Czech Football

The UK's Premiership is not the only one - the Czechs have a Premiership too. The Czech Premiership is called the Gambrinus Liga, after the sponsors Gambrinus. They own a large brewery in Pilsen. Originally Gambrinus was a mythical name, that of a cupbearer to Charlemagne, and the inventor of beer.

The Czechs have had plenty of success in football, both at the European Championships and in the World Cup. Like the Portuguese and Danish teams, the Czech team will be competing in Euro2004 in Portugal. There are some famous rivalries in the domestic game too - notably that of Sparta Prague and Slavia Prague. As the two biggest teams in Prague, their clashes are important dates. One of them usually wins the Liga each year. Lately, Sparta have been the winners and Slavia have been chasing them.

So what's happening in the Liga at the moment?

Needless to say, there are plenty of websites to keep Czech people up to date - no matter where they might happen to be. Here is one called EuroLeagues which has the latest information on the Gambrinus Liga >>

You can also see the teams and their insignia on the Fotbal website >>

Most of the Czech Premiership teams are from the larger cities, but they have long had a near-permanent Premiership 'minnow' in the village team Blsany. They are nicknamed 'Chmel', which means hops (a main ingredient for beer!). How have they been getting on lately? Have a look at this page from the UEFA website >>