“We want to be a club that fights for Brno“, says Igor Fait, owner of the newly renamed SK Artis Brno. Born in 1924 and known through the last three decades as SK Líšeň, Brno’s second professional football club will operate under its new name starting from the next season. According to club officials, the change of name and visual identity aims at symbolizing the transformation from a traditional local team into a modern and ambitious club.
This change takes place as the club happens to be just one point ahead in the Czech second division of its local rival FC Zbrojovka Brno, historically Brno’s leading club. With only one match left for each team, SK Artis Brno now claims to reach beyond the city itself. Petr Kuba, vice-chairman of the board, says Artis Brno is a “patriotic club that the whole region can be proud of.“
As of next season, the newly renamed club will also leave its historic home, instead playing its home games in the Srbská stadium, currently used by Zbrojovka. According to Kuba, the club’s current stadium would not have met the criteria for a professional licence from next season. Club officials claim that they are already working on logistical solutions for their fans, and have asked the city to either build a new stadium or reconstruct their historical field.
Last but not least among these changes is the creation of the SK Artis Brno Líšeň-Žabovřesky academy, which will combine the youth teams of the club with those of FC Svratka Brno. This new structure will de facto become the largest youth academy in Moravia, accommodating more than 700 players. Pavel Crhan, the director of the project, claims tens of millions of crowns will be invested in order to build and maintain high quality facilities with well trained staff.
Additionally, the club also reaffirmed its commitment to reinforce the women’s team in the long run, claiming it wishes to create an open and inclusive environment as it considers women’s football to be an important part of the club‘s structure.
