Full name | FK Chmel Blšany |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Chmelaři |
Founded | 1946 (as Sokol Blšany) |
Ground |
Městský Stadium, Blšany |
Capacity | 2,300 |
Chairman | Robert Janek |
Manager | Josef Němec |
League | 5. Liga (Ústecký kraj) |
2014–15 | 11th |
Website | Club home page |
FK Chmel Blšany is a Czech football club based in the village of Blšany, most noted for playing a number of seasons in the Czech First League between 1998 and 2006 as well as being the first professional club of goalkeeper Petr Čech. The club now plays at the fifth level of Czech football, after being relegated from the Czech Fourth Division in 2012.
The club was established as Sokol Blšany in 1946. The club plays at the Městský Stadion with capacity of 2.300 seats. That means with every citizen of Blšany village on the stand, there will be still about 1,500 seats free.
FK Chmel Blšany was founded in 1946 as Sokol Blšany. Only amateur football was played in Blšany for a long time. In 1988, the team managed to reach the division and three years later the third Czechoslovakian league. In 1993, FK Chmel Blšany (or Chmelaři as called by their fans) reached the second league and in 1998 the first. In the 1998–99 season, FK Blšany astonished the Czech Republic and achieved 6th place. In 2005–06, the team ended up last and were relegated to the second league. In 2006–07, their first season back in the 2. Liga, they finished eighth but were relegated to the third-tier ČFL due to not receiving a license from the league due to financial reasons. They finished last in the ČFL with just four wins in the 2007–08 season and were subsequently relegated for the third time in as many seasons. It did not get better in 2008–09 when, upon finishing 14th of 16 teams in Divize B of the Czech Fourth Division, they were relegated for the fourth time in a row, partially due to a three-point deduction due to financial concerns. In 2009–10 they finished third in the fifth-tier Ústí Region championship and avoided relegation for the first time since the 2004–05 season. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Blšany gained promotion back to the Czech Fourth Division.