Bohemians » Club History

1905 – The founding of AFK Vršovice

The history of football in Vršovice dates back to the turn of the 19th and 20th century. It is certain that around 1900 SK Vršovice was founded, and in the first years of the 20th century, a sports club called Kotva was also active – a direct predecessor of the present-day club. Two significant figures of the later AFK Vršovice, Jan Honejsek and Otakar Bohata, were also involved in Kotva.

The key date is 16 December 1905, when SK Kotva Vršovice became the 14th member of the newly established Czech Football Association and began to use the name AFK Vršovice. The original Kotva continued its activity. AFK Vršovice was officially founded on 18 March 1906 in the restaurant of Marie Bohatová, mother of future club star Otakar Bohata, on today’s Holandská Street. Just a week later, in their first competitive match, Vršovice defeated Slavoj Žižkov 2:0 in the Charity Cup.

1927 – Trip to Australia, renamed AFK Bohemians and the kangaroo in the crest

A daring trip to the other side of the world changed the club’s history. In 1927, after lengthy negotiations by international secretary Zdeněk Kalina, AFK Vršovice embarked on a long tour of Australia. The Australians originally requested the Czechoslovak national team, so the Vršovice side travelled under the borrowed name “Bohemians – Czechs.” Sixteen players and two officials went on the journey, proudly representing Czechoslovakia.

On the way, Bohemians won one match in Ceylon, and in Australia itself they played 19 games, winning 14, drawing twice, and losing only three, all within 114 days between 7 April and 30 July. Their successful expedition was welcomed back at Wilson Railway Station by 15,000 enthusiastic Prague supporters. The trip had a huge impact both in Australia and at home. The team even brought back two kangaroos as a gift for President Masaryk. Immediately upon return, the club committee decided to adopt the name “Bohemians” and place the kangaroo in their emblem.

1932 – Opening of Danner’s Bohemians Stadium

AFK Vršovice’s first pitch lay close to today’s ground – in a hollow above the road to Strašnice (today’s Vršovická Avenue), between two Vršovice barracks. The club had been playing there since 1912, and in 1914 the ground was fenced. Even then, the narrow ground with a capacity of 6,000 became known as Ďolíček (“Little Hollow”). By the late 1920s, however, it no longer sufficed for the growing audience. Thanks to alderman and honorary Bohemians chairman Zdeněk Danner and another local official, František Bureš, a new stadium was opened in 1932 at the present site.

The land near the Botič Stream under the Vršovice Sokol Hall, where Union Vršovice had played until 1929, was secured with the help of businessman Jindřich Waldes. Designed by architect A. Vejvoda, Danner’s Bohemians Stadium was opened on 27 March 1932, Easter Sunday, with a tournament. In the opening match, Bohemians lost 1:4 to Slavia in front of 18,000 fans. The first goal, scored by Slavia’s Franci Svoboda, was rewarded with a gold watch. Supporters initially nicknamed the ground “Dannerák,” but soon the name Ďolíček took hold once again.

1968 – The rise of Antonín Panenka

The most famous Bohemians player to this day is Antonín Panenka, the moustached maestro. He first came to Ďolíček as a schoolboy in 1959, but made his league debut for Bohemians on 24 March 1968 in Teplice, at the ground known as Drožďárna. Despite offers from Prague’s big clubs, he stayed loyal until autumn 1980, when he moved to Rapid Vienna. He bid farewell to the club on 12 May 1981 in a testimonial between Bohemians and Rapid.

Panenka was a model of club loyalty. He had offers from all Prague league clubs but played for Bohemians’ first team for 14 seasons. He made 230 league appearances and scored 76 goals. In an era when imagination was valued over pure physical fitness, Panenka was like an actor on stage – always eager to entertain and surprise. His free-kicks were works of art. For the fans, he was simply their Tonda.

1983 – League title and UEFA Cup semi-final

Panenka’s era ushered in the golden age of Bohemians. In 1973, the club finally ended its long yo-yoing between the first and second leagues. Under coach Bohumil Musil, they reached the UEFA Cup in 1975 for the first time. Two years later, Tomáš Pospíchal replaced Musil and built a golden team. Over the next decade, Bohemians qualified for European competition eight times – and in 1983 they won their first and only league title.

The golden season of 1982/83 fulfilled generations of green-and-white fans’ dreams. Bohemians dominated the Czechoslovak top flight and formed the backbone of the national team. In a World Cup qualifier in Milan against the reigning champions Italy, seven Bohemians players started the match. The team also reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals. Pavel Chaloupka was league top scorer with 17 goals.

2005 – Collapse and rebirth

Since the establishment of the Czech league in 1993, the club had struggled with financial difficulties, which culminated at the turn of 2004/2005 – the club’s centenary year. In summer 2004, due to debts, player transfers were frozen, and on 1 February 2005 the Prague Municipal Court declared bankruptcy on FC Bohemians Praha, a.s. On 29 January, fans bid farewell at a winter league match against Slavia in Horní Počernice, laying a giant shirt with a black mourning band on the pitch.

But faithful supporters and club legends refused to accept the end. A rescue campaign was sparked by a newspaper appeal from title-winning captain Přemysl Bičovský. In February, the SOS Klokan initiative was launched, and in March, the Bohemians Fans’ Cooperative (DFB) was founded, with popular actor Ivan Trojan receiving membership card No. 1. In April, AFK Vršovice entered the project and signed a contract with the bankruptcy administrator to take over membership rights with the FA. From the new season, the club entered the ČFL, the third division.

2012/2013 – The last promotion to the league

Bohemians’ history has been marked by eleven relegations and eleven promotions. The green-and-whites have long ranked among the country’s most notable clubs, but glory has often been followed by setbacks. They first left the top division in 1935 and fought for five years in the second tier before returning. After their rebirth in 2005, they again suffered relegations in 2008 and 2012 – but each time bounced back the very next season.

In spring 2013, Bohemians secured their eleventh return to the top flight. Two rounds before the end, they clinched promotion at Ďolíček for the first time in history, defeating HFK Olomouc. This began their long-term stay in the first league. In 2014 and 2019, they only secured survival in the last round, while in 2015 and 2018 they finished in the upper half of the table. Today’s Bohemka enjoys one of its longest periods of stability in the top division. In 2024, after 36 long years, the club qualified again for European competition, playing the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifier against Norwegian champions FK Bodø/Glimt.