Czech Post Spent 450,000 Crowns to Promote Brand with FC Baník Ostrava, Details Remain Secret
Ostrava, Czech Republic – Česká pošta (Czech Post) entered into a promotional agreement with football club FC Baník Ostrava in mid-July, spending 450,000 Czech crowns (without VAT) on the partnership, according to a contract filed in the Register of Contracts.However, key details of the agreement – specifically what promotional activities were purchased – have been redacted from the publicly available document.
The contract was signed by Česká pošta CEO Miroslav Štěpán adn director of the strategy department Luděk Palek, and by FC Baník Ostrava vice-chairman of the board of directors Michal Bělák. While the contract outlines an obligation for FC Baník Ostrava to promote czech Post through logo placement during an event, the specific actions involved and how Czech Post will be referenced within the partnership remain undisclosed due to redactions made by the postal service.
When asked for clarification on the nature of the cooperation, FC Baník Ostrava declined to respond.
Czech Post press spokesman Matyáš Vitík explained that partnerships are “an integral part of the marketing strategy” aimed at supporting the Česká pošta and Balíkovna brands. He stated that partnership funds also support sports for the disabled,children and youth,CSR initiatives,family sports,and related conferences and exhibitions.
Vitík further noted that partnership costs represent a small fraction of the company’s overall expenses – 0.026 percent of the 19,458 million crowns spent in 2024, a decrease from 5.2 million crowns in 2014. He highlighted the importance of regional partnerships, specifically citing the Baník Ostrava Academy and their support of the Evžen Hadamczik Memorial, a youth football tournament.
“The connection with the Academy of Baník Ostrava is a clear signal for the employees-parents that their employer supports children’s sports activities,and thus offers parents the opportunity to provide leisure activities for their children,” Vitík added,referencing the location of a Balíkovna sorting center in Mošnov and ongoing recruitment challenges.
Questions regarding a potential connection between Česká pošta CEO Miroslav Štěpán and a local ODS (Civic Democratic Party) chairman of the same name were deflected by Vitík, who stated he could not comment on the General Director’s activities outside of his role at Czech post.
