English is spoken in the corridors, but inside the dressing room, the Czech national U18 football team unites behind traditional chants and pop anthems. As the Czech Republic prepares for upcoming European qualification fixtures, head coach Tomáš Kulvajt’s squad reflects a growing demographic shift in European youth football, featuring a substantial contingent of players with dual citizenship and Czech maternal roots.
Czech Traditions Shape Bournemouth Locker Room Culture
Behind closed doors following a 3-2 victory over Slovakia at the Václav Ježek Memorial tournament in Ústí nad Labem, Bournemouth defender Jeffery Aibangbee and his teammates chanted the traditional rallying cry: “Kdo neskáče, není Čech!” (“He who doesn’t jump isn’t a Czech!”).
While players frequently converse in English in the stadium’s internal areas due to their upbringing abroad, the team culture quickly shifts to Czech once the locker room doors are shut. The roster relies heavily on players developed outside the country who possess familial ties to the Czech Republic, including Simon Neugebauer, a forward born in Aachen, Germany, who scored the opening two goals of the tournament.
Scouting Global Roots for the National Team
Over half of the starting lineup against Slovakia consisted of dual-citizenship holders, a deliberate strategy by the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FAČR) to identify and test eligible talent worldwide. Miroslav Beránek, head coach of youth national teams, noted that the technical staff actively tracks players with Czech passports across Europe, aided by digital scouting and targeted international travel.
Head coach Tomáš Kulvajt emphasized that club affiliation takes a back seat to performance and character when assembling the squad. “Jeffery Aibangbee is from Bournemouth, Bailey Pammenter from West Ham, Lukáš Forejt from Sparta Prague. I don’t make differences, I don’t distinguish them at all. The initiative to cast a wider net internationally was initially sparked by former FAČR technical director Erich Brabec, opening pathways for players who maintain eligibility until they feature in competitive fixtures at the U21 level or above.”
Adapting Styles and Next Steps in the Qualification Cycle
Integrating players from foreign academies brings distinct tactical profiles, though coaching staff note areas requiring development. Kulvajt observed that players arriving from English clubs possess certain technical shortcomings compared to domestically trained peers, requiring time to adapt to the national team’s tactical demands.
Communication requires flexibility from the coaching staff, with Kulvajt incorporating English instruction while simultaneously encouraging the dual-nationals to learn Czech so they can coordinate on the field without confusion. The current U18 gathering serves as an extended evaluation window ahead of the three-phase qualification cycle for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship. The team will return to action in November for a double-header against Poland, followed by a winter training camp ahead of the official qualifying matches beginning in March.
