photo: Georgi Bidenko, PrahaIN.cz/Stadion Juliska, illustration photo
FK Dukla Praha is a football club with a great tradition. However, don’t look for high visits here. Celek is currently playing in the second league and is looking to return to the elite, but even here Dukla was among the worst in average attendance statistics.
Many people probably won’t even come to the expected and important match in the round of 16 of the MOL Cup, to which Dukla advanced over the heavily favored Slovácko, incidentally the winner of the year before last.
The round of 16 against the second division Vyškov may seem like an attractive duel, it is a promotion between the eight best teams of the domestic cup and the Moravians are in the second highest competition on the first spot, Dukla on the second.
The problem is elsewhere. We’re talking about kick-off time.
The match will take place at Juliska on Wednesday the first of November from 1:30 p.m. This is a very non-standard time, which probably discourages many people interested in a duel due to work obligations.
“Kick-off is on Wednesday 1.11. at 1:30 p.m., which means you take the day off to come support us. Now seriously – the date is unfortunate, but we will still be very happy if we have as many of you as possible at Juliska on Wednesday!” writes Dukla in the description of the event on Facebook, adding that children under fifteen have free entry. For adults, the price will be 180 in online pre-sale, 200 on site.
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Lighting for 120 thousand per match
We investigated the reasons for the non-standard date for the domestic cup at the club. It’s about finances. It is related to the lighting for the match, which is very expensive for the club, which is why the round of 16 of the MOL Cup will take place at such an early time.
“There is always another option, but the FACR set the official date for the MOL Cup round of 16 match on Wednesday, November 1 at 1:30 p.m. As is well known, football in this country is severely underinvested. The Football Association of the Czech Republic is apparently aware of this, which is why there is no obligation for second-league stadiums with their second-league budgets, especially as a result of negligible income from marketing and television rights, to light the matches of these teams, nor to heat the playing surfaces. If somewhere in the second league there is light on matches, these costs are probably covered by the city, which is not the case in Dukla,” answered Dukla’s press spokesman Martin Bartošek when asked if there was another option with the kick-off time.
According to him, the costs of one match with artificial lighting are enormous, specifically they will rise by around 120 thousand crowns. For this, it is said that it is necessary to count on the line over the budget for the organizing service, ambulance, cashier, firemen and other people without whom football cannot do.
However, the problem lies elsewhere, namely the stadium rental itself, which causes costs to rise every time. The legendary Juliska is the property of the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic.
Lighting on Juliska. Source: PrahaIN.cz
And although the main reason why Dukla will play on a weekday at such an unattractive time is finances, Bartošek says for the club that the Prague second division team is in good financial condition.
“Dukla Praha has, as every year, a balanced budget and since March 2016, when the liquidation of the debt of one hundred million due to the previous owners ended, no overdue obligations. Player salaries have been running like Swiss watches for years. It can be said in all modesty that Dukla’s payment ethics are exemplary,” says Bartošek for Dukla.
For the Round of 16 with Vyškov, Prague is trying to get fans to the stadium by a different route. Since the date was decided, they have been negotiating with representatives of schools near Juliska and others in Prague 6, as well as the mayor’s office. They want to invite young students to the match.
“We also want to give them the opportunity to look inside our stadium as part of the pre-match tour. We try to combine the pleasant with the useful, where the children learn something about our legendary club, and not only from a football point of view, and at the same time enjoy a football match. Admission is free for all pupils, students and their companions, primarily teachers. The pre-match tour of the legendary Juliska is combined with a knowledge quiz for prizes. In addition to the above, a Playstation zone will be prepared for the match, which will be open during the entire match, and a tournament in the game FIFA 23. We therefore believe that our offer will be attractive for students and their teachers, and together with our fans, they will arrive in large numbers,” says Martin Bartošek .
In conclusion, the club says that it regrets that it could not offer the fans a more suitable date for the match. However, the sporting ambition is to advance to the next round, where the return to the stadium should be at a more acceptable date.
2023-10-31 21:16:04
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