On June 6, 2006, the world as we know it was supposed to come to an end. Not for Bohemka, though! The management called today a surprise press conference to announce that Bohemians 1905 have secured a purchase of the second league license from Xaverov, whose owner got tired of losing money year after year.<br /> Some explanation is necessary. In the Byzantine world of Czech football, it has been made possible to purchase a professional license from clubs in the first and second league willing to sell them. Although Bohemka’s management always insisted on not wanting to go this route, the temptation was obviously too large. It was not an easy task; it was revealed that Bohemka had to beat off four other clubs interested in the purchase.
The arrangement makes a lot of sense. It was feared that another year spent in the third league would mean a drop in attendance, which has been very high this year. The third league is probably the most difficult league to be promoted from - there are 18 teams there and only one gets promoted. Bohemka was all set to fight for promotion on the field the next year, however, with the demotion of the reserve team of Sparta Prague to the third league, this task would become even more difficult. Also, having a professional license means that the club can sign professional contracts with all of its players (the third league teams are not considered professional, although they pay players for their services). Consequently, the club cannot be raided by professional clubs and be paid a pittance (or, as it is called, book value) for its up and coming players. In the case of a trade between professional clubs, the amount of compensation is a subject of negotiation.
Bohemka fans have thus even more reasons to look forward to the coming season. So our congratulations go to Bohemians 1905 management team for a job well done!
