11.06.2013

‘Friends for football Day’ celebrates diversity in Poland and Ukraine

More than 300 football matches and community events took place last Saturday (8th June), across Poland and Ukraine to help celebrate the power of football to promote social inclusion and unite communities.

Organised by the anti-racism association, Never Again and the Football is Beautiful Foundation, the ‘Friends of Football Day’ aimed to mark the one year anniversary of the first match of Euro 2012 which took place last year in Poland and Ukraine .

As part of the celebratory activities, a footballing and social event, co-organized by Never Again, FARE and the African community took place in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Also, teams representing a number of Warsaw's cultural institutions brought together by Never Again and Project Integration, participated in a high-profile event at the Polonia Warsaw stadium, under the slogan 'Let's Kick Racism out of the Stadiums'.

The teams which included, the Museum of Sports and Tourism, the Warsaw Uprising Museum as well as a visiting team representing cultural institutions from Moldova, and the Polonia Wilno (Polonija Vilnius) team, representing the Polish minority in Lithuania, played in the day-long tournament which coincided with other initiatives such as an anti-racist exhibition, a family festival and dance classes.

The series of activities had the support of a number of top footballers, including the Borussia Dortmund and Poland striker, Robert Lewandowski.

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