Groundhopping in Czechia: nine grounds and no obstacles

The country with no obstacle

Every other country on this site has a catch. Poland wants a national identity number. Germany makes you queue behind the members. England sends you to the concourse to drink and rations away tickets by loyalty points.

Czechia has none of that. Tickets go on general sale, foreigners buy them without producing anything, and at most of these clubs you can turn up on the day and pay at the window. For a visitor from western Europe the prices look like a misprint.

If you have never been to a football match outside your own country and want somewhere to start, this is the country. It is also the country to send a sceptical friend to.

What applies at every Czech ground

• Full-strength beer, in the stand. This is the Czech Republic; the beer is good, it is cheap, and nobody will stop you carrying it to your seat. Most grounds use a plastic-cup deposit system — pay a little extra, get it back when you return the cup.
• No document demanded. No fan card exists.
• Tickets are cheap. Even at Slavia and Sparta, a decent seat costs a fraction of an English League Two ticket.
• Away allocations are normal and segregation is light by English standards, though the Prague derby is a different matter.

What the grounds are actually like

The Czech list splits cleanly in two, and that is most of its appeal.

The modern half — Slavia's Fortuna Arena, Plzeň's Doosan Arena, the rebuilt Sparta — are enclosed, comfortable and full. They would not look out of place in the Bundesliga's lower reaches.

The old half is why you come. Bohemians' Ďolíček is a low-slung ground of about six thousand in a residential Prague district, with the kind of character that has been renovated out of most of Europe. Brno's Srbská opened in 1926. Teplice sits under the hills of the north. These are the grounds that will still be in your head a year later.

Nothing here is enormous. The largest holds 19,370 — smaller than fifteen of the thirty-six German grounds on this site. Czech football is a small-stadium country, and small stadiums with full houses are better company than big ones with gaps.

Prices, trains and language

• This is the cheapest football in the series. Tickets, beer and food together frequently cost less than a single ticket in England.
• Trains and buses are excellent and inexpensive. Prague to Brno, Olomouc, Plzeň or Liberec is straightforward and cheap; Ostrava is about three hours from the capital.
• Your match ticket does not cover city transport. Buy a day ticket; in Prague it costs very little and covers trams, metro and buses.
• English is widely spoken in Prague and less so elsewhere. Club ticket offices generally cope.

All nine grounds

Two things to know before you choose a fixture

Ostrava has a running track. It is the only ground in this Czech list that does, and it puts real distance between the crowd and the pitch behind the goals. Take a side stand and sit higher rather than lower — the same advice this series gives for Berlin, Nuremberg and Braunschweig.

Brno is one ground with two top-division clubs. Zbrojovka Brno and Artis Brno both play at Srbská, are rivals on the pitch, and are jointly campaigning for a new stadium. This series counts a shared ground as one entry, the same rule applied to Wisła and Wieczysta in Kraków. Two matches, one stadium.

Prague: three grounds, one city, one walk

This is the reason to come. Prague has three of these nine clubs, and two of them are in the same district.

• Slavia's Fortuna Arena and Bohemians' Ďolíček are both in Vršovice, close enough to walk between in about fifteen minutes. A modern nineteen-thousand bowl and a small, old, low-slung ground with a kangaroo on the badge — the sharpest short contrast anywhere in this series.
• Sparta's Letná sits above the river on the other side of the centre, a tram ride away.

Add the fact that Prague is one of the cheapest and best-connected cities in Europe to fly into, and a three-ground weekend here needs almost no planning at all.

Weekends that work

• Prague — as above. The easiest multi-ground weekend on this site.
• Moravia — Brno and Olomouc are about an hour and a half apart, with Ostrava two hours further east and the Polish border beyond it.
• The Bohemian corners — Plzeň is an hour west of Prague, Liberec an hour north, Teplice an hour north-west. Any of them works as a day trip from the capital without changing hotel.
• Across the border — Dresden is two hours from Prague and Wrocław is about three from Ostrava. Czechia is the natural bridge between the German and Polish parts of a longer trip.

Common questions

Do I need to register or show anything?

No. No fan card, no identity number, no advance registration. Buy the ticket and go.

Can I buy on the day?

At most of these clubs, yes. The Prague derby and big European nights are the exceptions.

Can I drink in the stand?

Yes, at full strength — unlike Poland's 3.5% cap and unlike England, where you cannot drink in sight of the pitch at all.

Which ground should I pick first?

Slavia for a modern full house, Bohemians for character, and both on the same weekend because they are a fifteen-minute walk apart.

Nine grounds, no obstacles, full-strength beer in the stand, and three of them in one city. Plan a Czech trip and keep the record as you collect them.