Czech professional footballer Jakub Jankto has come out as gay.
The 27-year-old made the announcement via a video posted to his official Twitter and Instagram accounts early Monday.
“Hi, I’m Jakub Jankto,” Jankto says in the video. “Like everybody else, I have my strengths, I have my weaknesses; I have a family, I have my friends. I have a job, which I have been doing it as best as I can, for years, with seriousness, professionalism, and passion. Like everybody else, I also want to live my life in freedom without fears, without prejudice, without violence, but with love.”
“I am homosexual,” he continues, “and I no longer want to hide myself.”
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Currently, Jankto plays for Czech First League club Sparta Prague, on loan from Spain’s La Liga club Getafe and the Czech Republic national team.
Following Jankto’s post, Sparta Prague released the following statement: “Jakub spoke openly about his sexual orientation with the club some time ago. Everything else concerns his personal life. No further comments. No more questions. You have our support. Live your life, Jakub. Nothing else matters.”
FIFA’s official Twitter account commented on Jankto’s post, saying, “We’re all with you, Jakub. Football is for everyone.”
Other international football leagues followed suit. “We’re with you, Jakub. Football is for everyone,” tweeted England’s Premiere League.
“Thank you for sharing your true self with the world,” the official Twitter account for Major League Soccer commented. “Soccer is for everyone.”
As The Guardian notes, Jankto is the highest-profile male footballer to come out publicly since Adelaide United’s Josh Cavallo did in 2021, and Blackpool’s Jake Daniels in 2022.
