Contents
Competition format & season flow
Number of clubs & season structure
The league has 16 clubs that play both at home and away, for a total of 30 matches each. The season usually runs from July or August until May.
Split into post-season groups
After the first 30 matches, the league is split into three groups:
– Championship group: The top six teams play for the title and a spot in Europe.
– Middle group: Teams in 7th to 10th place play for a chance at a European spot.
– Relegation group: The bottom six teams fight to avoid being relegated.
Relegation & promotion mechanism
– Direct relegation: The team that finishes in last place (16th) is automatically relegated to the second division, which is called the Czech National Football League.
– Play-out: The teams that finish in 14th and 15th place have to play two-legged matches against the teams that finished 2nd and 3rd in the second division. The winners of these matches get to play in the top league next season.
– From the second league, the champion is promoted directly. The teams that finish 2nd and 3rd go into the play-outs.
Historical match points system
Originally, a win only awarded two points, but this was changed to three points for a win from the 1994-95 season onwards to match international standards.
European qualification & other competitions
Based on where a team finishes in the league, they can qualify for European competitions like the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, or Europa Conference League. All clubs in the Czech First League also take part in domestic cup competitions, such as the Czech Cup.
Promotion & relegation
Relegation from the top-tier Czech First League to the second-tier Czech National Football League is a two-part system.
Direct relegation & promotion
The team that finishes last in the Fortuna Liga is automatically relegated to the Czech National Football League. In return, the champion of the second-tier league is automatically promoted to the top flight.
Play-off (play-out) structure
The two teams that finish in 14th and 15th place in the top league must play in a two-legged playoff. Their opponents are the teams that finished 2nd and 3rd in the second-tier league. The winners of these matches get to play in the Fortuna Liga next season. This system gives high-performing teams from the second tier a chance to get promoted, while also giving struggling top-tier teams a final chance to stay up.
Historical context & adaptations
From 1993 to 2018, two teams were promoted directly with no playoffs. However, since the 2018-19 season, the league has used the current system, with one direct promotion and playoffs for the remaining spots. The relegation group was abandoned in the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and no teams were relegated that season.
Key clubs & records
Most successful clubs in Czech Fortuna Liga
– AC Sparta Prague holds the record for the most top-flight titles in Czech football with an impressive 38 national league championships (which includes titles from the old Czechoslovak league). Within the modern Czech First League era (since 1993), Sparta has secured 14 league titles, the most of any club.
– SK Slavia Prague is the second most successful club, with 22 total league titles. Eight of these were won since the Czech Republic’s independence in 1993.
– FC Viktoria Plzeň has become a modern powerhouse, winning six Czech First League titles, with their first coming in the 2010–11 season.
– Other clubs that have won the league include FC Slovan Liberec (three titles), FC Baník Ostrava (four titles), and SK Sigma Olomouc.
Historical highlights & notable records
– Club achievements: Sparta Prague has won a total of 38 top-tier titles and 16 Czech Cups. Slavia Prague has won 22 league titles and 7 Czech Cups since 1993, and had a notable unbeaten league season in 2020-21. Viktoria Plzeň has risen rapidly since 2010 and is now a consistent title contender and European competitor.
– Unbeaten league run: During their 2020–21 title-winning season, Slavia set a Czech league record with a 54-game unbeaten streak. This run came to an end in a derby defeat to Sparta.
– All-time performance: In the cumulative all-time standings, Sparta Prague leads with 1,044 points, followed by Slavia Prague with 881 points.
UEFA ranking & European competition context
UEFA country (association) coefficient & ranking
For the 2025–26 season, the Czech First League is ranked 10th among European leagues in the UEFA country coefficient rankings. This position is just below Turkey and above Greece. The league’s ranking is based on the combined performance of all Czech clubs in UEFA competitions over the past five seasons. It directly influences how many European spots are given to the Czech Republic and at what stage clubs enter those competitions.
UEFA club coefficients for Czech teams
Within the league, clubs also have their own UEFA coefficient rankings, which are based on their individual performance in European competitions.
– Slavia Prague leads the Czech clubs with a UEFA club coefficient of 51.000, placing them 42nd in the 2024–25 club rankings.
– Viktoria Plzeň is next at 56th, with a coefficient of 39.250.
– Sparta Prague is in 71st place, with a coefficient of 29.500.
What this means for European qualification
The country coefficient determines how many teams from the Czech league qualify for UEFA competitions (Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League). A club’s individual coefficient affects its seeding in UEFA draws, which impacts its chances of facing stronger opponents in the early rounds. For instance, a higher coefficient can result in an easier draw and a more favourable path to the later stages of a tournament.
Historical evolution & sponsorship
Timeline of sponsorship names
Since its start in 1993, the Czech First League has had several different names because of sponsorship deals:
– Gambrinus Liga (1997–2014): This was the league’s name for 17 years, named after Gambrinus beer.
– Synot Liga (2014–2016): The league adopted the Synot betting brand.
– ePojisteni.cz Liga (2016–2017): This was a short-term sponsorship with an online insurance company.
– Fortuna Liga (2018–2024): This became the league’s most well-known name in recent years after a partnership with the betting company Fortuna.
– Chance Liga (2024–present): This is the current name after a new partnership with the Chance betting company.
Historical context & branding significance
These sponsorship names show how commercial trends in sports change over time, as brands partner with leagues for revenue and visibility. Each name also marks a distinct period in the league’s history:
– The Gambrinus era was the longest-running sponsorship and helped shape the league’s early modern identity.
– The Synot and ePojisteni.cz periods were shorter deals that showed a time of change for the league’s branding.
– The Fortuna era brought financial stability and became the league’s most recognised name in recent years.
– The Chance era is the latest chapter in the league’s commercial story, showing that sponsorship is always evolving.
League system hierarchy
Pyramid structure & tiers
The Czech football league is structured as follows:
– Czech First League (Fortuna Liga / Chance Liga): This is level 1, the top professional division with 16 clubs. It is the premier football competition in the Czech Republic.
– Czech National Football League (2. Liga / Chance Národní Liga): This is level 2, with 16 clubs. It’s the second tier and has a system of promotion to and relegation from the First League.
– Third tier: regional divisions: This tier is divided by geography into the ČFL (Bohemian Football League) with about 18 clubs and the MSFL (Moravian–Silesian Football League) with around 16 clubs.
– Fourth tier: regional Divize: This has multiple divisions, each with about 16 clubs. Divisions A to C feed into the ČFL, while D and E feed into the MSFL depending on their location.
– Fifth tier and below: regional amateur leagues: This includes regional championships, which allow even the smallest clubs to progress up the pyramid.
Promotion & relegation flow
The system is interconnected, with a clear flow of promotion and relegation between the different tiers.
– First ↔ second tier: Generally, two clubs are promoted and relegated each season, which keeps things moving between the Fortuna Liga and the 2. Liga.
– Second ↔ third tier (2. Liga ↔ ČFL / MSFL): The top teams from the ČFL and MSFL are promoted to the 2. Liga. In turn, teams relegated from the 2. Liga move into the appropriate regional league (ČFL or MSFL).
– Third ↔ fourth tier: The winners of Divisions A, B, or C are promoted to the ČFL, while the champions of Divisions D or E move up to the MSFL.
– Fourth tier ↔ fifth tier: Clubs that win their regional championships can be promoted to the fourth division.
Powering the Czech Fortuna Liga with Sportmonks
Sportmonks provides comprehensive, real-time football data for the Czech Fortuna Liga via our Football API. It’s designed to be a one-stop-shop for all your data needs, from live scores to detailed analytics.
What the API can do
– Data coverage: The API covers data for over 2,500 football competitions worldwide, including the Czech Fortuna Liga. You can get everything from live scores, line-ups, and league tables to historical results, betting odds, and predictions.
– Leagues endpoint: This is where you can start. You can get all the leagues you have access to or find specific ones by their ID, country, or even by a search query. You can also get related season or fixture data in a single request, which makes things easier.
A great developer experience
Sportmonks is passionate about making things easy for developers.
– Clear documentation: Our documentation is well-organised and intuitive, with guides, tutorials, and API references. There are also Postman collections and endpoint examples to help you get started quickly.
– Smart search: The search bar and a clear structure make it fast and easy to find exactly what you need.
Cover the Czech Fortuna Liga with Sportmonks
From live scores and standings to player stats and predictive insights, the Sportmonks Football API gives you everything you need to follow the Czech First League. Power your apps, betting tools, or fan platforms with accurate and reliable data. Start using Sportmonks today.
Faqs about the Czech Fortuna Liga
