EURO 2021

The NEVER AGAIN Association has released a special vinyl record to commemorate Marcin Kornak, the late founder and chairman of NEVER AGAIN, one of the stalwarts of the Polish anti-racism movement. 20 March marks the fifth anniversary of his passing and 21 March is the UN International Day Against Racism. Marcin Kornak (1968-2014) launched the high-profile campaigns ‘Music Against Racism’ and ‘Let’s Kick Racism Out of Stadiums’. As the editor-in-chief of the NEVER AGAIN journal, he initiated the ground-breaking register of hate crimes in Poland known as the ‘Brown Book’. […]

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 […]

A new book on Jews, football and antisemitism in Poland has been launched at an international conference organized by the Anne Frank House at Amsterdam Arena, the stadium of Ajax Amsterdam. The book was written by Dr Maciej Kozlowski, a distinguished historian and diplomat, and published by the Warsaw-based ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association. Using the example of Cracovia, Poland’s oldest football club, it discusses the multicultural history of Polish football as well as contemporary issues of antisemitism and racism. The book is published in Polish with an English summary and is […]

The anti-racist ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association joined forces with the African organization Fatima and the Eco-Tiras NGO for joint educational events taking place on the bank of the beautiful river Dniester in Moldova, on 12 July 2013. A multi-ethnic football game against racism was organized in the stadium of Energetik in Dubossary, a town on the territory of the unrecognized Republic of Transnistria, the site of a frozen military conflict which started in the early 1990s. Players and numerous enthusiastic supporters came from various ethnic groups living on both banks of […]

Warsaw’s inhabitants stood in solidarity with their African neighbours who were targeted by racists. The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association, together with Projekt: Polska, organized a civic action to show solidarity and paint over large racist graffiti that appeared by the entrances of the African restaurant La Mama and a nearby African shop. Both sites are located in the Muranow district, known as the area of the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto during the Nazi occupation, and they are near the Polonia Warsaw football ground. The La Mama restaurant is a key meeting point […]

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 […]

In mid 2007, Poland was abuzz after receiving co-hosting rights with Ukraine for the Euro 2012 football championship. A year from the event, the country is biting its nails with key infrastructure yet to be completed. As May came to an end, a storm drew over the Polish capital, Warsaw, and it became evident that the roof at its brand new national football stadium – built ahead of the 2012 European Championship – was not entirely waterproof. Shortly beforehand, it had become known that the staircases at the stadium were […]

During the biggest open-air free music festival in Europe, Pol’and’Rock (4-6 August), also known as Polish Woodstock, the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association organized a football tournament promoting the message of ‘Let’s Kick Racism out of the Stadiums’, involving teenage players who are refugees from Ukraine. Together with the other participants, they manifested their protest against the war. On another festival day a meeting was held with the rock band Strachy na Lachy (Empty Threats) at the information stand of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association. For many years, this group has been involved […]

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association has conducted numerous actions to promote diversity and respect in cooperation with prison personnel and inmates. In the spirit of the International Day of Education in Prisons (13 October) it encourages penitentiary establishments and civic groups to join the campaign against prejudice. On 13 October 1989, the Council of Europe adopted a set of recommendations outlining the needs and responsibilities concerning the education of imprisoned persons in Europe. These recommendations stipulate that all imprisoned persons should be offered the opportunity to engage in educational activities and […]

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 […]