British Football club Chelsea will face the New England Revolution at the end of the Premier League season at Gillette Stadium in May 2019, as a part of the Blues’ ‘Say No To Antisemitism’ campaign.
Due to the recent mass shooting in Pittsburgh, where 11 people were killed and seven more were injured. And while antisemitism continues to rise across Europe. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and New England Revolution owner Robert Kraft will each donate $1 million, in addition to all proceeds from the match, towards international programs that combat antisemitism and raise funds for projects promoting equality and tolerance.
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The fight against antisemitism has been championed by Roman Abramovich, who was granted Israeli citizenship in May after the UK delayed renewing his visa as tensions rose between the UK and Russia.
Roman Abramovich said: “I am proud of the work Chelsea does to promote equality and tackle discrimination all over the world. The Say No To Antisemitism campaign has already achieved so much in raising awareness of this important issue, but there remains a lot of work to do. I am delighted to join forces with New England Revolution and Mr Kraft in this initiative and we look forward to the match.”
Earlier this month, Kraft was honored with the World Jewish Congress’s (WJC) Teddy Kolleck Award in New York. In his remarks accepting the award, Kraft spoke about how he has been privileged to see the power of sports bring people together and break down barriers. Reflecting on the victims of the tragedy in Pittsburgh, he pledged to further his efforts to help combat antisemitism and all hate crimes.
“It’s clear we need to do more to help combat antisemitism and all hate crimes in the wake of on-going discrimination around the world, including the recent tragedy in Pittsburgh,” Kraft said. “We’re excited for the Revolution to host Chelsea in support of raising awareness of the dangerous manifestations of antisemitism. All proceeds from the match will be dedicated to initiatives to combat hate crimes.”
Chelsea launched the Say No To Antisemitism campaign in January to raise awareness of and educate the club’s players, staff, fans and the wider community about antisemitism in football. Since then, the club has worked with leading figures and authorities around the world to help spread the message that antisemitism, and indeed any form of discrimination, has no place in football or our communities.
This match will further help spread that message around the world.
