Two more B-teams are headed to the FNL. Are we witnessing the emergence of a second version of the Junior League?

In Germany, they have established for a long time that the third league is a ceiling for reserves. And we could think about something similar in our regions.

In the current season, there are two B-teams in the second league. Namely, they are the reserves of Sparta and Olomouc. Thanks to their current spring form, we can say with almost certainty that they will be participating in the mentioned competition in the coming year as well, because advancement among the elite is impossible for them for logical reasons and the relegation waters are miles away from them. Last year, the B-team of Slavia was also in the Fortuna National League. However, he did not manage his premier season between Varnsdorf, Vlaším and Táborsk and was immediately relegated.

The third league is made up of three groups. The Czechs represent two groups with the names ČFL A and ČFL B, whose table winners will play it out for a place in the second league in a separate play-off. Moravia and Silesia are represented by one group called MSFL, where the winner advances directly.

The current results and point evaluation of these groups indicate that the B-team of Ostrava is the closest to progress from the Moravian part. He is guarding his first position in the table with a decent point cushion. A similar rebound can also be seen in the Czech Republic, where the B-team of Slavia and Velvary lead their tables. And these two teams are the biggest contenders for the already mentioned playoff.

Even more than ten years ago, the reserves of teams from the top division were a regular part of the second league. Although they accumulated less than today, they were there. Then the Junior League was created, which essentially gathered all B-levels into one competition.

In addition, only Olomouc kept its classic B-team at a higher level under this system. However, the junior league disappeared after seven seasons and the reserves of all participants were thus classified into third leagues and divisions.

As a possible answer to this question, we provide you with the following example of unbalanced Sparta B starting lineups in two consecutive matches from October last season.

The first match took place on 9 October 2022 against Líšni. The result was a 0:0 draw.
Squad of Sparta B: Vorel, Horák, Juliš, Karabec, Kaštánek, Mejdr, Minchev, Panák, Pudhorocký, Sáček, Večerka

The second match took place a week later (16/10/2022) against Varnsdorf. The result was a 2:0 victory for the North Bohemians.
Squad of Sparta B: Heča, Suchomel, Kukučka, Večerka, Horák, Jonáš, Kaštánek, Holoubek, Pudhorocký, Novotný, Schánělec

At first glance, it is clear to a football fan that more than half of the first roster is made up of players from Sparta’s A-team at the time. The second roster is nowhere near that quality. So is it fair for one team to have almost an A-team as their opponent, and the other to basically play against the juniors?

This idea is related to the education of young players in the first league teams. It could be far more beneficial for their careers to host in the second league than to play in it for the league reserve.

For a temporary period, they will step out of the comfort of a larger club and will have to get used to a new, almost always more modest environment. They know other different training methods and in some clubs they can be put under much more pressure towards results. They can also get to know what it is like to fight fully for promotion to the first league, which their tribal reserve cannot offer them for known reasons. A young football player who goes through this school can return to his parent team much more hardened and ready to fight for his place among the greasers from Aček.

It is quite likely, as the criteria for hosting FNL home matches are also increasing year by year. The upcoming season will mandate artificial lighting for all second league stadiums. We now know of three clubs from the current second league that still do not fulfill this obligation and will probably apply for exemptions. The 2027/28 season again mandates heated lawns. Whether the well-established clubs will manage to finance, build and operate this project is still a question. The aforementioned regulations once again open the door to the second highest competition for first league B-teams, which do not have to deal with these conditions at all.

With a bit of exaggeration, we can say that if the number of B’s ​​in the competition increases, we can also talk about a certain similarity with the then Junior League.