"I don't want to hide any longer": National player Jankto comes out in an emotional message

The Czech first division professional and national player Jakub Jankto publicly admitted his homosexuality on Monday.

His club is behind him.

Prague – Homosexuality is a taboo subject in men's football, and that hasn't changed in 2023 either.

Especially in the most popular sport in Central Europe, the inhibition threshold for gay players is particularly high.

Fear of public voyeurism and abuse from fans are often reasons not to come out.

After an Australian professional and a young English player had already taken the step in recent months, a Czech top flight player also made public his homosexuality.

And formulated his message unequivocally.

Jakub Jankto: The Czech national player has already played in the first division in Italy and Spain

Jakub Jankto is a real Prague boy.

The 27-year-old played for both Viktoria Žižkov and Slavia Prague at youth level, but Italian professional club Udinese Calcio spotted his talent at U19 and signed him in 2014 for €700,000.

He played for various teams from Italy for a total of seven years, so he was loaned to Ascoli and Sampdoria Genoa, the latter club brought the left midfielder in 2019 for a whopping 14.5 million euros.

In the summer of 2021, Jankto dared to move to Spain to join Getafe FC, but he was unable to assert himself at the first division club in the Madrid suburbs in his first season, which is why he moved back to his home country.

The Czech record champions Sparta Prague snapped up the 45-time national player on loan for a year with a subsequent purchase option.

So far, Jankto's career sounds ordinary and is comparable to the biographies of many top-flight players.

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Jakub Jankto (left) has already played 45 times for the Czech national team.

© Sven Beyrich/imago

Jakub Jankto: Czech professional comes out in emotional video - "I want to live in freedom"

However, unlike most of his colleagues, Jankto apparently carried a huge backpack on his shoulders for years.

In a video he now took it off.

"Hello, I'm Jakub Jankto," begins the professional in his statement, which he shared on all social media channels on Monday afternoon.

"I have my strengths, I have my weaknesses, I have a family, I have my friends, I have a job that I have been doing to the best of my ability for years, with seriousness, professionalism and passion," Jankto said.

“I also want to live my life in freedom.

Without fear, without prejudice, without violence.

But with love," he continues, getting to the heart of the message: "I'm gay and I don't want to hide any longer," says the midfielder.

Check out this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jakub Jankto (@jakubjanktojr)

Sparta Prague professional Jakub Jankto with coming-out video: "It's not entertainment"

The seriousness of his video is also reflected in the disclaimer following the video, where Jankto writes: "This is not entertainment.

The purpose of this video is to encourage others.” The framework of the statement was also kept as simple as possible, with Jankto speaking into the camera lens from behind a black background.

The professional can rely on the backing of his club in the current phase, Sparta Prague also wrote a message on Monday about the outing of his player.

"Jakub spoke openly to the club management, the coach and the players about his sexual orientation," the club said, adding: "Everything else concerns his private life.

No further comments.

No further questions.

You have our support, live your life Jakob."

List of rubrics: © Sven Beyrich/imago