Czech Republic Football Teams: Complete Guide to First League, National Football League & Women’s First League Teams (2025)

The Czech football is currently going through a phase of development in many departments, like infrastructure, talent scouting, etc. With football being the most-loved sport in the nation, the Football Association of the Czech Republic is developing plans to enhance the quality of their league through various new-generation technologies.

The Czech Republic have done fairly well in the international circuit, as is evident from their exploits in the biggest stages. They are in contention for qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026, as they currently lead their group with 9 points. Their growth on the international stage has been possible solely due to their well-structured league system and the regular scouting of talent, which have massively improved the overall quality of football. Some of the renowned players to have emerged from the nation are Pavel Nedved, Peter Cech, Jan Koller, Tom Rosický, and Antonín Panenka.

In the Czech top flight, teams like Sparta Prague and Slavia Prague have dominated for years and have regularly featured in top European competitions like the UEFA Champions League. These Czech Republic football teams have been the torchbearers of the Czech football league for decades now. After the Fortuna Liga comes the second division of the Czech football league system - Chance Narodni Liga. FC Zlin and MFK Chrudim are the two Czech Republic football teams in the second tier who have performed consistently well and have earned promotion to the first division recently. The Women’s First League is steadily developing too, with significant progress in areas like infrastructure and player quality.

Czech Republic Football Clubs: History and Evolution of Teams in the Czech Republic

Football was first introduced in the Czech Republic in the late 19th century, in the Austro-Hungarian era, through enthusiastic English students and workers. Two of the top Czech Republic football teams, Slavia Prague and Sparta Prague, were founded during this period. Slavia was formed in 1892 as a cycling club primarily, but it transformed into a football club in 1896. Sparta was founded just a year after Slavia was formed, as a direct rival to the latter. The Czech Football Association was formed in 1901, and it later went on to join FIFA in 1907.
After the end of the Austro-Hungarian era came the Czechoslovak era, starting from 1918. The Czech Football Association then became a part of the Czechoslovak Football Association, which was instrumental in the formation of the national team. The top-tier league became operational in 1925, where top talents got a platform to showcase their potential and emerged through the ranks to become the future stars of the national team. The national team earned a lot of success in this period, as they finished as runners-up in the 1934 and 1962 World Cups to Italy and Brazil, respectively. They finally tasted success in 1976 when they won the European Championship against West Germany in a penalty shootout. Antonín Panenka made the headlines due to his unorthodox penalty kick, which was later renamed after the legendary footballer.
After the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Czech Republic formed their league, parting ways with the traditional Czech and Slovak clubs in the same league. Thus, a new Czech football league system was formed and was named the Czech First League. The inaugural season saw 16 clubs fight for the league title, with two points awarded for each win. In the next season (1995-96), the points system was changed to three points being awarded for a win in the league.

Czech Football Pyramid

The Czech football pyramid showcases the various tiers in Czech football, where several clubs play across different divisions. The highest division of the Czech football league system is known as Fortuna Liga, where top teams of the country like Slavia Prague, Sparta Prague, and Viktoria Plzeň compete. It follows the traditional promotion-relegation system and also offers a playoff scenario where further points are added to the already assigned points from the whole duration of the season. The second division in the Czech football league system is the Chance Narodni Liga, where 16 clubs face each other twice in a season, with promotion and relegation at stake. Here is the overall look at the different levels of the Czech football pyramid.

Czech Football League System

The Czech football league System comprises various divisions, where several Czech clubs compete against each other for ultimate glory. The Fortuna Liga is the highest division of the Czech football pyramid and consists of 16 teams. After the usual season ends, the teams are divided into three groups. The first-placed team from the league are crowned champions, but they too take part in this championship playoff with the other top five teams. The teams play against each other only once, and the points are added to their tally for the whole season. Five teams qualify for the European competitions, depending upon their final league standings after the playoffs. The winner of the Czech National Cup also possesses a chance of qualifying for Europe, as they are usually guaranteed a Europa League spot.
The 7th-10th placed teams play the Europa League playoffs to determine who will finally secure a place in Europe's second tier. The two best teams play the fourth or fifth-placed team of the championship group to determine who will qualify for the Europa League. The Czech football teams that finish between the 11th and 16th positions also follow the same format. The team finishing 16th is directly relegated to the second division, while the teams placed 14th and 15th play relegation playoffs against the 2nd and 3rd placed teams in the Czech second division. Chance Narodni Liga is the second division in the Czech football pyramid and also features 16 teams. It follows the same pattern of promotion and relegation as the EFL Championship, but with a twist, where the 2nd and 3rd-placed teams play the 14th and 15th-placed teams from the first division. The bottom two teams from the league get demoted to the Bohemian League or the Moravian Football League, depending on their geographical location.
Further down the levels are the lower divisions, like Divize A to F, which comprise the Czech fourth division. Each of these six divisions consists of 16 teams. The teams finishing at the top in A, B, and C play in the Bohemian League, while the top-performing teams in the D, E, and F divisions play in the Moravian League. A lot of regional amateur leagues are also operational in the country, making it a hub for football lovers to play and succeed in the field of the beautiful game.

10 Most Successful Czech Republic Football Teams:

There have been numerous Czech Republic football teams that have featured in some of the biggest football competitions, but one Czech Republic football club that stands out is Sparta Prague. The club boasts a total of 14 league titles, which makes it one of the most decorated Czech Republic football teams in the world. They are closely followed by another Czech Republic football club named Slavia Prague, who also happen to be their direct rivals in the league. There are only five football teams in the Czech Republic that have won the league title in the modern era. Let’s take a look at the top five most successful football teams in the Czech Republic.

Czech First League Teams (Czech Republic 1st League)

The Czech first league teams that are quite well-known around the world are Sparta Prague, Slavia Prague, and Viktoria Plzen. All three teams have represented Czech football in the highest of stages, including the UEFA Champions League. The league started in 1993 and started a new era in the Czech football league system. Sportsdunia takes a look at the Czech First League teams in the upcoming season.

Czech National Football League Teams (Chance Národní Liga)

The second tier in the Czech football league system is the Czech National Football League, or the Chance Narodni Liga, which also follows the promotion and relegation system. It consists of 16 teams, with the top-ranked team getting promotion to the Czech first division. Let’s take a look at the Czech Republic football teams in the Czech National Football League.

Czech Women's First League Teams (1. Liga Zen)

The Czech Women’s First League is the highest women’s football league in the country and comprises eight Czech football clubs. Czech football clubs like Sparta Praha, Slavia Praha, and Viktoria Plzen have their women’s teams too, which have made extraordinary progress in recent times. Let’s take a look at the Czech football teams in the Women’s First League.