Czech National Football League
| Founded | 1993 |
|---|---|
| Country | Czech Republic |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 15 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | Czech First League |
| Relegation to |
ČFL MSFL |
| Domestic cup(s) | Czech Cup |
| Current champions | MFK Karviná |
| Most championships |
Bohemians 1905 (2 titles) FC Hradec Králové (2 titles) SK Dynamo České Budějovice (2 titles) |
| Website | Official |
 2017–18 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. From these points a league table is constructed.
Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference and then goals scored. At the end of each season the top two teams are promoted to the First League, providing they obtain a license and meet league requirements, and are replaced by the two teams that finished bottom of that division.
Similarly 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 has always been 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 1997–98 Czech 2. Liga as Ústí nad Labem did not fulfil their fixtures and their results were cancelled,[2] and secondly in the 2004–05 Czech 2. Liga as Bohemians' results were expunged after playing only the first half of the season.[3]
Participating teams in 2016–17
The following 16 clubs were competing in the 2016–17 Czech National Football League.
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity | 2015-16 Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baník Ostrava | Ostrava | Městský stadion (Ostrava) | 15,123 | 16th in First League |
| Dynamo České Budějovice | České Budějovice | Střelecký ostrov | 12,000 | 12th |
| Frýdek-Místek | Frýdek-Místek | Stovky | 12,400 | 10th |
| Opava | Opava | Stadion v Městských sadech | 7,758 | 11th |
| Pardubice | Pardubice | Pod Vinicí | 2,500 | 6th |
| Prostějov | Prostějov | Stadion 1. SK Prostějov | 550 |
1st in MSFL |
| Sigma Olomouc | Olomouc | Andrův stadion | 12,500 | 15th in First League |
| Sokolov | Sokolov | Stadion FK Baník Sokolov | 5,000 | 4th |
| Táborsko | Sezimovo Ústí | Sportovní areál Soukeník | 5,000 | 5th |
| Třinec | Třinec | Stadion Rudolfa Labaje | 2,200 | 13th |
| Ústí nad Labem | Ústí nad Labem | Městský stadion (Ústí nad Labem) | 3,000 | 7th |
| Varnsdorf | Varnsdorf | Městský stadion v Kotlině | 5,000 | 9th |
| Viktoria Žižkov | Prague | Andrův stadion | 12,500 | 3rd in ČFL |
| Vítkovice | Ostrava | Městský stadion (Ostrava) | 15,123 |
2nd in MSFL |
| Vlašim | Vlašim | Stadion Kollárova ulice | 6,000 | 8th |
| Znojmo | Znojmo | Městský stadion | 5,000 | 3rd |
Druhá liga champions
Teams promoted to the First League since 1993
- 1993: Viktoria Žižkov, Petra Drnovice, Viktoria Plzeň, Union Cheb, Slovan Liberec, Svit Zlín [nb 1]
- 1994: Sklobižu Jablonec nad Nisou, Švarc Benešov
- 1995: Uherské Hradiště, 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: Bohemians Prague, SK České Budějovice
- 2000: Synot Staré Město, FC Viktoria Plzeň
- 2001: FC Hradec Králové, SFC Opava
- 2002: SK Dynamo České Budějovice, FC Tescoma Zlín
- 2003: FC Viktoria Plzeň, SFC Opava
- 2004: FK Mladá Boleslav, FK Drnovice
- 2005: FK SIAD Most, FC Vysočina Jihlava, FC Viktoria Plzeň [nb 3]
- 2006: SK Kladno, SK Dynamo České Budějovice
- 2007: Viktoria Žižkov, Bohemians 1905
- 2008: Bohemians (Střížkov) Prague, FK Marila Příbram
- 2009: Bohemians 1905, 1. FC Slovácko [nb 4]
- 2010: FC Hradec Králové, 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: SK Sigma Olomouc, FC Fastav Zlín
- 2016: MFK Karviná, FC Hradec Králové
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]
| Season | Top scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–94 |  Tibor Mičinec |
Benešov | 18 |
| 1994–95 | Bedřich Hamsa |
LeRK Brno | 22 |
| 1995–96 | Patrik Holomek |
Poštorná | 16 |
| 1996–97 | Václav Koloušek |
Dukla Prague | 18 |
| 1997–98 | Vítězslav Tuma |
Karviná | 19 |
| 1998–99 | Patrik Holomek |
St. Město | 18 |
| 1999–00 | Vladimír Malár |
St. Město | 24 |
| 2000–01 | Pavel Černý |
Hradec Králové | 17 |
| 2001–02 | Radek Drulák |
HFK Olomouc | 16 |
| 2002–03 | Petr Švancara |
Opava | 20 |
| 2003–04 | Tomáš Kaplan |
Jihlava | 10 |
| Roman Bednář |
Mladá Boleslav | 10 | |
| Vojtěch Schulmeister |
Sigma Olomouc B | 10 | |
| 2004–05 | Horst Siegl |
Most | 16 |
| 2005–06 | Petr Faldyna |
Dynamo Č. Budějovice | 19 |
| 2006–07 | Petr Faldyna |
Jihlava | 15 |
| 2007–08 | Petr Faldyna |
Jihlava | 13 |
| 2008–09 | Martin Jirouš |
Sokolov | 18 |
| 2009–10 | Pavel Černý |
Hradec Králové | 14 |
 Dani Chigou |
Dukla Prague | 14 | |
| Karel Kroupa |
Tescoma Zlín | 14 | |
| 2010–11 | Dani Chigou |
Dukla Prague | 19 |
| 2011–12 | Jiří Mlika |
Sokolov | 19 |
| 2012–13 | Lukáš Železník |
Zlín | 13 |
| 2013–14 | David Vaněček |
Hradec Králové | 17 |
| 2014–15 | Václav Vašíček |
Sigma Olomouc | 13 |
| 2015–16 | Jan Pázler |
Hradec Králové | 17 |
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
- ↑ Jeřábek, Luboš (2007). Ceský a ceskoslovenský fotbal - lexikon osobností a klubu (in Czech). Prague: Grada Publishing. pp. 34–35. ISBN 978-80-247-1656-5.
- ↑ "Czech Republic 1997/98". RSSSF. 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.
- ↑ http://nv.fotbal.cz/domaci-souteze/druha-liga/2liga-historie/index.php
- ↑ http://www.rsssf.com/tablest/tsje04.html
External links
- Information on ČMFS website
- League321.com - Czech Republic football league tables, records & statistics database. (in English)
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