FC Zbrojovka Brno is a professional 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 became known as Zbrojovka Brno. Brno won the Czechoslovak First League 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 being expelled after the 1946–47 Czechoslovak First League. During this period, the club entered the Mitropa Cup 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 Czechoslovak First League 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 as well as third-placed FK Baník Sokolov 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.
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 (1956–62) and Spartak ZJŠ Brno.
European competitions Brno (then SK Židenice) competed in the Mitropa Cup three times before World War II, reaching the quarter-finals in 1935.
Because Brno was a major fairs city of Czechoslovakia, teams from Brno played in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in the 1960s. It was Spartak KPS Brno who participated first, then Spartak ZJŠ Brno (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 club played in the 1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup but lost in the first round. Brno took part in the UEFA Cup three times, reaching the quarter-finals in 1979–80 and also playing in 1980–81 and 1997–98.
Stadium
Brno have played at ShipEx Aréna 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.
Players
Current squad .
Out on loan
Reserves As of 2026–27, the club's reserve team FC Zbrojovka Brno B plays in the Moravian-Silesian Football League (3rd tier of Czech football system). The reserve team played in three consecutive seasons of the Czech National Football League (2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06).
Notable former players
Oldřich Rulc Vlastimil Bubník Karel Lichtnégl Ján Popluhár Rostislav Václavíček Karel Kroupa Karel Jarůšek Petr Janečka 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 (at the end of career, as playing manager) Ivo Viktor (at the beginning of career)
Player records in the Czech First League
Highlighted players are in the current squad.
Most appearances # Name Matches 1 Petr Křivánek 300 2 Patrik Siegl 267 3 Marek Zúbek 261 4 Luboš Přibyl 224 5 Milan Pacanda 188 6 Richard Dostálek 174 7 Jan Maroši 167 8 Pavel Holomek 166 9 Zdeněk Valnoha 162 10 Jan Trousil 158
Most goals # Name Goals 1 Milan Pacanda 53 2 Richard Dostálek 40 3 Jakub Řezníček 39 4 René Wagner 34 Pavel Holomek 6 Petr Švancara 30 7 Libor Došek 29 8 Michal Škoda 26 9 Zdeněk Valnoha 25 Luděk Zelenka
Most clean sheets # Name Clean sheets 1 Luboš Přibyl 70 2 Dušan Melichárek 30 3 Martin Lejsal 27
Current technical staff
Position Name Manager Martin Svědík Assistant manager Bronislav Červenka Jan Baránek Jr. Pavel Zavadil Goalkeeping coach Tomáš Čechovič
Managers
Václav Vohralík (1926–1934) Jenö Konrád (1934–1935) Antonín Carvan (1935–1937) Kálmán Konrád (1937−1938) Josef Kuchynka (1939–1941) Vlastimil Borecký (1941–1942) Josef Smolka (1942–1943) Josef Eremiáš (1943–1946) Matthias Kaburek (1947) Josef Eremiáš (1947–1948) Jan Smolka (1948–1949) Josef Košťálek (1950) Josef Eremiáš (1951–1952) Eduard Farda (1953–1957) Josef Bican (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 (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 (1976–1980) Valér Švec (1980–1981) Karel Brückner (1981–1983) Josef Bouška (1983) Viliam Padúch (1984) Ján Zachar (1984–1985) Ivan Hrdlička (1985–1987) Rudolf Skarka (1987) Petr Pálka (1987–1988) František Harašta (1988) František Cipro (1989–1990) Viliam Padúch (1990) Karol Dobiaš (1990–1993) Josef Masopust (1993) Vladimír Táborský (1993–1994) Karel Večeřa (1994) Petr Uličný (1994–1996) Karel Večeřa (1996–1998) Karel Jarůšek (1998–2000) Pavel Tobiáš (2000–2001) Karel Večeřa (2001–2003) Karel Jarůšek (2004–2005) Jiří Kotrba (2005) Josef Mazura (2005–2007) Petr Uličný (2007–2008) Aleš Křeček (2008) Miroslav Beránek (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 (Sep 2013 – Jun 2016) Svatopluk Habanec (Jun 2016 – Aug 2017) Richard Dostálek (Aug 2017 – Oct 2017) Roman Pivarník (Oct 2017 – Aug 2018) (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 (Oct 2023 – Apr 2024) Lukáš Kříž (Apr 2024 – June 2024) Jaroslav Hynek (June 2024 – March 2025) Marek Zúbek (March 2025 – April 2025) Martin Svědík (April 2025 – present)
History in domestic competitions 1971–83: Czechoslovak First League 1983–89: Czech National League 1989–91: Czechoslovak First League 1991–92: Czech National League 1992–93: Czechoslovak First League 1993–11: Czech First League 2011–12: Czech National Football League 2012–18: Czech First League 2018–20: Czech National Football League 2020–21: Czech First League 2021–22: Czech National Football League 2022–23: Czech First League 2023–26: Czech National Football League 2026-present: Czech First League
Seasons spent at Level 1 of the football league system: 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 Season League Placed Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Cup1993–941. liga12th30106143846–836Quarter-finals1994–951. liga3rd3015965227+2554Round of 321995–961. liga8th30127113942–343Round of 641996–971. liga4th30141064435+952Quarter-finals1997–981. liga10th30107134242037Semi-finals1998–991. liga7th30118113733+441Quarter-finals1999–001. liga4th3012612333+242Round of 162000–011. liga13th3079142435–1130Round of 162001–021. liga8th301010103442–840Round of 162002–031. liga9th30109113531+439Round of 162003–041. liga14th3079143343–1030Quarter-finals2004–051. liga11th3096153042–1233Round of 322005–061. liga12th3071493536–135Semi-finals2006–071. liga5th30137103442–846Second round2007–081. liga4th3016774332+1155Semi-finals2008–091. liga11th3098133236–435Round of 322009–101. liga11th3098133140–935Round of 322010–111. liga15th3073203355–2224Quarter-finals2011–122. liga4th30131073729+849Round of 322012–131. liga13th3095163453–1932Second round2013–141. liga9th30107133242–1037Semi-finals2014–151. liga14th3096153445–1133Round of 322015–161. liga6th30145113738-147Round of 162016–171. liga11th30614103245-1332Quarter-finals2017–181. liga16th3066182043–2324Round of 642018–192. liga3rd3017676331+3257Round of 322019–202. liga2nd3020737529+4667Round of 322020–211. liga16th34511183357–2426Round of 162021–222. liga1st3022356129+3269Round of 322022–231. liga16th3589184164–2333Quarter-finals2023–242. liga9th30116134142–139Round of 322024–252. liga7th3091293941–239Round of 322025–262. liga1st3024426222+4076Round of 16
Honours Czechoslovak First League Winners (1): 1977–78 Runners-up (1): 1979–80 Czech First League Third place (1): 1994–95 Czech Second League Winners (2): 2021–22, 2025–26 Runners-up (1): 2019–20 Czechoslovak Amateur League Winners (1): 1926 Czechoslovak Cup Winners (1): 1959–60 (as Rudá Hvězda) Czech Cup Runners-up (1): 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 (2010–11) Biggest away win: Olomouc 0–3 Brno (1993–94), Teplice 1–4 Brno (2017–18) Biggest home defeat: Brno 0–5 Sparta Prague (2010–11) Biggest away defeat: Slavia Prague 6–0 Brno (1993–94), Sparta Prague 6–0 Brno (2001–02)
References
External links