FC Baník Ostrava, protagonists of Czech football, to wear Macron

A historic name in Czech football is joining the great ‘Macron family’. Starting next season, the Macron Hero will appear on the shirts of FC Baník Ostrava, the team that plays in the Chance Liga, the premier football division in the Czech Republic. The club represents Ostrava, a city in the Silesian region and the country’s third largest after Prague and Brno. FC Baník Ostrava will be the second top-tier Czech club to wear Macron teamwear, after Viktoria Plzen.

Baník Ostrava was founded on 8 September 1922 by a group of young football enthusiasts who came together in a city restaurant. The names and signatures of these founder members are still preserved today. The club’s first national and international successes came in the 1970s. The Baník Ostrava trophy cabinet contains 3 Czechoslovakian Championships, 1 Czech Championship, 3 Czechoslovakian Cups, 1 Czech Republic Cup, 1 Mitropa Cup and 1 Mitropa Super Cup (a competition only held once, in 1989, when the Czech team beat Pisa). The club has also been a frequent and successful participant in European competitions: the European Cup and later the Champions League, the Cup Winners’ Cup (reaching the semi-finals), the UEFA Cup and the Europa League. The excellent fourth place achieved in the last championship gives Baník Ostrava an automatic right to enter the preliminary rounds of the UEFA Conference League next season.

Many well-known players have worn the shirts of the Czech club. The most famous is certainly Milan Baroš, the forward that many consider among the best in the history of Czech football. Baroš made his name playing for Baník Ostrava before joining Liverpool in 2001 and helping them win a Champions League title. Between 2013 and 2020, Baroš again played for Baník Ostrava on three separate occasions. Another famous player, better known to Italian football fans, is Marek Jankulovski, who honed his skills at Baník Ostrava, initially in the youth side and then in the first team, before moving to Italy and playing in Serie A for Naples, Udinese and Milan.

“We are extremely excited to set off on a new journey with one of the most important clubs in the history of Czech football,” stated Gianluca Pavanello, CEO of Macron. “Baník Ostrava has an amazing history and we look forward to writing exciting new chapters with them in future. We are happy to offer Baník Ostrava the very best in technical teamwear. We shall be working together enthusiastically to develop exclusive match kits and a new line of teamwear capable of conveying the club’s symbols, history and identity and making the players on the pitch and the supporters on the terraces proud.”

“The association with the established sports brand Macron is proof of our commitment to continuous improvement and opens up new opportunities and solutions for us in both the sports equipment and merchandising fields. We are looking forward to this new partnership and we believe in a mutually successful future. Italian design and fashion have a great reputation in the world and we are pleased that Baník is now one of its representatives", stated Michal Bělák, CEO of FC Baník Ostrava.