The Czech First League, the top professional football competition in the Czech Republic, has been known since the 2024-25 season as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons. The league’s visual identity has been repeatedly reshaped by its title sponsors, with each new partnership bringing a complete rebranding of the competition’s logo, colors, and supporting design elements.
Design and History
The league’s current identity was introduced on 1 July 2024, when the betting company Chance replaced Fortuna as the title sponsor of both the first and second tiers of Czech football. The complete visual overhaul was prepared by the studio Touch Branding under the leadership of designer Martin Marušinec, who described the new identity as “strongly focused on the younger generation” and deliberately distinct from traditional sports branding principles.[1] The final design was developed in cooperation with the general partner Chance and representatives of the clubs.[2]
The new Chance Liga logo combines the logotype of the general partner Chance with that of the league itself, and it draws directly from the logo of the Ligová fotbalová asociace (LFA), the association that organizes the competition. Both the league and the LFA marks share the same football icon and similar letterforms for the letter “L”, reinforcing the message that “LFA is made up of clubs and clubs make up LFA”.[3] The logo exists in three basic variants: a vertical version, a horizontal version, and a simplified icon used in specific contexts such as player jerseys.[3] The dominant colors of the Chance Liga are a vivid lime green and dark blue.[4]
The previous identity, used from 2018 to 2024, was created by the studio intoit for the Fortuna:Liga. Its central symbol was a black colon on a yellow background, a reference to the scoreboard and match results that are central to a betting company’s business.[5] Creative director Pavel Šmejkal explained that the studio sought a new element that “associates football and nobody uses in graphics”, and the idea came from the scoreboard.[6] The design was intentionally minimal, with the general director of Fortuna, David Vaněk, requiring that the logo be simple enough for a small child to draw.[5]
Earlier sponsor-driven rebrands followed the same pattern. When the betting firm Synot took over in 2014, a new logo was introduced with the word “Synot” in dark blue and red.[7] In 2016, the league briefly became the ePojisteni.cz liga, with a new logo and name presented at a press conference before the 2016-17 season.[8]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 2024 Chance Liga identity was designed to be “modern, multi-brand, focused on the young, timeless”, according to Daniel Hajný, the commercial and marketing director of the LFA.[4] The lime green and dark blue palette was chosen to combine a “modern fresh view and tradition”.[3] For the presentation of the Chance brand in stadium environments, the designers tested optimal color contrast with the league’s broadcaster, so that fans encounter the Chance logo against a prominent orange background.[1]
The 2018 Fortuna logo’s colon symbol was its defining feature. The colon in the logo of the Czech top competition referred to the results, which are the most important thing for the betting company as the main partner.[6] The studio intoit also noted that previous league logos were “drawn out and visually complicated”, and the new approach was intended to change the perception of Czech football.[5]
Typography and Design
The typeface of the 2024 Chance Liga identity is called Franci, designed by the Czech typographer Tomáš Brousil. The font was released by the Suitcase Type Foundry.[3] In the logo, the word “Liga” is more prominent than the sponsor name, because “what happens on the pitch and the matches themselves are what is attractive and appealing”.[3]
The 2024 rebrand also included a new official anthem by DJ and producer Jakub Strach, known as NobodyListen, and the season claim “V novém dresu. Mezi elitu” (“In a new jersey. Among the elite”), referencing the new general partner and the complete rebranding of the competitions.[1]
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