SK Aritma Praha (Czech Republic)

SK Aritma Praha is a football club formed in 1908 as the successor to SK Dynamo Veleslavín and Vokovice. Aritma are located in the Vokovice district of the Czech Republic capital of Prague.

As well as football, the club has sections playing basketball, athletics, tennis, miniature golf, ASPV, hiking, volleyball and curling at their base on Nad Lávkou, near the local swimming pool, on the edge of the protected area of Šárka.

For most of the club's existence, the first team have played in the Pražský přebor (Prague Championship). Aritma were crowned champions at the end of the 2011-12 season and won promotion to the fourth tier of Czech football 4. Liga.

Between 1965 and 1969, Dusan Uhrin performed for Aritma before going on to an accomplished coaching career, which saw him lead AC Sparta Praha, AEL Limassol, Dinamo Tbilisi, Slovan Bratislava, as well as the Czech Republic during Euro 96 and the Kuwait national team.

Following their elevation, Aritma played in both A and B divisions. After finding their feet for the first couple of seasons, they improved and ended the 2015-16 campaign in sixth place under head coach Tomáš Kubr.

The team finished as league runners-up in 2017-18, followed by a season in mid-table and then seventh place when the 2019-20 season was cancelled by the COVID-19 outbreak. Once things returned to normal in 2021-22, Aritma finished the season in sixth place, with Michal Havlíček leading the scoring.

The side was moved to Division A for the 2022-23 campaign, again finishing sixth, before an improvement to the runner-up position followed twelve months later. The league title was secured in 2024-25, meaning Aritma were promoted to 3. CFL Group A for the following season.

SK Aritma Praha will play in 3. CFL Group A in the 2025-26 season.

My visit

SK Aritma Praha 3 Rokycany 1 (Saturday 12th March 2016) Czech Republic 4. Liga Division A (att: 100)

Following a very enjoyable Friday around Prague, including the top-flight match between SK Slavia Praha and Fastav Zlin, I woke early on the Saturday morning in pretty good condition. The beer really was good in that part of the world!

After grabbing a pastry across the road from my Hotel Golden City Garni base, I jumped on the tram 26 at 9.15am towards Nádraží Veleslavín on the far western side of the city. The reason for the extremely early start is that several matches in the lower divisions kick off at 10.30am at the weekend. 

Some are even given live TV coverage. What a fantastic way to start a Saturday! I soon found my way down the sloped streets to Areál SK Aritma, but everything was not right. Yes, players were warming up as I expected, but on the artificial pitch behind the impressive Main Stand.

Having paid my money at the small hut and gained entry to the ground, I quickly worked out that some games after the winter break were played on artificial pitches to preserve the turf surfaces. 

Indeed, I’d avoided a fixture at Admira as they had moved their game to another venue with 4G.

Not to be perturbed, I wandered over to the far side of the pitch where most of the hundred in attendance were gathering. I wasn’t sure what standard to expect. At a guess, I’d say Step 4 of non-league back in England. The pace was good, which is always handy with such an early kick-off.

The home side went ahead in nineteen minutes through Tomáš Volek, and doubled their lead ten minutes from the interval as Filip Podobský netted. 

The visitors of Rokycany, who are located around forty-five miles southwest of Prague, got back into it just before the interval as Pavel Aubrecht scored.

Half-time called for an investigation of the small clubhouse, which had some interesting memorabilia on show. Despite the language barrier, I managed to buy a latte and watch a few minutes of the third-tier ČFL match on TV. 

A sausage griddle had been set up on the patio outside, and tempting though the smell was, I held out because I had lunch in mind in the city centre.

The second half was a nip-and-tuck affair, but the match was settled near its completion as Volek added his second, and Aritma’s third.

I headed back to Nádraží Veleslavín, where I went downstairs and took the A Metro to Můstek, ready for some more fantastic ambience around Wenceslas Square and a fine local lunch, before heading off to my afternoon match at Motorlet.