Avram Grant accepts Polish passport
The former Chelsea boss from Israel accepted his Polish passport after years of exploring his heritage in the country
Football manager Avram Grant accepted his Polish passport this week, following years of researching his family’s heritage in the country.
The coach completed his first official travel document as a Polish citizen at the consular section of the Polish Embassy in London at a private ceremony on Monday.
Grant said: “Feeling Polish comes natural to me. My father Meir was a Polish citizen. He was born in Mlawa, near Warsaw, like my grandfather Avraham, great-grandfather Herschel, and the generations before them.”
His family escaped Poland at the start of World War Two to Russia, but they were deported to the far eastern province of Siberia. His father lost both his parents and five siblings whilst there.
Since first visiting Poland in 1988, he said: “I am in Poland at least four to five times a year”, adding that he had “made the journey more than a 100 times.”
“The consuls asked me which passport I should use when travelling to Poland the next time. The Polish one, of course!”, he said.
The Israeli former-Chelsea manager, who now serves as the head coach of the national team of Ghana, asked for the procedure to be completed in time for the Euro 2016 tournament.
He said: “I hope Poland will do very well in the tournament. I do not have a scarf yet, but I will definitely support Poland”
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