EURO 2021

After a stuttering start, Poland has, unlike Ukraine, finally gained the confidence of UEFA, the governing body of European football, which recently confirmed that four Polish cities will host matches during the Euro 2012 football championships. Following early delays, Poland is likely to have acceptable stadiums in six cities, and the airport and hotel infrastructure looks to be in good shape as well. The problem, as ever in Poland, is with building a modern system of highways and expressways that would allow fans to move easily from venue to venue. […]

The stakes and expectations are higher for Poland as co-host of Euro 2012. For the Polish team, this will be their second European Championship campaign after a poor outing at the 2008 tournament. They finished last in the Group in their debut tournament. Our reporter, who was in Poland recently, looks at Poland’s chances for Euro 2012. That’s the question on the minds of millions of Polish fans who are hoping to cheer their team on at this year’s European Championships. Defender Jakub Wawrzyniak admits that his team are not […]

After a break in live-audience football games caused by the epidemic, racist slogans and banners have returned to stadiums. The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association noted a surge in activity of those who use football to manifest their endorsement of Janusz Walus, a Polish-born far-right activist serving a life sentence for a racist murder in the Republic of South Africa. During a top flight match between teams Lechia Gdansk and Legia Warszawa (15 July), hooligans from Gdansk again displayed a banner with Walus’s name and picture and the slogan ‘Nothing will break […]

The National Boxing Gala, announced as the biggest boxing event in Polish history, is to take place at Warsaw’s National Stadium on May 25th. Minister Anna Maria Anders – daughter of the legendary World War II general – who is now the Prime Minister’s plenipotentiary for international dialogue has extended her patronage over the event. Curiously, the gala features Artur Binkowski, a Polish-Canadian neo-Nazi. The bouts are to be accompanied by music performances by pop stars including the famous Polish rapper Liroy who is also a Member of Parliament. The […]

Co-founder of the anti-fascist ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association Rafal Pankowski was awarded the prestigious annual Human Rights Distinction by Poland’s Ombudsman Dr Adam Bodnar in a ceremony held in Warsaw’s Old Town on 25 September. The celebratory speech was delivered by Marian Turski, a Lodz Ghetto and Auschwitz survivor who is Chairman of the Council for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews and Deputy Chairman of the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute as well as a member of the International Auschwitz Council. – ‘I am honoured and grateful […]

вик услугиSource: UEFA Euro 2020 via Facebook Last summer, Portugal shocked the world in the European Championship final as Eder, a relatively unknown quantity on the international stage, scored an injury-time winner to shock host nation France. If truth be told, it wasn’t a memorable tournament – it certainly wasn’t as exciting or entertaining as Euro 2012, held across both Ukraine and Poland. Spain were the dominant force in international football back then, having won both Euro 2008 and a first World Cup crown in 2010. Therefore, it wasn’t exactly […]

Members of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association have actively promoted the ‎message of respect for diversity through a series of international meetings in the run-up to this year’s International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism. On 26-30 October, Anna Tatar repeatedly presented the current activities of ‘NEVER AGAIN’ in the field of hate crime monitoring at the ‘United for Equality’ forum held in Paris. The meeting was convened by Les Maisons des Potes with the participation of anti-racism NGOs from 16 European countries and it featured presentations by several candidates for the […]

Republic of Ireland v Bosnia – Monday 16th November Bosnia rescued a draw with a late equaliser on Friday night after Edin Dzeko cancelled out Robbie Brady’s 82 minute opener in thick fog. Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill suggested that they are not going to play for an edgy 0-0 to capitalise on the away goal. He said: “We have to try and win the game. If we set out with any other sort of mindset, we could be in trouble. The ultimate goal does not change and is […]

Scotland v Poland – 8 October This is a crunch match for Scotland in a group where qualification seemed a distinct possibility for so long only for an unexpected defeat away to Georgia swept the rug from under their feet. However if Scotland can defeat Poland at Hampden and Republic of Ireland fail to beat Germany in Dublin, then there is a very real chance that the Scots would sneak into the third qualifying place in the last round of games thanks to what would be their superior head to […]

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association brought together creme de la creme of Polish sports journalists as well as Members of Parliament, former sports champions and representatives of key institutions to participate in an awards ceremony and an informed discussion on sports and discrimination on the eve of the UN Anti-Racism Day. The ‘Stop racism in sports’ competition for professional print, radio and television journalists covering issues of racism and discrimination was held under the auspices of Elzbieta Radziszewska MP, Deputy Speaker of the Polish Parliament (Sejm) and former Minister of Equality. […]