SK Slavia Praha · History

SK Slavia Prague is one of the two great clubs of the Czech capital and one of the oldest and most decorated institutions in Central European football. Founded on 2 November 1892 in Prague, it plays in red and white at the Fortuna Arena in the Eden district and is known to its supporters as Sešívaní, "the stitched ones", after the two-halves shirt it has worn for most of its history. Thirteen Czechoslovak league titles and nine Czech ones — the two most recent in 2024-25 and 2025-26 — make it the benchmark of modern Czech football and a regular in the Champions League.

Students, bicycles and literature: the birth of 1892

Slavia was not born as a football club. In 1892 a group of medical students from the Prague district of Vinohrady founded a literary and cycling association named ACOS Slavia; it was refounded in 1895 and added football in 1896. On 25 March 1896 the club played its first match, a 5-0 win over AC Prague with Karel Freja as captain. Just four days later, on 29 March, it faced Sparta Prague for the first time in a goalless draw: the Prague derby, the most prominent rivalry in Czech football, had begun, and it has divided the city ever since. Red and white were associated from the outset with heart and fair play, and the five-pointed star of the crest became a recognisable symbol across the continent.

The golden age: Johnny Madden, Plánička and Bican

The club's first professional coach was Scotsman Johnny Madden, a former Celtic player who led the team from 1905 to 1930 and built a golden era that lasted a quarter of a century. Under his influence and that of his successors, Slavia piled up Czechoslovak first division titles: 1925, 1928-29, 1929-30, 1930-31, 1932-33, 1933-34, 1934-35, 1936-37, 1939-40, 1940-41, 1941-42, 1942-43 and 1946-47, thirteen in all. That side fielded some of the most influential footballers in European history: goalkeeper František Plánička, winger Antonín Puč and, above all, forward Josef "Pepi" Bican, one of the most prolific goalscorers the game has ever known and the most celebrated figure ever to wear the red and white. The international high point came in 1938 with the Mitropa Cup, the leading continental club tournament of the day. From those years also survives the club's record win: 10-1 away at Fenerbahçe in 1923.

Four decades in the wilderness and the 1996 revival

After the 1946-47 title the club entered a long drought that spanned the entire communist period. Almost fifty years passed before Slavia were champions again: they finally were in 1995-96, by then in the league of the independent Czech Republic, and in that same season they produced their best European run by reaching the UEFA Cup semi-finals. The revival was confirmed by the Czech Cups of 1996-97, 1998-99 and 2001-02, and by back-to-back league titles in 2007-08 and 2008-09, which returned the club to the Champions League group stage — they debuted there in 2007-08 in a group with Arsenal, Sevilla and Steaua Bucharest.

The Trpišovský era: Czech dominance and European nights

In December 2017 Jindřich Trpišovský arrived from Slovan Liberec, the coach who has defined the most dominant chapter in the club's recent history. Under him Slavia won the leagues of 2016-17 — already under way when he landed — 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2024-25 and 2025-26, plus the cups of 2017-18, 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2022-23. The 2020-21 campaign was historic: the team went through the entire league season unbeaten and strung together 54 matches without defeat in the Czech top flight, a national record. In Europe it reached the Europa League quarter-finals in 2018-19 and 2020-21 and returned to the Champions League group stage in 2019-20. Trpišovský has become the winningest manager in the history of Czech and Czechoslovak football.

The Fortuna Arena and the club's ownership

Since 7 May 2008 Slavia have played at the Fortuna Arena — known for years as the Eden Arena — a 19,370-capacity ground built in the Eden neighbourhood of Vršovice and opened with an exhibition match against Oxford University. Off the pitch, the club was in Chinese hands between 2015 and 2023, first with CEFC China Energy and later with the Sinobo Group and CITIC. In December 2023 Czech businessman Pavel Tykač bought the club for around two billion Czech crowns and returned ownership to local hands.

Honours

The trophy room holds thirteen Czechoslovak league titles (from 1925 to 1946-47), nine Czech league titles (1995-96, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2016-17, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2024-25 and 2025-26), seven Czech Cups (1996-97, 1998-99, 2001-02, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2022-23) and the 1938 Mitropa Cup. Continentally, its best results are the 1995-96 UEFA Cup semi-finals and the Europa League quarter-finals of 2018-19 and 2020-21. Internationals such as Vladimír Coufal and Tomáš Souček have passed through the squad in recent years on their way to the Premier League.

The 2025-26 title

In 2025-26 Slavia retained the league title, taking it with 71 points from 35 matches (24 wins, 8 draws, 3 defeats, 74 goals scored and 30 conceded), went out in the Czech Cup quarter-finals and endured a punishing Champions League league phase: no wins, three draws and five defeats, 5 goals for and 19 against, finishing 34th. Tomáš Chorý was the club's top scorer with 17 goals in all competitions.