Chelsea return to Auschwitz in campaign against anti-Semitism

For the second year in a row, representatives of the London club will join the ‘March of the Living’ in a walk from Auschwitz to the nearby camp of Birkenau in Poland on May 2.

They will also be joined by a delegation from the New England Revolution.

Chelsea will play the Major League Soccer team at the Gillette Stadium in Foxboro on May 15, in a friendly match designed to raise funds for charities involved in both Holocaust education and efforts to combat anti-Semitism.

Former Chelsea manager Avram Grant, club director Eugene Tenenbaum, chief executive Guy Laurence and club ambassador Steve Redgrave, the multiple Olympic rowing gold medallist, will be among those taking part.

“Chelsea is honoured to participate in the March of the Living for the second year in a row,” said Tenenbaum.

“We started this initiative to raise awareness of and tackle anti-Semitism in all its forms more than a year ago and sharing this experience of paying our respects to the millions of Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust with members of the New England Revolution goes a long way in spreading the message of unity and tolerance.”

Although Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is Jewish that has not stopped some Blues’ fans engaging in anti-Semitic chants, particularly in reference to capital rivals Tottenham Hotspur — a club that has traditionally attracted support from London’s Jewish community.

Some 10,000 people are expected to take part in the March of the Living from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex built during the Second World War.

Chelsea and New England will donate $1 million each in support of the World Jewish Congress, the Tree of Life synagogue, the Anti-Defamation League and the Holocaust Educational Trust from runds raised by their match in Massachusetts.