Slavia vs Sparta: Derby Win & League Record Chase

Slavia – Karviná 3:1. September match in the 8th round Chance ligy brought interesting events, but also one record. It was here that the highest attendance of football autumn in the Czech Republic was recorded. 19,309 viewers!

The team around Lukáš Provod, just like last year, could count on massive support from the stands.

League matches in Eden were watched by an average of 18,311 spectators. One more number should be added to this. Converted to percentages, the stadium was 94.5% full.

One little thing? A comparison with last autumn says that the number of visitors to Slavia has dropped. However, it was completely marginal, in total it was a few hundred fans (seat occupancy at the stadium was 94.8% last year).

“For us, the fan always comes first. In the long term, we can see that this approach brings results. But even more important for us is the positive feedback we receive from the fans. According to data from the Behavio company, we are among the best in the league in terms of the atmosphere at the stadium and the experience for families and friends, and nine out of ten visitors would without hesitation recommend a match at Eden to someone close to them,” noted Jakub Splavec, Director of Strategic Communications at Slavia.

Almost a million fans in the stands

Although entrance fees or season tickets have become more expensive in some places, the League Football Association was able to announce with pomp shortly before the Christmas holidays that in autumn the total attendance reached the magical million mark (958,920 spectators for nineteen rounds).

“Such high numbers are a clear signal that league football in the Czech Republic has become a product that fans enjoy for a long time and that they like to return to the stadiums because of it,” stated Daniel Hajný, the association’s sales and marketing director.

The average per game in December stood at 6,309, which is the third-highest number in individual league history. By the way, in the same phase of the previous year 2024/2025, the average number of spectators per match was 6,168.

The visitor figures from a few years ago look incredible. The average for the fall of 2012 was 4,584 spectators per game. At that time, Pilsen ruled the attendance, Prague’s “S” was happy when ten thousand people passed through the turnstiles at their arenas.

It can be said that not only Slavia (and Sparta), many more clubs are experiencing a renaissance in the stands.

Here is the proof. As many as seven stadiums reported over nine thousand spectators at least once in autumn. In terms of the maximum number, Slavia was followed by Sparta (18,213), Baník Ostrava (13,506), Pilsen (11,198), Olomouc (10,736), Hradec Králové (9,300) and Liberec (9,120).

This is also why the officials (sponsors and some supporters) hope that the absolute record from the 1996/1997 season will be broken in the near future. Back then, an average of 7,155 spectators found their way to league stadiums per match.

The record on television was brought by the derby

The fact that the interest in televised matches, even though they have to be paid for, is perhaps growing even more is worth more than mentioning.

Television station Oneplay Sport (formerly O2TV Sport) said it had never had such numbers before. Compared to last season, viewership of the top competition increased by 23 percent.

“Fans appreciate not only the live broadcasts themselves, but also the studios, conference broadcasts, accompanying programs,” said Marek Kindernay, executive director of the Oneplay Sport station.

The fans of Sparta and Slavia should be smart. The match between these two clubs recorded the greatest demand. October match (which ended in a 1:1 draw) even became the most watched Chance League broadcast ever. Available data show that 656,000 viewers watched it.

Just by the way, here, too, you can compare with data from 2012. At that time, the league was still broadcast by Czech Television. And the Slavia-Sparta derby (at the end of September, a 1:0 victory for the sewn-up side) attracted 311,000 viewers according to the rating.