Global Hockey League Plans Czech Franchise

The Global Hockey League said today it will have a team in Czechoslovakia when it begins play this fall, the first time an international sports league has placed a franchise in Eastern Europe.

Other European franchises are set for England, France and Germany, and two more will be added in countries not yet picked, according to Michael Gobuty, the league’s chairman.

Franchise cities will be announced locally; the league hopes to have the English team based in London, Gobuty said. He also said a franchise in the Soviet Union could be added for the 1991-92 season.

The league earlier announced that North American franchises would be placed in Albany, N.Y.; Providence, R.I.; California; the southeastern United States; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Hamilton, Ontario.

Gobuty said he expects 10 North American teams--seven in the United States and three in Canada--when the first season begins Nov. 1, two weeks earlier than planned.

Gobuty, a Canadian businessman, said the league will aim at fast-paced, high-scoring hockey with a minimum of fighting.

To do this, he said, the center red line will be eliminated, the nets will be moved out three feet farther from the end boards and fights involving more than two players will result in automatic major penalties with a penalty shot.

“North American hockey has become an unappetizing thing to go to,” he said. “We can’t stop fighting, but we can make it a major penalty.”

The Global Hockey League is the latest attempt to spread North American sports in Europe. Two football leagues, the International League of American Football and the Worldwide League of American Football, are scheduled to begin play around the continent next spring.

The International League had to postpone its scheduled start from next month when it was unable to obtain work permits for North American players. The Worldwide League also spoke originally of a 1990 start but put it off a year to avoid conflict with soccer’s World Cup in Italy this summer.

Gobuty said the Global Hockey League has an advantage over the football leagues because interest in hockey already is high in much of Europe.