Czech Footballer, Jankto Comes Out as Gay

Czech Republic footballer Jakub Jankto is the latest footballer to publicly Come out as Gay.

The 27-year-old midfielder from Sparta Prague, currently on loan from Spanish club Getafe, publicly announced that he is homosexual on Monday through a tweet. Jankto made his senior debut for the Czech Republic in 2017 and has accumulated four goals in 45 appearances.

In his statement, Jankto said

“Like anyone else, I have my strengths and weaknesses, I have a family and friends. I have a job that I have been doing to the best of my ability with professionalism, passion, and seriousness.” He added, “Like anyone else, I also want to live my life freely, without fear, prejudice, or violence, but with love.“

Jakub Jankto becomes the second active male professional footballer in the UK to publicly come out as gay after Blackpool’s Jake Daniels, who made the announcement last year. The last known case of a UK men’s professional footballer coming out was Justin Fashanu in 1990. Prior to Jankto’s announcement, Adelaide United player Josh Cavallo was the only openly gay male top-flight professional footballer in the world.

Sparta Prague stated that Jankto had openly discussed his sexual orientation with the club’s management, coach, and teammates some time ago, and that everything else is part of his personal life. The club expressed their support by saying, “You have our support. Live your life, Jakub.”