbled to comeback here today with my former team Chelsea, to honour the lives lost and unite together for a brighter future.”
The march follows a route from Auschwitz I to Birkenau, approximately 1.5 miles apart, and the Chelsea delegation will be marching alongside around 10,000 others from across the world, including just under 300 from the U.K.
Club chairman Bruce Buck added: “We are honoured to participate in this year’s March of the Living and pay our respects to the millions of Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust. Anti-Semitism has been on the rise around the world for some time now and it is in this context, and with the full support of the club’s owner Roman Abramovich, we recently launched an initiative to raise awareness of and tackle anti-Semitism in all its forms.”
Listen to the Jewish Views Podcast:
Redgrave, who will participate in an ambassadorial role, added: “Sports can play an important role in bringing people together and Chelsea’s efforts to tackle antisemitism is a good example of how clubs can contribute in promoting unity and tolerance. I am honoured to participate in this year’s March of the Living to stand up to antisemitism and honour the millions of lives lost during the Holocaust.”
Scott Saunders, March of the Living UK Founder said: Avram Grant has long been a friend of MOTL and indeed was a tremendous help to the UK when we first started. The fact that there is a group from Chelsea FC, especially following on from the work they have done in fighting anti-Semitism can only be another positive step to the ongoing work taking place across the country to combat all forms of hatred and anti-semitism.”
This comes after the club launched a landmark ‘Say No To Antisemitism’ initiative, which was personally supported by the billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.
The campaign commits to tackle anti-Semitism at the club, with the owner writing in a match-day brochure to fans: “The Holocaust was a crime without parallel in history. We must never forget such atrocities and must do our utmost to prevent themfrom ever happening again. We can all do something to challenge discrimination at our club as well as within the world around us.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
