Chelsea football club and the New England Revolution have announced an exhibition match that will be played in the spring of 2019 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The purpose of the friendly, which has been branded the “Game for Change,” is to help combat antisemitism.
“I am proud of the work Chelsea does to promote equality and tackle discrimination all over the world,” said Chelsea owner and Jewish Russian business man Roman Abramovich in a club official statement.
“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 [owner] Mr. [Robert] Kraft in this initiative and we look forward to the match.”
Kraft, who comes from an observant Orthodox Jewish family, told the World Jewish Congress earlier this month that he was in talks with Abramovich about the game, which would see both men donate $1 million (£778,565) to the fight against antisemitism. All proceeds from tickets sold to this game will go towards that cause.
Abramovich, who saw his United Kingdom working visa denied this year, cannot legally enter the country where CFC is located to do any work and thus rumors of his desire to sell Chelsea persist. 2018 also Abramovich become an Israeli citizen, under the nation’s Law of Return applying to all Jews that live abroad.
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