FC Zbrojovka Brno is a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in the city of

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

South Moravian Region The South Moravian Region (; , ; ), or just South Moravia, is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia. The region's capital is Brno, th ...

, Czech Republic and named after

Zbrojovka Brno Zbrojovka Brno, s.r.o is a maker of small arms in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic, wholly owned by Colt CZ Group, Colt-CZ Group. In the past it also made light artillery, cars, motorcycles, tractors and various tools, such as typewriters and early c ...

, a firearms manufacturer. Founded in 1913 as SK Židenice, the club later became known as Zbrojovka Brno. Brno won the

Czechoslovak First League The Czechoslovak First League (, ) was the premier football (soccer), football league in the Czechoslovakia from 1925 to 1993, with the exception of World War II. Czechoslovakia was occupied by German forces who formed Gauliga Sudetenland and Ga ...

in the 1977–78 season and finished as runners-up in 1979–80.

History

The club, initially known as SK Židenice, played in the top tier of Czechoslovak football from 1933 until suffering relegation in the 1946–47 Czechoslovak First League. During this period, the club entered the

Mitropa Cup The Mitropa Cup, officially called Coupe de l'Europe Centrale, Mitteleuropäischer Pokal or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European association football, football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the suc ...

three times, reaching the quarter-finals in 1935 as well as taking part in the competition in 1936 and 1938. Between 1950 and 1962 the club played outside the top tier, returning in the 1962–63 Czechoslovak First League. Five seasons elapsed before the club was again relegated, in 1967. They then spent four years in the second tier of Czechoslovak football before returning to the top flight. In the 1970s the club was a strong force in the country, winning the

in 1978, finishing third the following season and being runners up in 1980. The 1980s were less spectacular for Brno, as the club was relegated in 1983, playing until 1989 in the second tier. After just two seasons in the top tier, the club finished last in 1991 and was again relegated. Between 1992 and 2011, Brno played in the top tier of the Czech Republic for 19 consecutive seasons, the longest such spell in the club's history. In 2011, the club was relegated to the second division. In the 2011–12 Czech 2. Liga, the club only managed to finish fourth, missing out on the promotion places. However, due to the stadium requirements of the Czech First League, champions

FK Ústí nad Labem FK or fk may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block * Funky Kong is a series of video games pub ...

as well as third-placed

FK Baník Sokolov FK Baník Sokolov is a Czech football club based in Sokolov. The club plays in Division B, which is the fourth tier of Czech football. Historical names * 1948 – ''SK HDB Falknov nad Ohří'' * 1948 – ''ZTS Sokol HDB Sokolov'' * 1 ...

were ineligible for promotion. As a result, Brno won promotion immediately back to the top tier. In 2018, the club was relegated to the second division. In the 2018–19 Czech Second League, the club managed to finish third but lost the promotion play-off to

Příbram Příbram (; or ''Przibram'') is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It is known for its mining history, and more recently, its new venture into economic restructuring. The town is the t ...

Historical names

Source: * SK Židenice / Sportovní klub (''Sports club'') Židenice (1913–47) * SK Zbrojovka Židenice Brno / Sportovní klub (''Sports club'') Zbrojovka Židenice Brno (1947–48) * JTO Sokol Zbrojovka Židenice Brno / Jednotná tělovýchovná organizace (''Unified physical education organization'') Sokol Zbrojovka Židenice Brno (1948–51) * JTO Sokol Zbrojovka Brno / Jednotná tělovýchovná organizace (''Unified physical education organization'') Sokol Zbrojovka Brno (1951–53) * DSO Spartak Zbrojovka Brno / Dobrovolná sportovní organizace (''Voluntary sports organization'') Spartak Zbrojovka Brno (1953–56) * TJ Spartak ZJŠ Brno / Tělovýchovná jednota (''Physical education unity'') Spartak Závody Jana Švermy Brno (1956–68) * TJ Zbrojovka Brno / Tělovýchovná jednota (''Physical education unity'') Zbrojovka Brno (1968–90) * FC Zbrojovka Brno / Football Club Zbrojovka Brno (1990–92) * FC Boby Brno / Football Club Boby Brno (1992–94) * FC Boby Brno Unistav / Football Club Boby Brno Unistav (1994–97) * FC Boby-sport Brno / Football Club Boby-sport Brno (1997–2000) * FC Stavo Artikel Brno / Football Club Stavo Artikel Brno (2000–02) * 1. FC Brno / First Football Club Brno (2002–10) * FC Zbrojovka Brno / Football Club Zbrojovka Brno (2010– ) In 1962, there was an amalgamation between

Rudá Hvězda Brno Rudá Hvezda Brno, also known as Red Star Brno and RH Brno was a Czechoslovak football club from the city of Brno. The club existed from 1956 until 1962, playing four seasons in the Czechoslovak First League, the country's top flight. After the ...

(1956–62) and ''Spartak ZJŠ Brno''.

European competitions

Brno (then SK Židenice) competed in the

three times before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, reaching the quarter-finals in 1935. Because

was a major fairs city of Czechoslovakia, teams from Brno played in the

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, most commonly referred to as the Fairs Cup and sometimes as the European Fairs Cup or Fairs Cities' Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The Fairs Cup was the idea of FIFA vice-presid ...

in the 1960s. It was Spartak KPS Brno who participated first, then

Spartak ZJŠ Brno FC Zbrojovka Brno is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Brno, South Moravian Region, Czech Republic and named after Zbrojovka Brno, a firearms manufacturer. Founded in 1913 as SK Židenice, the club later bec ...

(Zbrojovka) played five times in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in a row, reaching the quarter-finals in 1963–64. In their only appearance to date in the competition, Brno reached the second round of the

1978–79 European Cup The 1978–79 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won by English champions Nottingham Forest in the final against Swedish side Malmö FF. Forest, enjoying a great run of success under Brian Clough, had defeated defending two- ...

. The club played in the 1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup but lost in the first round. Brno took part in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

three times, reaching the quarter-finals in 1979–80 and also playing in 1980–81 and 1997–98.

Stadium

Brno have played at

Městský fotbalový stadion Srbská Městský fotbalový stadion Srbská, currently known as the ADAX Invest Arena for sponsorship purposesis, a multi-purpose stadium in Brno, Czech Republic. It is currently used mostly for association football, football matches and is the home gr ...

since 2001, when they moved from previous home Stadion Za Lužánkami. In the 1990s, Brno attracted record crowds to their football matches, with Za Lužánkami as the venue for all of the top ten most-attended Czech First League matches. The highest attendance for a Brno match is 44,120, set in a league match against

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Reserves

As of 2024–25, the club's reserve team FC Zbrojovka Brno B plays in the

Moravian-Silesian Football League The Moravian-Silesian Football League (MSFL) () is one of the third level football leagues in the Czech Republic (the other is the Bohemian Football League) headquartered in Olomouc. The league comprises teams from the historic regions of Moravia ...

(3rd tier of Czech football system). The reserve team played in three consecutive seasons of the

Czech National Football League The Czech National Football League (, ''FNL''), known as Chance Národní Liga due to sponsorship reasons, is the second level professional association football league in the Czech Republic. Before 2013 it was known as 2. liga or Druhá liga. The ...

( 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06).

Notable former players

Oldřich Rulc Oldřich Rulc (28 March 1911 – 4 April 1969) was a Czechoslovakia national football team, Czechoslovakian international Association football, football player. Career Rulc played club football for Sparta Prague and SK Židenice (currently FC Zb ...

* Vlastimil Bubník *

Karel Lichtnégl Karel Lichtnégl (30 August 1936 – 15 January 2015) was a Czech former footballer who competed for silver-medal-winning Czechoslovakia in the 1964 Summer Olympics. At club level, he played for teams including Zbrojovka Brno Zbrojovka Brno ...

Ján Popluhár Ján Popluhár (12 September 1935 – 6 March 2011) was a Slovak footballer who primarily played as a sweeper for Slovak club ŠK Slovan Bratislava. At international level, he was also a member of the Czechoslovakia national team, playing in t ...

* Rostislav Václavíček * Karel Kroupa *

Karel Jarůšek Karel Jarůšek (born 2 December 1952) is a Czech Republic, Czech football (soccer), football manager and former player. As a player, Jarůšek played mostly for FC Zbrojovka Brno. In 1978, he won the Czechoslovak First League with Zbrojovka. Fr ...

Petr Janečka Petr Janečka (born 25 November 1957 in Gottwaldov) is a former Czechoslovak footballer. He played 39 matches for the Czechoslovakia national team and participated in the 1982 FIFA World Cup. In 1978, he won the Czechoslovak First League with ...

* Roman Kukleta * René Wagner * Richard Dostálek * Jan Maroši * Milan Pacanda Some of the biggest Czech football legends played for Brno briefly: * Karel Pešek (at the end of career) *

Josef Bican Josef "Pepi" Bican (25 September 1913 – 12 December 2001) was an Austrians, Austrian-Czechs, Czech professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He is regarded by some to be the ...

(at the end of career, as playing manager) *

Ivo Viktor Ivo Viktor (born 21 May 1942) is a Czech former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for Czechoslovakia, representing his country on 63 occasions between 1966 and 1977, taking part in the 1970 FIFA World Cup and winning the 1976 Eur ...

(at the beginning of career)

Player records in the Czech First League

''(after the last club's season in the Czech First League)'' Highlighted players are in the current squad.

Most appearances

Most goals

Most clean sheets

Current technical staff

Managers

* Václav Vohralík (1926–1934) * Jenö Konrád (1934–1935) * Antonín Carvan (1935–1938) *

Josef Kuchynka Josef Kuchynka (4 August 1894 – 9 January 1979) was a Czechoslovak football manager and player. He was also part of Czechoslovakia's squad at the 1924 Olympics, but he did not play in any matches. A locksmith by profession, Kuchynka played as ...

(1938–1941) * Vlastimil Borecký (1941–1942) *

Josef Smolka Josef Smolka (22 March 1939, Troubky – 1 June 2020) was a Czech volleyball player who competed for Czechoslovakia in the 1968 Summer Olympics. In 1968 he was part of the Czechoslovak team which won the bronze medal in the Olympic tournament ...

(1942–1943) * Josef Eremiáš (1943–1946) * Matthias Kaburek (1947) * Josef Eremiáš (1947–1948) * Jan Smolka (1948–1949) *

Josef Košťálek Josef Košťálek (31 August 1909 – 21 November 1971) was a Czech footballer. Career He played for AC Sparta Prague and the Czechoslovakia national football team, for whom he played 43 matches, scoring two goals, and appeared in the 1934 and 1 ...

(1950) * Josef Eremiáš (1951–1952) * Eduard Farda (1953–1957) *

(1957) * Josef Machata (1958) * František Čejka (1958–1959) * Svatoslav Vrbka (1960) * František Zapletal (1960–1962) * Rudolf Krčil (1962) * Alfréd Sezemský (1963) * František Zapletal (1964) *

Karel Kolský Karel Kolský (21 September 1914 in Kročehlavy – 17 February 1984) was a Czechs, Czech football (soccer), football player and later a football manager. He played for Czechoslovakia national football team, Czechoslovakia, for which he played 1 ...

(1964–1966) * Karel Nepala (1966–1967) * František Čejka (1967) * Josef Jaroš (1967) * Karel Kohlík (1967) * Vratislav Dittrich (1967–1968) * Theodor Reimann (1968–1969) * Zdeněk Hajský (1969–1971) * Alfréd Sezemský (1972) * František Havránek (1972–1976) *

Josef Masopust Josef Masopust (9 February 1931 – 29 June 2015) was a Czech football player and coach. He played as midfielder and was a key player for Czechoslovakia, helping them reach the 1962 FIFA World Cup Final. He was capped 63 times, scoring ten go ...

(1976–1980) * Valér Švec (1980–1981) * Karel Brückner (1981–1983) *

Josef Bouška Jozef Bouška (born 25 August 1945) is a former Czech association football, footballer and trainer. He competed in the Football at the 1968 Summer Olympics, men's tournament at the 1968 Summer Olympics. His brother is the former football player ...

(1983) * Viliam Padúch (1984) *

Ján Zachar Ján Zachar (born 1 December 1936) is a Slovak football coach and former player. He coached among others ŠK Slovan Bratislava and MFK Košice. He coached VP Frýdek-Místek, Tatran Prešov, 1. FC Brno, Sparta Prague, Slovan Bratislava and ...

(1984–1985) * Ivan Hrdlička (1985–1987) * Rudolf Skarka (1987) * Petr Pálka (1987–1988) * František Harašta (1988) *

František Cipro František Cipro (13 April 1947 – 7 February 2023) was a Czech football player and manager, known mostly for his work in Slavia Prague and České Budějovice. Playing career A midfielder, Cipro played for Slavia Prague for nine years, making ...

(1989–1990) * Viliam Padúch (1990) * Karol Dobiaš (1990–1993) *

(1993) * Vladimír Táborský (1993–1994) * Karel Večeřa (1994) * Petr Uličný (1994–1996) * Karel Večeřa (1996–1998) *

(1998–2000) * Pavel Tobiáš (2000–2001) * Karel Večeřa (2001–2003) *

(2004–2005) * Jiří Kotrba (2005) *

Josef Mazura Josef Mazura (born 23 April 1956) is a retired Czech football player and currently manager. He played for Czechoslovakia. As active player, Mazura spent most of his career with Zbrojovka Brno. However, at the end of career he also played f ...

(2005–2007) * Petr Uličný (2007–2008) * Aleš Křeček (2008) *

Miroslav Beránek Miroslav Beránek (born 24 April 1957) is a Czech football coach and former player who was most recently the manager of the Slavia Prague. As a player, he played over 100 matches as a defender for Slavia Prague in the 1980s. Coaching career B ...

(2008–2010) * Karel Večeřa (Jul 2010 – Jun 2011) * René Wagner (Jul 2011 – Oct 2011) * Róbert Kafka (Oct 2011 – Dec 2011) * Petr Čuhel (Jan 2012 – Apr 2013) * Ludevít Grmela (Apr 2013 – Sep 2013) *

Václav Kotal Václav Kotal (born 2 October 1952) is a Czech former football player and current manager. As a player, he spent ten seasons at Sparta Prague, playing 168 matches in the Czechoslovak First League and winning two Czechoslovak Cups. He was announ ...

(Sep 2013 – Jun 2016) * Svatopluk Habanec (Jun 2016 – Aug 2017) * Richard Dostálek (Aug 2017 – Oct 2017) * Roman Pivarník (Oct 2017 – Aug 2018) * Pavel Šustr (Aug 2018 – Oct 2019) * Miloslav Machálek (Oct 2019 – Dec 2020) * Richard Dostálek (Dec 2020 – Apr 2023) * Martin Hašek (Apr 2023 – May 2023) * Luděk Klusáček (Jun 2023 – Oct 2023) *

Tomáš Polách Tomáš Polách (born 16 January 1977 in Slavičín) is a Czech football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, ...

(Oct 2023 – Apr 2024) * Lukáš Kříž (Apr 2024 – June 2024) * Jaroslav Hynek (June 2024 – March 2025) * Marek Zúbek (March 2025 – April 2025) *

Martin Svědík Martin Svědík (born 27 June 1974) is a Czech Republic, Czech association football, football manager (association football), manager and former football player, player. Playing career As a player, Svědík played as a forward. He started playi ...

(April 2025 – present)

History in domestic competitions

* Seasons spent at Level 1 of the

football league system Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' generally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

: 26 * Seasons spent at Level 2 of the football league system: 6 * Seasons spent at Level 3 of the football league system: 0 * Seasons spent at Level 4 of the football league system: 0

Czech Republic

Honours

*Czechoslovak First League **Winners: 1977–78 **Runners-up: 1979–80 *Czech First League **Third place: 1994–95 *Czechoslovak Amateur League **Winners: 1926 *Czechoslovak Cup **Winners: 1959–60 (Rudá Hvězda) *Czech Cup **Runners-up: 1992–93

Club records

Czech First League records

*Best position: 3rd ( 1994–95) *Worst position: 16th ( 2017–18, 2022–23) *Biggest home win: Brno 7–0

Slovácko Moravian Slovakia, also called Slovácko (, older ''Moravské Slovensko'') is a cultural region in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic. It lies in the historical region of Moravia, on the border with Slovakia (the Slovak region of Záhor ...

(

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

) *Biggest away win:

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

0–3 Brno ( 1993–94),

Teplice Teplice (, until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; , ''Teplitz-Schönau'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 51,000 inhabitants. It is the most populous Czech spa town, followed by Karlovy Vary. The historic city cen ...

1–4 Brno ( 2017–18) *Biggest home defeat: Brno 0–5

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

(

) *Biggest away defeat:

6–0 Brno ( 1993–94),

6–0 Brno ( 2001–02)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zbrojovka Brno Football clubs in the Czech Republic Association football clubs established in 1913 Czechoslovak First League clubs Czech First League clubs Football clubs in Czechoslovakia 1913 establishments in Austria-Hungary 20th-century establishments in Bohemia Czech National Football League clubs