Czech National Football League
 | |
| Founded | 1993 |
|---|---|
| Country | Czech Republic |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | Czech First League |
| Relegation to | ČFL MSFL |
| Domestic cup(s) | Czech Cup |
| Current champions | MFK Karviná (3rd title) (2022–23) |
| Most championships | MFK Karviná, SK Dynamo České Budějovice, FC Hradec Králové (3 titles) |
| Website | www |
| Current: 2023–24 Czech National Football League | |
The Czech National Football League (Czech: Fotbalová národní liga, FNL), currently known as Fortuna národní liga due to sponsorship reasons, is the second level professional association football league in the Czech Republic. Before 2013 it was known as 2. liga or Druhá liga. The top two teams each season are eligible for promotion to the Czech First League.
The league replaced the I.ČNL (I. Česká národní liga; First Czech National League), which had been established following the end of the nationwide Czechoslovak Second League in 1977. The league became known as simply II. liga (Second League) in 1993 following the establishment of the Czech Republic as an independent state.[1]
Structure
There are 16 clubs in the FNL. During the season, which runs from August to May or June, with a winter break between November and February or March, each club plays each of the other clubs twice (once at home, once away) and is awarded three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the top-ranked team is promoted to the Czech First League, providing they obtain a license and meet league requirements, and is replaced by the team that finished 16th in that league. The two teams positioned 2nd and 3rd play a play-out with two teams from the first league positioned 14th and 15th in a home and away format. The two teams that finished at the bottom of the FNL are relegated to either the Bohemian Football League or the Moravian-Silesian Football League, based on geographical criteria. In turn, the champions of each of these regional divisions are promoted to the FNL.
In the 1993–94 season the league was played with 16 teams, before expanding to 18 teams in the 1994–95 season. Since 1995, the league is usually played with 16 teams, but on two occasions a team did not fulfil its fixtures and the full 30 rounds were not completed. Firstly in the
Participating teams
The following 16 clubs are competing in the 2023–24 Czech National Football League.
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity | 2022–23 position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Zbrojovka Brno | Brno | Městský fotbalový stadion Srbská | 10,200 | 16th in First League |
| MFK Vyškov | Vyškov | Sportovní areál Drnovice | 4,500 | 2nd |
| FK Příbram | Příbram | Na Litavce | 9,100 | 3rd |
| FK Dukla Prague | Prague | Stadion Juliska | 8,150 | 4th |
| SK Líšeň | Brno | Stadion SK Líšeň | 2,100 | 5th |
| FK Varnsdorf | Varnsdorf | Městský stadion v Kotlině | 5,000 | 6th |
| FC Silon Táborsko | Tábor | Stadion v Kvapilově ulici | 2,000 | 7th |
| MFK Chrudim | Chrudim | Za Vodojemem | 1,500 | 8th |
| SK Sigma Olomouc B | Olomouc | Andrův stadion | 12,483 | 9th |
| AC Sparta Prague B | Prague | FK Viktoria Stadion | 5,037 | 10th |
| FC Sellier & Bellot Vlašim | Vlašim | Stadion Kollárova ulice | 3,000 | 11th |
| 1. SK Prostějov | Prostějov | Stadion FK Holice | 2,900 | 12th |
| SFC Opava | Opava | Stadion v Městských sadech | 7,524 | 13th |
| FC Vysočina Jihlava | Jihlava | Stadion v Jiráskově ulici | 4,500 | 14th |
| FK Viktoria Žižkov | Prague | eFotbal Arena | 5,037 | 1st in ČFL |
| SK Hanácká Slavia Kroměříž | Kroměříž | Stadion SK Hanácká Slavia Kroměříž | 1,529 | 1st in MSFL
|
FNL champions
Teams promoted to the First League since 1993
- 1993: Svit Zlín [nb 1]
- 1994: Švarc Benešov
- 1995: Ostroj Opava
- 1996: FC Karviná, FK Teplice, Bohemians Prague [nb 2]
- 1997: FC Dukla Příbram, AFK Atlantic Lázně Bohdaneč
- 1998: FK Chmel Blšany, FC Karviná
- 1999: SK České Budějovice
- 2000: Synot Staré Město, FC Viktoria Plzeň
- 2001: FC Hradec Králové, SFC Opava
- 2002: FC Tescoma Zlín
- 2003: FC Viktoria Plzeň, SFC Opava
- 2004: FK Drnovice
- 2005:
- 2006: SK Kladno, SK Dynamo České Budějovice
- 2007: Viktoria Žižkov, Bohemians 1905
- 2008: FK Marila Příbram
- 2009: Bohemians 1905, 1. FC Slovácko [nb 4]
- 2010: FK Ústí nad Labem
- 2011: FK Dukla Prague, FK Viktoria Žižkov
- 2012: FC Vysočina Jihlava, FC Zbrojovka Brno [nb 5]
- 2013: 1. SC Znojmo, Bohemians 1905
- 2014: SK Dynamo České Budějovice, FC Hradec Králové
- 2015: FC Fastav Zlín
- 2016: MFK Karviná, FC Hradec Králové
- 2017: SK Sigma Olomouc, FC Baník Ostrava
- 2018: 1.FK Příbram
- 2019: SK Dynamo České Budějovice
- 2020: FK Pardubice, FC Zbrojovka Brno
- 2021: FC Hradec Králové
- 2022: FC Zbrojovka Brno
- 2023: MFK Karviná
Top scorers
All information in this table can be found at[7] except for the 2003–04 season, which is sourced from the following link.[8]
Notes
- ^ Due to dissolution of Czechoslovakia
- ^ Union Cheb was relegated due to bankruptcy
- ^ Drnovice were refused a Czech First League license so Plzeň were promoted to replace them[4]
- ^ Čáslav wasn't able to play 1st liga due to financial problems.[5]
- ^ Ústí wasn't able to play 1st liga due to problems with their stadium[6]
References
- ISBN 978-80-247-1656-5.
- Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
- ^ "Bohemians přišli o licenci, ve 2. lize končí" (in Czech). iDNES.cz. 28 February 2005. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
- ^ "Drnovice v první lize končí, na řadě je Plzeň" (in Czech). iDNES.cz. 14 June 2005. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ "Slovácko se vrací do ligy, koupilo postup od Čáslavi". denik.cz (in Czech). 10 June 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ^ Novák, Jaromír (6 June 2012). "Brno postupuje do první ligy, Ústí doplatilo na nevyhovující stadion" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ^ "FOTBAL.CZ – Historie Fotbalové národní ligy". nv.fotbal.cz. Football association of Czech Republic. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
External links
- Official website
- Information on ČMFSwebsite
- League321.com – Czech Republic football league tables, records & statistics database. (in English)
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