Shock after sovereign progress. The club’s participation in the first hockey league is uncertain

According to hokej.cz, manager Jakub Šigut first stated that the club would not comment on the situation yet, later the management of HC Aptec Orli assured supporters and partners on their website that negotiations on mutual support with the city of Znojmo and representatives of the South Moravian Region are still ongoing: “Further meetings are scheduled for the end of this week. On Friday, club president Pavel Ohera will meet with the governor of the South Moravian Region, Jan Grolich. On the long weekend, he has a meeting with the mayor of the city of Znojmo, Ivana Solara.

Uncertain times for Znojmo, which has experienced participation in the Extraliga or the Austrian EBEL, come after information appeared about a reduction in the subsidy from the city. It was five million crowns on the A-team last season, which was still in the second division. However, according to hokej.cz, the management of the town hall should reduce the support for next year by one million, even though the club is expecting a more financially demanding higher competition.

“I received an SMS from the owner of the club, Mr. Ohera, that unfortunately, due to insufficient help from the city, the first league cannot be played in Znojmo,” an unnamed member of the Znojmo team told hokej.cz.

“Probably (the owner) just doesn’t want to give it his all anymore, he already puts a lot of his money into hockey like this and solves the problem with the city every year. So when he learned that they wouldn’t help him even after advancing to the Chance League, he decided that the club would end its activities,” he added.

The players believe that the situation can still be saved, but they do not understand the progress of the city. “No other sport in Znojmo is as close to the ankles as hockey in terms of attendance and popularity,” hockey cz quotes other words from the cabin.