# 2021–22 Czech First League

The 2021–22 Czech First League, known as the Fortuna Liga is the 29th season of the Czech Republic's top-tier football for professional clubs since its establishment, in 1993. SK Slavia Prague were the reigning champions. The season started on 24 July 2021. The first half of the season will had 19 rounds, finishing on 19 December 2021, and the other half commenced on 5 February 2022. The season ended on 14 May 2022 with two extra play-out fixtures on 19 and 22 May 2022.
The season format was changed back to be played with 16 clubs, each team will play in the league format home and away matches. The lowest-ranked team will be relegated directly to the second league, the two teams positioned 14th and 15th will play a play-out with two teams from the second league positioned 2nd and 3rd in a home and away format. This will be the fourth season to use VAR, featuring it in all matches played. All matches will be played on weekdays, no Friday fixtures are expected.

## Season summary

This was the fourth season sponsored by the betting agency Fortuna with a contract valid until 2024 as well as TV broadcasting rights held by O2 TV, which showed all eight matches per week. This was the first season that national broadcaster ČT Sport did not possess any rights to broadcast any of the fixtures. Blesk held for the highlights from all matches. The 2021–22 season began on 24 July, thirteen days after the UEFA Euro 2020 final. With most of the national team players still released for vacations, Slavia Prague, Sparta Prague and Plzeň started with incomplete first-team squads.
After ten match-weeks the trio recorded one loss each, Viktoria in 6th round at Hradec Králové, Sparta in seventh round in Plzeň and Slavia in round 10 in the Prague Derby at Letná on 3 October 2021. Sparta Prague ended the longest non-winning streak of derby matches after five-and-a-half years at 14 matches. It was also an interruption of Slavia Prague's record unbeaten streak of 54 matches in the first league. Three weeks later, Slavia defeated Plzeň and Matchweek 15 whilst Slovácko defeated Sparta 4–0, which escalated them to second place behind Slavia. However, Slovácko did not confirm the point tally in the following matches and finished fourth during winter break.

## Teams
### Promotion and relegation (pre-season)

A total of sixteen teams contest the league, including fifteen sides from the 2020–21 season and the winner of last season's second league.

#### Team promoted to Czech First League

Due to a reduction from 18 to 16 teams, only the winner of the FNL advanced to the first league. On 8 May 2021 Hradec Králové defeated Dukla Prague 2–1 and secured the promotion with three matches remaining. Hradec Králové will participate in the top tier after four years of absence.

#### Teams relegated from Czech First League

The three lowest positioned teams from the last season were relegated to the Fortuna National League.
On 8 May 2021, Opava became the first team to be relegated to FNL after a 1–1 draw at Zlín with three games remaining, ending their three-year stay in the top flight.
On 16 May 2021, Zbrojovka became the second team to be relegated to FNL after a 1–1 draw at Slovan Liberec with two games remaining, ending their one-year stay in the top flight.
On 23 May 2021, Příbram's relegation was confirmed following a 0–1 defeat at home against Pardubice with one game remaining, ending their First League tenure after three years.

### Locations and stadiums

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Bohemians Praha 1905 | Prague | Ďolíček | 5,000 |
| SK Dynamo České Budějovice | České Budějovice | Stadion Střelecký ostrov | 6,681 |
| FC Hradec Králové | Hradec Králové | Lokotrans Aréna | 5,000 |
| FK Jablonec | Jablonec nad Nisou | Stadion Střelnice | 6,108 |
| MFK Karviná | Karviná | Městský stadion (Karviná) | 4,833 |
| FC Slovan Liberec | Liberec | Stadion u Nisy | 9,900 |
| FK Mladá Boleslav | Mladá Boleslav | Lokotrans Aréna | 5,000 |
| SK Sigma Olomouc | Olomouc | Andrův stadion | 12,483 |
| FC Baník Ostrava | Ostrava | Městský stadion (Ostrava) | 15,123 |
| FC Viktoria Plzeň | Plzeň | Doosan Arena | 11,700 |
| SK Slavia Prague | Prague | Sinobo Stadium | 19,370 |
| 1. FC Slovácko | Uherské Hradiště | Městský fotbalový stadion Miroslava Valenty | 8,000 |
| AC Sparta Prague | Prague | Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena | 18,944 |
| FK Teplice | Teplice | Na Stínadlech | 18,221 |
| FC Fastav Zlín | Zlín | Letná Stadion | 5,783 |
| FK Pardubice | Pardubice | Ďolíček | 5,000 |
| Region | Number of teams | Club(s) |
| Prague | 3 | Bohemians, Sparta, Slavia |
| Liberec | 2 | Jablonec, Liberec |
| Moravian-Silesian | 2 | Ostrava, Karviná |
| Zlín | 2 | Zlín, Slovácko |
| Central Bohemian | 1 | Mladá Boleslav |
| Hradec Králové | 1 | Hradec Králové |
| Olomouc | 1 | Olomouc |
| Pardubice | 1 | Pardubice |
| Plzeň | 1 | Plzeň |
| South Bohemian | 1 | České Budějovice |
| Ústí nad Labem | 1 | Teplice |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Head coach | Head coach appointed | Shirt manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Bohemians 1905 | Jaroslav Veselý | 21 March 2022 | Adidas | BALSHOP.cz |
| České Budějovice | David Horejš | | Adidas | Budějovický Budvar |
| Hradec Králové | Miroslav Koubek | 21 May 2021 | Jako | Město Hradec Králové |
| Jablonec | Petr Rada | | Capelli Sport | MOL Gitschberg Jochtal |
| Karviná | Bohumil Páník | 7 October 2021 | Adidas | OKD |
| Liberec | Luboš Kozel | 29 August 2021 | Nike | AAA Auto |
| Mladá Boleslav | Pavel Hoftych | 23 February 2022 | Adidas | Škoda Auto |
| Olomouc | Václav Jílek | 31 May 2021 | Adidas | Tipsport Sigma |
| Ostrava | Ondřej Smetana | | Jako | MW-Dias Město Ostrava |
| Plzeň | Michal Bílek | | Macron | Doosan |
| Slavia Prague | Jindřich Trpišovský | 22 December 2017 | Puma | eToro |
| Slovácko | Martin Svědík | | Puma | Z-Group |
| Sparta Prague | Pavel Vrba | | Adidas | Tipsport (Local) T-Mobile (Europe) |
| Teplice | Jiří Jarošík | 28 September 2021 | Puma | AGC Bílinská kyselka |
| Zlín | Jan Jelínek | | Adidas | Climax Sunscreens |
| Pardubice | Jaroslav Novotný Jiří Krejčí | | Lotto | ČPP Servis |

## Managerial changes

Ahead of the season:
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Contract valid until |
| Hradec Králové | Zdenko Frťala | Resigned | 9 May 2021 | Miroslav Koubek | 21 May 2021 | Undisclosed |
| Sigma | Radoslav Látal | End of contract | 3 May 2021 | Václav Jílek | 31 May 2021 | Summer 2023 |
During the season:
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Match-week | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Contract valid until |
| Liberec | Pavel Hoftych | Mutual consent | 26 August 2021 | 5 | 16 | Luboš Kozel | 29 August 2021 | Undisclosed |
| Teplice | Radim Kučera | Sacked | 26 September 2021 | 9 | 15 | Jiří Jarošík | 28 September 2021 | Summer 2024 |
| Karviná | Jozef Weber | Sacked | 6 October 2021 | 10 | 16 | Bohumil Páník | 7 October 2021 | Undisclosed |
| Mladá Boleslav | Karel Jarolím | Sacked | 23 February 2022 | 22 | 6 | Pavel Hoftych | 23 February 2022 | Undisclosed |
| Bohemians | Luděk Klusáček | Mutual consent | 23 February 2022 | 26 | 13 | Jaroslav Veselý | 21 March 2022 | End of season |
| Sparta Prague | Pavel Vrba | Sacked | 9 May 2022 | 34 | 3 | Michal Horňák | 9 May 2022 | End of season |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Slavia Prague | 30 | 23 | 4 | 3 | 71 | 19 | +52 | 73 | Qualification for the championship group |
| 2 | Viktoria Plzeň | 30 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 53 | 19 | +34 | 72 | Qualification for the championship group |
| 3 | Sparta Prague | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 65 | 32 | +33 | 66 | Qualification for the championship group |
| 4 | Slovácko | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 50 | 30 | +20 | 59 | Qualification for the championship group |
| 5 | Baník Ostrava | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 54 | 39 | +15 | 51 | Qualification for the championship group |
| 6 | Hradec Králové | 30 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 38 | 40 | −2 | 40 | Qualification for the championship group |
| 7 | Mladá Boleslav | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 45 | 48 | −3 | 38 | Qualification for the play-off |
| 8 | Slovan Liberec | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 29 | 38 | −9 | 37 | Qualification for the play-off |
| 9 | Sigma Olomouc | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 39 | 37 | +2 | 37 | Qualification for the play-off |
| 10 | České Budějovice | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 40 | 46 | −6 | 36 | Qualification for the play-off |
| 11 | Fastav Zlín | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 36 | 53 | −17 | 30 | Qualification for the relegation group |
| 12 | Teplice | 30 | 8 | 3 | 19 | 29 | 49 | −20 | 27 | Qualification for the relegation group |
| 13 | Jablonec | 30 | 4 | 14 | 12 | 22 | 45 | −23 | 26 | Qualification for the relegation group |
| 14 | Bohemians 1905 | 30 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 34 | 56 | −22 | 26 | Qualification for the relegation group |
| 15 | Pardubice | 30 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 35 | 67 | −32 | 24 | Qualification for the relegation group |
| 16 | Karviná | 30 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 30 | 52 | −22 | 17 | Qualification for the relegation group |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BOH | CBU | HKR | JAB | KAR | LIB | MLA | OLO | OST | PCE | PLZ | SLA | SLO | SPA | TEP | ZLN |
| Bohemians 1905 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 |
| České Budějovice | 2–1 | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Hradec Králové | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| Jablonec | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Karviná | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Slovan Liberec | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–5 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Mladá Boleslav | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–3 | — | 3–3 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–5 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 |
| Sigma Olomouc | 0–0 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Baník Ostrava | 4–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 5–1 |
| Pardubice | 3–0 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 | 0–5 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Viktoria Plzeň | 6–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Slavia Prague | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| Slovácko | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — | 4–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 |
| Sparta Prague | 5–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | — | 4–2 | 2–0 |
| Teplice | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–3 | — | 4–1 |
| Fastav Zlín | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–5 | 3–0 | — |

## Championship group

Points and goals were carried over in full from the regular season.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | PLZ | SLA | SPA | SLO | OST | HKR |
| 1 | Viktoria Plzeň (C) | 35 | 26 | 7 | 2 | 63 | 21 | +42 | 85 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round | — | — | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | — |
| 2 | Slavia Prague | 35 | 24 | 6 | 5 | 80 | 27 | +53 | 78 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 3–0 | — | — |
| 3 | Sparta Prague | 35 | 22 | 7 | 6 | 72 | 40 | +32 | 73 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round | — | — | — | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| 4 | Slovácko | 35 | 21 | 5 | 9 | 59 | 38 | +21 | 68 | Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round | — | — | — | — | 3–1 | 3–0 |
| 5 | Baník Ostrava | 35 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 60 | 48 | +12 | 55 | | — | 1–1 | — | — | — | 3–1 |
| 6 | Hradec Králové | 35 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 44 | 52 | −8 | 44 | | 0–2 | 4–3 | — | — | — | — |
* ↑ Slovácko qualified for the Europa League as Czech Cup winners.

## Play-off

Because only four teams advance to the European Cups from the Czech First League due to a low national coefficient, the winner of the play-off will only receive a cash bonus and a better position in the 2022–23 Czech Cup.
| First round | First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round |
| Sigma Olomouc | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Slovan Liberec | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | |
| Slovan Liberec | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sigma Olomouc | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | | | | Mladá Boleslav | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| České Budějovice | 2 | 0 | 2 | Mladá Boleslav | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Mladá Boleslav | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | |

## Relegation group

Points and goals were carried over in full from the regular season.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | PCE | ZLN | JAB | BOH | TEP | KAR |
| 11 | Pardubice | 35 | 9 | 10 | 16 | 42 | 68 | −26 | 37 | | — | 1–1 | — | — | — | 2–0 |
| 12 | Fastav Zlín | 35 | 9 | 9 | 17 | 43 | 60 | −17 | 36 | | — | — | 1–1 | 1–4 | 3–0 | — |
| 13 | Jablonec | 35 | 6 | 16 | 13 | 27 | 48 | −21 | 34 | | 0–1 | — | — | 1–1 | — | 2–0 |
| 14 | Bohemians 1905 (O) | 35 | 8 | 10 | 17 | 45 | 61 | −16 | 34 | Qualification for the relegation play-offs | 0–1 | — | — | — | — | 4–0 |
| 15 | Teplice (O) | 35 | 8 | 5 | 22 | 33 | 59 | −26 | 29 | Qualification for the relegation play-offs | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | 2–2 | — | — |
| 16 | Karviná (R) | 35 | 3 | 10 | 22 | 33 | 63 | −30 | 19 | Relegation to the FNL | — | 1–1 | — | — | 2–2 | — |

## Relegation play-offs

Teams placed 14th and 15th in the relegation group faced the teams placed second and third in the Czech National Football League for two spots in the next season.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Opava | 0–3 | Bohemians 1905 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Teplice | 5–2 | Vlašim | 3–0 | 2–2 |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

Updated at the end of the season.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Jean-David Beauguel | Plzeň | 19 |
| 2 | Václav Jurečka | Slovácko | 17 |
| 3 | Ladislav Almási | Ostrava | 16 |
| 4 | Ondřej Lingr | Slavia | 14 |
| 5 | Tomáš Čvančara | Jablonec / Sparta | 12 |
| 6 | Ewerton | Mladá Boleslav | 11 |
| 6 | David Puškáč | Bohemians 1905 | 11 |
| 8 | Ivan Schranz | Slavia | 10 |
| 8 | David Douděra | Mladá Boleslav | 10 |
| 10 | Jan Kuchta | Slavia | 9 |
| 10 | Fortune Bassey | České Budějovice | 9 |
| 10 | Jakub Rada | Hradec Králové | 9 |
| 10 | Adam Hložek | Sparta | 9 |

### Hat-tricks

| Matchweek | Date | Player | For | Against | Result |
| 2 | 30 July 2021 | Ivan Schranz | Slavia | Teplice | 3–1 (A) |
| 9 | 26 September 2021 | Ewerton | Mladá Boleslav | Slovácko | 3–5 (H) |
| 18 | 12 December 2021 | Matěj Pulkrab | Sparta | Bohemians | 5–1 (H) |
| 32 | 30 April 2022 | Václav Jurečka | Slovácko | Ostrava | 3–1 (H) |
| 35 | 15 May 2022 | David Puškáč$^4$ | Bohemians 1905 | Karviná | 4–0 (H) |

#### Notes

$^4$ Player scored 4 goals (H) – Home team (A) – Away team

### Clean sheets

Updated at the end of the season.
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Jindřich Staněk | Plzeň | 14 |
| 2 | Aleš Mandous | Slavia | 10 |
| 3 | Matúš Macík | Olomouc | 9 |
| 4 | Jan Šeda | Mladá Boleslav | 8 |
| 4 | Filip Nguyen | Slovácko | 8 |
| 6 | Jan Laštůvka | Ostrava | 7 |
| 6 | Matej Rakovan | Zlín | 7 |
| 6 | Jan Hanuš | Jablonec | 7 |
| 9 | Florin Niță | Sparta | 6 |
| 9 | Vilém Fendrich | Hradec Králové | 6 |
| 9 | Ondřej Kolář | Slavia | 6 |
| 9 | Jakub Markovič | Pardubice | 6 |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month |
| Month | Player | Club | Manager | Club |
| August | Ivan Schranz | Slavia | Pavel Vrba | Sparta |
| September | Ladislav Almási | Ostrava | Michal Bílek | Plzeň |
| October | Ewerton | Mladá Boleslav | Martin Svědík | Slovácko |
| November | Fortune Bassey | České Budějovice | Jindřich Trpišovský | Slavia |
| December | Matěj Pulkrab | Sparta | Michal Bílek | Plzeň |
| February | Jan Fortelný | Teplice | Jiří Jarošík | Teplice |
| March | Ondřej Lingr | Slavia | Miroslav Koubek | Hradec Králové |
| April | David Douděra | Mladá Boleslav | Michal Bílek | Plzeň |
| May | Jean-David Beauguel | Plzeň | Michal Bílek | Plzeň |

### Annual awards

Source:
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Player of the Season | Tomáš Holeš | Slavia Prague |
| Manager of the Season | Michal Bílek | Viktoria Plzeň |
| International of the Season | Jean-David Beauguel | Viktoria Plzeň |
| Fans' choice Player of the Season | Adam Hložek | Sparta Prague |
| Newcomer of the Season | David Jurásek | Mladá Boleslav / Slavia Prague |
| Figure of the Season | Marek Matějovský | Mladá Boleslav |
| Goalkeeper of the Season | Jindřich Staněk | Viktoria Plzeň |
| Defender of the Season | Alexander Bah | Slavia Prague |
| Midfield of the Season | Tomáš Holeš | Slavia Prague |
| Forward of the Season | Jean-David Beauguel | Viktoria Plzeň |