Vincent Kompany honored by Markus Söder for anti-racism stance

Vincent Kompany, the manager of FC Bayern München, has been honored with the Personal Prize of the Bavarian Prime Minister at the 2026 Bavarian Sport Prize gala in Munich. The award, presented by Minister President Markus Söder, recognizes Kompany not only for his professional success in football but specifically for his outspoken stance against racism and social exclusion.

The recognition stems from a widely publicized twelve-minute speech Kompany delivered during a press conference in February. In that address, he advocated for human dignity and criticized the tendency to downplay racist incidents in sports. His comments were prompted by racial abuse directed at Real Madrid player Vinícius Junior during a Champions League match, as well as previous remarks by José Mourinho that some perceived as minimizing the severity of such incidents.