When Bohemians 1905 went bankrupt in 2005, few Prague residents could have imagined the club would not only survive but invite thousands of fans onto the pitch itself. Yet that is exactly what the historic Czech football club is doing: recruiting supporters to form a C team entering the ninth tier of Czech football next season—a community-driven project that turns gratitude into action.
For Bohemians, now also known as Bohemka, this decision carries deep meaning. The club nearly disappeared two decades ago, buried under financial ruin. What brought it back from the brink was not wealthy investors or corporate rescue, but the fundraising efforts and unwavering loyalty of their own supporters. Since 2013, Bohemians have maintained an unbroken presence in the Czech top flight, a remarkable turnaround built entirely on fan power. Now, with this C team initiative, the club is returning that gift. "Thanks to the fans, Bohemka continues to play football. Now it's time for Bohemka to enable the same for its fans," the club said in a statement.
The recruitment process is appealingly straightforward: fans interested in pulling on the kangaroo emblem—Bohemians' distinctive logo dating back to a 1927 Australian tour, when supporters brought home two of the animals as gifts—can simply express their interest by email. The ninth tier entry point means players of all levels can participate; the club has been explicit that winning promotion is not the priority. "The goal of this unique project won't be to advance as high as possible, but to offer Bohemians fans the joy of football and the pride of wearing the kangaroo on their chest," the club stated.
This is more than sentiment. Football at grassroots level across Europe has struggled for years—participation down, costs rising, community spaces shrinking. Bohemians' initiative addresses this directly by creating infrastructure where fans can play competitively while staying rooted in their club's identity. The ninth tier provides a formal pathway, official status within the Czech league system, and the prestige of representing a professional club with genuine history. For supporters, many of whom have never played at organized level, the chance to wear their team's colours is life-changing.
Bohemians' honorary president is former Czechoslovakia midfielder Antonín Panenka, a name that carries weight in European football history. Under his stewardship and the club's leadership, the C team reflects a broader philosophy of inclusion and community ownership—one that extends beyond the pitch. The club is simultaneously crowdfunding a complete reconstruction of their Dolicek stadium, estimated at 350 million Czech Koruna (approximately £12.4 million), a project that will reshape the club's physical home for generations to come.
While the C team will play in the ninth tier and thus cannot face Bohemians' first team in formal competition—only clubs in the top four Czech divisions qualify for the Czech Cup—the symbolic value is immense. This is a club saying to its supporters: you saved us once; now we want to celebrate that together. In an era when many football institutions seem disconnected from their communities, Bohemians is moving in the opposite direction, blurring the line between fan and player, between watching and doing. For Prague's football community, that shift feels genuinely historic.