Czech Ladies Football League Structure Explained | Prague

By Stan Chetin

The Ladies Czech football league pyramid is far less complicated than the men's. The number of teams in each league is also significantly lower. But there are signs that women’s football is growing, so we all hope that number of leagues will only increase. On the other hand, it is much easier for our ladies to reach the highest division at present!

The pyramid has 4 layers.

1. The first league is the highest one. 8 teams are fighting for the title every year. Four teams with the most points in the end of the season play against each other one more time and the team with the most points wins the championship. The other 4 teams, which finished in the bottom of the league, also play against each other to determine the team to go to the lower league. Since it's creation in 1993 only 2 teams have ever won this league - Sparta Prague (19 times winners) & Slavia Prague (6 times winners). In fact there are only a couple of occasions where the 2 giants of Czech football did not finish as the top 2 in the league.

2. The 2nd league has the same number of teams as the 1st league. The same system, which is used in the 1st league to determine the best and the worst teams, is applied in the 2nd league. The best team change places with the worst team from the 1st league.

3. ČFLŽ or Czech Football Women League is the 3rd league. It is the only league, in which there is no additional round to determine winners and losers of the season. 10 teams play against each other during the year. The best team moves to the 2nd league and the worst two teams move to one subdivision of the 4th league.

4. The last league has 4 divisions: A, B, C and D. Divisions A. B and C have 8 teams. They use the system, which is similar to what is used in the 1st and 2nd leagues. D division has 10 teams and no additional round of games to determine the champion. Winners of all 4 form two pairs and play additional 2 games home/away. Winners of those games are promoted to the ČFLŽ.

However, there are situations, when some teams, which should be promoted, decline their promotion. In this case, the second place gets this opportunity. Teams can decline this opportunity due to various reasons, such as: lack of investments, high costs of participation, etc.