The green kangaroo on a white field then became the club emblem, and the footballers in the green and white jerseys have been nicknamed “kangaroos” ever since. The tour of the opponents also changed the name of the club – it was originally AFK Vršovice, whose history began in 1905. But the Australian organizers wanted a team whose name would somehow represent the country of origin, and according to Lipavský, they could not pronounce the verbally complex name. Since it was also about representing Czechoslovakia, the team was given the name Bohemians, i.e. Czechs, which remained with them even after their return. President Masaryk accepted the brought kangaroos only symbolically and donated them to the menagerie in Grébovce.
Bohemians traveled over 50,000 kilometers during their tour to Australia, including 36,000 km by boat, 15,000 km by train and 500 km by bus. They played 19 matches on Australian soil, of which they won 14, drew two and lost only three. The trip became the longest tour in the history of Czech football.
“Bohemka was approached by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make her jersey an official gift from the Czech Republic to the Governor of Australia. It is an honor for us that after almost a hundred years, we can represent our country again at the opposition,” stated the Prague club.
Bohemka was approached by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make her jersey an official gift of the Czech Republic to the governor of Australia 🇦🇺 We are honored that almost a hundred years later we can represent our country again at the opponents 🇨🇿#BOHEMKADOTOHO https://t.co/pABudJuBkx
— Bohemians Prague 1905 (@bohemians1905) February 25, 2024
With David Hurley, who officially represents the British monarch in Australia, Lipavský spoke not only about the common football history of the two distant countries. According to him, they talked about Russian imperialism and how the security of Europe is connected with the security of the Indo-Pacific. They also devoted themselves to the further development of trade and defense cooperation, the minister wrote.
Submitted! 🦘🇦🇺🇨🇿 @bohemians1905 pic.twitter.com/WsKaO4qYvV
— Jan Lipavský (@JanLipavsky) February 26, 2024
Lipavský flew to Australia as the first Czech foreign minister in 20 years. In addition to representatives of the local government and parliament, he has already met Czech compatriots. He reminded that Australia is the country with the fifth largest Czech community abroad. “Roughly 30,000 Czech emigrants or their descendants found a new home here. On Sunday evening, I had the opportunity to greet some of them and thank them for how they maintain Czech culture even on the other side of the planet,” said the head of Czech diplomacy.
