Billionaires Flock to Czech Football Clubs, Including Kačena, on Trial in Latvia

Several wealthy businessmen have taken over Czech football clubs in recent years. That is according to a review by the Czech business outlet Forbes Česko, cited by the Latvian newspaper Diena. Among the new owners is Czech businessman Vojtech Kačena, who is on trial in Latvia and last year became majority owner of Brno club Zbrojovka.

A wave of investors

The publication writes that billionaire investment in clubs used to be rare. Energy entrepreneur Daniel Křetínský bought Prague's Sparta in 2004, and coal-industry billionaire Pavel Tykač acquired Prague's Slavia in 2023. The situation has since changed: Karel Pražák, owner of the investment group Kaprain, has acquired Pardubice; Michal Strnad, owner of defence group Czechoslovak Group, has taken Plzeň's Viktoria; and financier Pavel Hubáček, who owns Banka Creditas, has taken over Olomouc's Sigma. Businessman Ondřej Kania bought Liberec's Slovan in early 2024 and benefited from later price increases.

The Kačena case

Kačena is on trial in Latvia in connection with an attempted raid in 2021 on the drugmaker Olpha, formerly Olainfarm. He also planned energy projects in Latvia, but the source says the promised investments have produced no tangible results. Since 2025 he has been tried, together with Czech citizen Tibor Bokor, who long worked in Russia's financial sector, on charges of large-scale fraud, and both face prison.

In Brno, Kačena wants to acquire city-owned land to build a new stadium and promises to fund it himself. The deal has stalled because his side offered about five million Czech crowns (around 205,000 euros), while a valuation commissioned by the city put the land at about 200 million crowns (roughly 8.2 million euros). Zbrojovka fans have formed a political movement, Za Lužánky, which plans to run in municipal elections.

Wider context

The article's author sees the Czech case as part of a global trend and mentions Saudi Arabia, which took over England's Newcastle United using state fund money. He warns that clubs can become hostages to investors' interests, citing Latvia's FK Ventspils and London's Chelsea, whose owner lost it because of sanctions.