AC Sparta Praha
Ground: Epet Arena - Stadion Letná
Capacity: 18,349
Club Founded: 1893
League: Czech First League (current level)
An historic club, whose team colours are influenced by Arsenal, Sparta Praha remain one of Czechia's big hitters.
Club History
Early Years
The club was formed in Czechia's capital on the 16th November 1893 as Athletic Club Královské Vinohrady. Within a year, the club became Athletic Club Sparta as the team wore black shirts with a large S on the front.
After wearing black-and-white striped shirts, the club president of the day, Dr Petřík, was in London, where he saw Arsenal play in 1906. The Gunners wore their dark red-currant shirts, so Dr Petřík took some back with him. Sparta have worn the colour ever since. Four years after opening Stadion Letná in 1921, the team won the Czech league title.
Iron Sparta
They retained the crown before the team became known as 'Iron Sparta' for their dominance throughout the 1930s. Head coach Ferenc Szedlacsek led them to four league titles, with three more being added in the following decade. The last of these triumphs came when the club was called Athletic Club Sparta Bubeneč after communist rule began.
During the communist era, Sparta enjoyed a golden period. The Central European Mitropa Cup enjoyed the same recognition as today's Champions League. Sparta won it in 1927 and 1935. In 1949, they were renamed Sokol Bratrství Sparta. Sparta ČKD Sokolovo in 1951 and TJ Spartak Praha Sokolovo in 1953 were further name changes.
World Cup Heroes
Sparta won two more Czech titles in the 1950s. By the end of the decade, the team attracted crowds of up to 40,000. They watched the likes of Kvašňák, Jiří Tichý and Václav Mašek, who played as Czechoslovakia lost to Brazil in the 1962 World Cup Final. UEFA competitions had superseded the Mitropa Cup when Sparta won it again.
Sparta lifted the Československý Pohár (Czechoslovak Cup) for the first time after victory over FC VSS Košice. Yet another title change came in 1965. As TJ Sparta ČKD Praha, they won the 1966-67 league title. It was the last major honour to arrive at Letná until the Cup was won for a second time with an aggregate win over Slovan Bratislava in 1972.
The Glorious 80s
The trophy was regained over the same opponents in 1976. This was one year after the unthinkable happened when Rudí (The Reds) were relegated, although they were promoted the following season to make it a double triumph of sorts. The Cup was won once again in 1980 following a defeat of ZŤS Košice.
The 1983-84 season saw Sparta complete the league and Cup double, with Inter Bratislava the defeated side in the final of the Pohár. The rest of the 80s were packed full of league successes as stars such as Berger, Hašek, Skuhravý, and Griga took the side to four titles.
Sparta's dominance continued into the new decade with another league title in 1989-90 before the club changed its name to TJ Sparta Praha and then AC Sparta Praha in 1991, when they retained the title. Sparta have never lifted a European trophy in the modern era, although they had a superb run in the 1991-92 European Cup.
The same season saw another Cup victory; this time over 1. FC Tatran Prešov. In 1992-93 Sparta won the league. It was the final competition before Czech and Slovak went their separate ways after Slovakian independence.
The Czech and Slovak Split
The 1983-84 season saw Sparta complete the league and Cup double, with Inter Bratislava the defeated side in the final of the Pohár. The rest of the 80s were packed full of league successes as stars such as Berger, Hašek, Skuhravý, and Griga took the side to four titles.
Sparta's dominance continued into the new decade with another league title in 1989-90 before the club changed its name to TJ Sparta Praha and then AC Sparta Praha in 1991, when they retained the title. Sparta have never lifted a European trophy in the modern era, although they had a superb run in the 1991-92 European Cup.
The same season saw another Cup victory; this time over 1. FC Tatran Prešov. In 1992-93 Sparta won the league. It was the final competition before Czech and Slovak went their separate ways after Slovakian independence.
The Czech and Slovak Split
The newly formed Czech First League saw Sparta win the title twice in its first few years. The club also provided valuable players to the newly formed Czech Republic national team. In Euro 96 in England, Sparta players Kouba, Frýdek and Horňák returned with tournament runners-up medals.
The first Pohár FAČR (Czech Cup) triumph came in 1996 with a 4-0 win over Petra Drnovice. The league title was won in five consecutive seasons from 1996-97. Tomáš Rosický's outstanding talent featured prominently in the Euro 2000 tournament in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Sparta's Talented Production Line
Another league championship arrived in the trophy cabinet in 2002-03 as Zdeněk Grygera, Tomáš Hübschman, Jaromír Blažek, Karel Poborský and academy product Petr Čech helped the Czech team to third place in the Euros in Portugal in 2004. The team added three more Czech titles to the trophy cabinet before the decade ended.
Cup wins came in 2004 and 2006 over Banik Ostrava, 2007 against FK Jablonec, and in 2009 after a penalty shoot-out versus FC Slovan Liberec, as Jozef Chovanec oversaw team affairs from 2008. Chovanec departed in December 2011 after a rare barren spell to be replaced by former player Martin Hašek.
Recent Years
Vítězslav Lavička took over in the summer of 2012, eventually leading Sparta to the league in 2013-14 before adding the Cup with a penalty shoot-out victory against FC Viktoria Plzeň.
Several head coaches came and went in the following years as the team failed to win honours.
Slovan Liberec were beaten 2-1 in the 2019-20 Pohár FAČR final under head coach Václav Kotal. Brian Priske led Sparta to the 2022-23 title. Jan Kuchta finished as top scorer. The double was completed the following season with Viktoria Plzeň the beaten cup finalists. Veljko Birmančević's goals helped the side to the title.
Several head coaches came and went in the following years as the team failed to win honours.
Slovan Liberec were beaten 2-1 in the 2019-20 Pohár FAČR final under head coach Václav Kotal. Brian Priske led Sparta to the 2022-23 title. Jan Kuchta finished as top scorer. The double was completed the following season with Viktoria Plzeň the beaten cup finalists. Veljko Birmančević's goals helped the side to the title.
Priske departed and returned, taking Sparta to a league runners-up spot in 2025-26.
My visits
Sparta Prague 4 Slovan Liberec 1
Gambrinus Liga - Saturday 20th October 2000
👨👨👧👧 6,635 🎟️ 50 Kc (£1.70)
In October 2000, I took three weeks off work from Lord’s Cricket Ground after reading an article in the Daily Star's Saturday travel section. I bought an InterRail ticket and discovered Europe. I decided to visit lots of cities I’d always fancied seeing, to sightsee, watch football and visit stadiums.
I'd arrived in Prague after travelling from Budapest. I had found accommodation in an unconventional way. A man waited at the station trying to find anyone without a booking before hawking me to a hostel for a commission. I visited both the Strahov Stadium and Stadion Evžena Rošického that morning.
I knew that Sparta were playing FC Slovan Liberec at Letná that evening. After some sightseeing, I went back to my digs for a siesta. After a welcome sleep, I took the tram into the city centre and wandered around Wenceslas Square and found something to eat. From there, I took the Metro to Hradcanska station and another tram for the short ride to the stadium.
The Sparta supporters' clubhouse was showing the results coming in from around the rest of Europe, as well as Sparta’s ice hockey team in action at an away game. The prices of the beer made me extremely happy. I started off on Pilsner Urquell, which was about 30p before I saw signs for Gambrinus, which sponsored the league.
Being the adventurous type, I gave it a go. It was even cheaper! I went to the ticket booth to try and work out what I wanted. I saw signs in koruna, which I couldn’t quite believe. I could stand behind the goal for 50p! I asked for a ticket for that section, but the English-speaking vendor told me it was with the Sparta hooligans and advised me to have one in the seats for 70p.
I took his advice and went back for another beer or two before kick-off. I got inside the stadium and found I had a great bargain. My seat was in the bottom tier opposite the Main Stand near the halfway line. My stand covered three sides with seats upstairs and down. Terracing behind the goals was in place for those wanting to stand.
The Main Stand was a separate structure with two tiers of seats. The Letná stadium hosted most of the Czech Republic's home games. A young local, intrigued by what I was doing at the game, started chatting to me, grilling me about English football. The low crowd affected the atmosphere. The game was being shown live on TV.
The Sparta 'hooligans' to our left were a bunch of youngsters who made noise, had lots of flags and tried to be a nuisance to the stewards. The Liberec fans were at the other end in the corner. There were probably about 200 of them.
I sent my new friend out to get two beers. He came back and handed them to me. He was taken aback that I'd bought him one. I may have been on a budget, but I would struggle to spend all my koruna (£20 worth!) before I went. I even indulged in half-time local sausages to realise that not all countries and clubs rip off their supporters.
Sparta won the game at a canter and would go on to win the title the following Spring. The football wasn’t the best, but the league was still relatively new and obviously not as strong as the old Czechoslovakia League. I asked my mate if he knew any decent nearby pubs for a beer after the match.
He said he did, but they were about ten minutes away in the opposite direction from the Metro, and he had to get the train home as he lived about 30km from Prague. After the game, I went back into town but didn’t fancy trying anywhere I saw for a drink.
The Main Stand was a separate structure with two tiers of seats. The Letná stadium hosted most of the Czech Republic's home games. A young local, intrigued by what I was doing at the game, started chatting to me, grilling me about English football. The low crowd affected the atmosphere. The game was being shown live on TV.
The Sparta 'hooligans' to our left were a bunch of youngsters who made noise, had lots of flags and tried to be a nuisance to the stewards. The Liberec fans were at the other end in the corner. There were probably about 200 of them.
I sent my new friend out to get two beers. He came back and handed them to me. He was taken aback that I'd bought him one. I may have been on a budget, but I would struggle to spend all my koruna (£20 worth!) before I went. I even indulged in half-time local sausages to realise that not all countries and clubs rip off their supporters.
Sparta won the game at a canter and would go on to win the title the following Spring. The football wasn’t the best, but the league was still relatively new and obviously not as strong as the old Czechoslovakia League. I asked my mate if he knew any decent nearby pubs for a beer after the match.
He said he did, but they were about ten minutes away in the opposite direction from the Metro, and he had to get the train home as he lived about 30km from Prague. After the game, I went back into town but didn’t fancy trying anywhere I saw for a drink.
I was tired as the trip was catching up with me. I was catching a morning train to Berlin the next day, so I went back to my room. At least it meant I had plenty of koruna to spend on food and drinks to keep me going for the next day.
Stadium Visit
Friday 11th March 2016
It was a pleasant but cold morning as I navigated my way around the magnificent city of Prague. I’d already visited the excellent homes of Admira Praha and Meteor Praha before I took a tram and changed before arriving outside the Generali Arena, as the stadium had been renamed under sponsorship.
My taxi from the airport the previous evening went very close to the rear of the stands as on the way to my hotel. The match between Sparta and Lazio in the Europa League was in progress, but I’d missed out by just an hour.
A decent consolation prize would be to get inside to take some photos, as I hadn’t taken any of real quality from my previous trip. It looked from the outside like workers were clearing up from the match, so I had high hopes.
I’m not entirely sure whether I should have walked past the security box and behind the Main Stand, but I knew I wouldn’t be doing anything wrong. Within minutes, I found myself up behind the goal with a great view.
From what I saw, the stadium was unchanged since my visit. The groundsmen worked on the pitch while others were sweeping the stands. It looked like a real picture. After getting as many different shots as I could, I went back down, where someone was struggling to get security to let them through!
I popped into the office to buy a Lazio programme. I couldn't find out whether spectators could attend Strahov for Sparta’s under-21s game on the Monday afternoon. I headed to Hradansky metro station and then into the city centre to do some sightseeing in a place I was growing fonder of by the hour.