LFA will help Czech teams in the preliminary rounds and offer videos from F:NL
LFA will help Czech teams in the preliminary rounds and offer videos from F:NL
During the 2023/24 season, the League Football Association, which operates both the FORTUNA:LIGA and the FORTUNA:NARODNI LIGA, will make several important decisions. It will have to select a new broadcaster in the media rights tender, a general partner will be chosen and the future of F:L and F:NL format will also be decided.
"We have a number of important negotiations and decisions to make in the coming months. In particular, the tender for broadcasting rights is a closely watched topic. The LFA has been working together with the clubs on every topic for a long time, and I have no doubt that we will be able to take steps that will bring a significant financial injection to the Czech football and move it forward," said Dusan Svoboda, chairman of the League Football Association, at a press conference ahead of the new season.
Return of the Group for Europe
The FORTUNA:LIGA will be held in 2023/24 in the same model, with the traditional decisive part in the form of the F:L Final. However, unlike the three previous editions, five cup places will be up for grabs, bringing back the Group of Europe.
This means that in the middle group play-offs, four teams will be aiming for a duel against the fourth or fifth team in the group for the title. This will be the fifth team if the winner of the National Cup finishes in one of the top four places in the final league table. The team that secures a place in the preliminary round of the Conference Europa League will be decided by a single match at the ground of the team from the group for the title.
"We have registered reactions to the setting of the middle group. However, the return of the competition for the five UCC places will certainly help to make it more attractive for Czech football. I believe that this will allow us to follow the fight to the last rounds in all groups and the fans will see a similarly attractive spectacle throughout the season as they did in the last edition. In that 2023/24 season, the current model proved that it works and delivers what we had hoped for," said Dušan Svoboda, reflecting on the season in which the champion and the relegation were decided by the final matches.
Helping clubs in the preliminary rounds
Czech clubs will also be looking to participate in the European Cups in the coming weeks as the preliminary rounds get underway. The League football association has decided to help the Czech participants as much as possible in the fight for places in the group stage. In addition to adjusting the dates of league matches, the LFA approved at the League General Assembly that teams that make it to the qualifying play-offs can postpone a match or change the start of a match without the opponent's approval. The rescheduled match will have to be played by 31.12.2023.
"Participation in the main group of one of the cups is crucial not only for the clubs themselves, but for the whole Czech football. Promotion brings prestige, is a significant source of finance and increases interest in individual players. Therefore, we want to help our teams as much as possible in the difficult task of qualifying for Europe. I know how difficult and long the road to qualification is. But I believe that several of our teams will succeed," said Dušan Svoboda.
The FORTUNA:LIGA and FORTUNA:NARODNI LIGA will also see new developments in the area of disciplinary rules. Starting from the 2023/24 season, when a player or an official is sent off after two yellow cards, none of them will be registered for the purpose of punishment for accumulated cautions. The same rules are applied in the UEFA competitions.
Videos for F:NL clubs and the whole competition
F:NL will also make significant progress in the use of video content from the games. Thanks to the cooperation with Pragosport and SPORTTOTAL, clubs will be able to upload match highlights or selected moments to websites and social media platforms, just like the competition as a whole.
"On behalf of the LFA I have to thank Pragosport and SPORTTOTAL. This is the first signal of how clubs and both competitions will be able to work with match footage after the tender for broadcasting rights. I believe that the availability of highlights will be appreciated by czech football fans and will contribute to the increased interest in the second division," said Daniel Hajný, LFA Sales and Marketing Director.
The second league clubs can also take advantage of another offer from the LFA, which in cooperation with SELECT has agreed that teams will receive balls from this company for matches and training sessions in the current season, which will provide the official ball for F:NL for the 2024/25 edition. 15 of the 16 teams will take advantage of the LFA offer for the coming season
