EURO 2021

With a week to go until the start of Euro 2012, the FARE network programme for Poland and Ukraine is making final preparations ahead of a launch in Warsaw next Friday (8 June). With concerns over potential racism and far-right activity high on the public agenda, the FARE programme includes an unprecedented level of monitoring at matches and a high profile campaign that comes to a focus at the semi- finals of the tournament. FARE has been working with UEFA on a ‘Respect Diversity- Football Unites’ programme that will include […]

Poland coach Franciszek Smuda produced no surprises when he named his 23-man squad for Euro 2012 on Sunday. It was largely expected that Smuda would drop midfielder Tomasz Jodlowiec and striker Michal Kucharczyk, who had fared poorly in a friendly win against Latvia, as well as defender Kamil Glik from his provisional group of 26. “I would like to thank them because they gave it their best, they worked at full capacity and I hope they stay in contention for squads in the future,” Smuda told a news conference. On […]

Numerous sites in Poland and Ukraine begin to display the symbol of Inclusive Zones contributing to a friendly multi-cultural atmosphere at EURO 2012. Schools, NGOs, local authorities, cultural institutions, community centres, sports clubs as well as businesses, shops and pubs have all been invited to join the initiative. The Inclusive Zones initiative is a part of the multi-faceted ‘RESPECT Diversity – Football Unites’ project in frames of the official UEFA EURO 2012 Social Responsibility programme. The project is delivered on behalf of the FARE network by by its long-established regional […]

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association co-organized the high-profile ‘Poland for All’ event together with the Polish Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Sports and Tourism, the City of Warsaw and the Polish Association of Former Players. It took place at the Warsaw Agrykola stadium on 14 October. The event formed a part of the Football Against Racism in Europe Action Weeks. One of the event’s attractions was a match involving players of Warsaw’s multicultural Ethnoleague and Polish football stars, including legends such as the former internationals Dariusz Dziekanowski, Radoslaw Majdan and Roman […]

Members of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association held meetings with authorities and civil society leaders in several cities across the Russian Federation between 26-30 September 2011. They discussed future cooperation and exchange of experiences in the struggle against racism and xenophobia in the lead up to the 2018 World Cup to be held in Russia. Among others, they visited Kazan – the home of FC Rubin and a 2018 World Cup host city – where they were received by the leaders of the Parliamentary Civic Chamber of the Republic of Tatarstan […]

Carl Ablett says Leeds Rhinos have learnt the lessons of 2010’s Challenge Cup final defeat to Warrington, and believes they stand a great chance of upsetting Wigan next Saturday.

Ablett has promised that the Rhinos, who are 3/1 with bookmaker to lift th…

On 18 August 2011, at the invitation of the Polish Parliament’s National and Ethnic Minorities Committee, the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association presented its activities against racism and xenophobia in football stadiums in the lead up to EURO 2012. – ‘Polish football is often quite multi-cultural, which is emblematic of broader demographic changes across Europe, but the situation in many stadiums still gives reasons for concern’ – said Dr Rafal Pankowski, the coordinator of the East Europe Monitoring Centre set up by ‘NEVER AGAIN’ in cooperation with the FARE Network and UEFA. […]

A new report from a Warsaw based anti-racism group documents the number of racist and discriminatory incidents in the host countries for the 2012 European Championships. The report called ‘Hateful’ has been produced by the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association in cooperation with Football Against Prejudices (Ukraine), as part of the FARE network Eastern European Monitoring Centre. It covers an 18 month period from September 2009 to March 2011, detailing 195 individual incidents involving football in Poland and Ukraine. The authors describe the numbers of incidents reported as ‘giving cause for concern’ […]

How to fight racism in sport? A practical guide for football clubs published in Poland News from the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association 26.02.2010 The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association has released a toolkit entitled How to fight racism? It contains practical guidelines and advice concerning the elimination of racist and xenophobic behaviour from stadiums and pitches. The toolkit is tailor-made for Polish football clubs. The manual has been prepared with the support of UEFA and the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network. The Council of Europe, the Polish Football Association and the […]

The anti-racist East Europe Monitoring Centre starts its operation in Warsaw this month. The newly launched centre is going to monitor, research and document cases of racism and xenophobia across the region, with a special emphasis on Poland and Ukraine. ‘The growing social significance of football in Poland and Ukraine before 2012 provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the pressing issues of xenophobia and racism in Eastern Europe’ – said sociologist Dr Rafal Pankowski, the Monitoring Centre coordinator. ‘Our starting point is racism in football, but we see it in […]