About Us
EUROPEAN SPORTS - WHERE CUSTOMERS ARE PART OF THE FAMILY!
Family owned and operated since 1997.
European Sports is proud to serve Chicagoland’s soccer enthusiasts with the best soccer gear from the best brands. Our three soccer specialty retail stores are located in Glen Ellyn, Naperville and Schaumburg. European Sports retail stores offer a huge selection of soccer gear including shoes, jerseys, shin guards, socks, balls plus everything else the best players need. Our Schaumburg store is also our Team Headquarters and provides custom club and teams wear to over 100 soccer clubs throughout Chicago. In addition, we provide custom gear for schools, businesses and more thanks to our in-house embroidery and screen printing.
European Sports is a family run business and while our love for soccer can be experienced in any of our stores, treating our customers like part of the family is our #1 goal. We thank you for your love of soccer and look forward to serving you!
European Sports History
European Sports originated in the late 1970’s as one of the first soccer specialty stores to exist in the Chicagoland area. In 1997, the Janek Family led by Sheila Janek purchased European Sports. She instilled the philosophy of treating each customer as family. Sheila realized the need for custom teams and spirit wear to support our local soccer clubs. However, she insisted that we continue to treat everyone with the care and service they deserve, “No job is too big nor is it any less important than a large order.” Thanks to her understanding of our customers’ needs, European Sports evolved to what it currently is today and serves soccer players, fans, and clubs with the same respect and exemplary service.
Bruce Snr and Sheila Janek retired in December 2021 after successfully operating European Sports for 24 years. Together, they oversaw the expansion of the European Sports Schaumburg location into an 8,000 square foot store and expanded their decorating services with in-house embroidery, digital printing, and heat pressing machines. Their continued efforts to support the increased local soccer gear demand enabled European Sports to efficiently provide customization to meet and exceed their customers’ expectations. In addition, they acquired two additional stores in Glen Ellyn and Naperville in April 2021 to better serve the demand for soccer enthusiasts.
European Sports Today
Today, the legacy continues to flourish under the ownership and direction of Bruce and Kelly Janek who were instrumental in supporting the expansion of European Sports since 2009. Together, they have improved operational efficiencies and grown the custom club and teams wear division. The Janek team continues to be soccer enthusiasts and are grateful to support their local soccer communities throughout Chicagoland.
European Sports Team of Experts:
Rest assured, our team members are soccer experts with a collective 700+ years of soccer experience. Therefore, our team members can help answer your questions because they truly understand and love the game of soccer.
European Sports Leadership Team:
Bruce Janek
Title: Owner & President
Responsibilities: Sales, Operations
Soccer Experience: Millikin University (4 Years, NCAA DIII), CCIW First Team All-Conference Player 2008, 3 Year Team Captain. USSF National D License and NSCAA Level II Goalkeeping License holder, Former Goalkeeping director for TESC and Synergy Soccer Clubs
Contact: bruce.janek@europeansports.com
Kelly Janek
Title: Owner & Vice President
Responsibilities: Production & Project Management, Operations
Soccer Experience: Wartburg College (4 years, NCAA DIII), USSF National D License and NSCAA Level II Goalkeeping License holder, Former Girls Varsity Assistant Coach/JV Head Coach For Waverly-Shell Rock High School (2007-2008). Former Goalkeeping director and Team coach at Greater Libertyville Soccer Association (2009-2014) and Former Goalkeeping director at Synergy Soccer Club (2014-2021)
Contact: Kelly.janek@europeansports.com
Bryan Dahlquist
Title: Sales Representative
Responsibilities: Sales
Soccer Experience: Sockers FC Chicago, National Champions 2005. Conant High School Varsity player, NSCAA High School All-American 2002. Marquette University (4 years, NCAA DI), All-Conference USA honors 2004. Former Coach at St. Viator High School (2010-2021).
Contact: Bryan.dahlquist@europeansports.com
Why Choose European Sports?
European Sports is the complete package - we provide the highest level of quality control that allows each customer to be 100% confident with their purchase and/or order being completed accurately. Our club and team wear customers enjoy the individual, one-to-one contact with their team representative. Our retail customers enjoy the huge selection of soccer gear and in-depth knowledge of our team members. In addition, we offer the top brands at competitive prices!
You can depend on the careful, interested dedication of our staff to help you create your personalized or custom needs. We will make you look good!
EUROPEAN SPORTS GUARANTEE