1.
Cheb
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Cheb, is a city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, with about 33,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Ohře, at the foot of one of the spurs of the Smrčiny, from 1850 it was given the twin official names of Eger and Cheb. From 1938 to 1945 it was one of the municipalities in Sudetenland, the twin towns of Cheb are Hof in Germany, Rheden in the Netherlands, Nizhny Tagil in Russia and Bắc Ninh in Vietnam. The earliest settlement excavated in the area was a Slavic stronghold at what is now called Jánský Vrch, north of the town-centre. In 807 the district of todays Cheb was included in the new margraviate of East Franconia, which belonged at first to the Babenbergs, depold II of Vohburg built the castle about which the town then grew. In 1179 town status was achieved, in 1265 it was taken by the king Ottokar II of Bohemia, who retained it for eleven years. Several imperial privileges, however, continued to be enjoyed by the town until 1849 and it suffered severely during the Hussite Wars, during the Swedish invasion in 1631 and 1647, and in the War of the Austrian Succession in 1742. In 1634, during the Thirty Years War, Albrecht von Wallenstein was killed here, married his daughter and fathered two sons in the city. From the Middle Ages until 1945, the lands around the town were known by the German name Egerland, in 1723, Cheb became a free royal town. The northern quarter of the town was devastated by a fire in 1809. Until 1851, the renowned spa-town of Františkovy Lázně belonged to the Magistrate of Cheb, the carbonated mineral water coming from these springs was delivered to spa visitors residing in Cheb. Geographers of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy proclaimed the nearby 939m high Tillen as the centre of Europe. This claim was documented on a plaque mounted at the summit. Austrian National Socialism and hence German National Socialism can trace its origins to Cheb when Franko Stein transferred a small newspaper from Vienna to Cheb in 1897, there he organized a German workers congress called the Deutschvölkischer Arbeitertag, which published the 25-point program. The terms of the 1919 Treaty of St. Germain triggered civil unrest between the Sudeten German population and the new Czechoslovak administration, just as in the rest of the Sudetenland, as elsewhere, protests in the town – now officially named Cheb – were eventually suppressed by force. On 3 October 1938, the town was visited by Adolf Hitler, shortly afterwards German troops marched into the Sudetenland, from 1938 until 1945 the town was annexed to Germany. The administrative seat of the Regierungspräsident lay in Karlsbad, however, Cheb was liberated by the 97th Infantry Division of the US Army on 25 April,1945. After the end of World War II the region was returned to Czechoslovakia, under the Beneš decrees of the same year, the German-speaking majority of the town was dispossessed of their homes and property, and was forcibly expelled from the country
2.
Czech Republic
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The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres with mostly temperate continental climate and it is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the territories of Bohemia, Moravia. The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire, after the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1002, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years War. After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, reimposed Roman Catholicism, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections. Following the 1948 coup détat, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence, in 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed, on 6 March 1990, the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and it is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development, the Czech Republic also ranks as the 6th most peaceful country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, the traditional English name Bohemia derives from Latin Boiohaemum, which means home of the Boii. The current name comes from the endonym Čech, spelled Cžech until the reform in 1842. The name comes from the Slavic tribe and, according to legend, their leader Čech, the etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root *čel-, meaning member of the people, kinsman, thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk. The country has traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the southeast, and Czech Silesia in the northeast. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word geographical name in English, the name Czechia /ˈtʃɛkiə/ was recommended by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
3.
Kit (association football)
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In association football, kit is the standard equipment and attire worn by players. The sports Laws of the Game specify the minimum kit which a player must use, footballers generally wear identifying numbers on the backs of their shirts. Professional clubs also usually display players surnames or nicknames on their shirts, Football kit has evolved significantly since the early days of the sport when players typically wore thick cotton shirts, knickerbockers and heavy rigid leather boots. The Laws of the Game set out the equipment which must be worn by all players in Law 4. Five separate items are specified, shirt, shorts, socks, footwear, goalkeepers are allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts. While most players wear studded football boots, the Laws do not specify that these are required, shirts must have sleeves, and goalkeepers must wear shirts which are easily distinguishable from all other players and the match officials. Thermal undershorts may be worn, but must be the colour as the shorts themselves. Shin pads must be covered entirely by the stockings, be made of rubber, plastic or a similar material, and provide a reasonable degree of protection. The only other restriction on equipment defined in the Laws of the Game is the requirement that a player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player. In the event of a match between teams who would wear identical or similar colours the away team must change to a different colour. The England national team plays in red shirts even when it is not required. Many professional clubs also have a kit, ostensibly to be used if both their first-choice and away colours are deemed too similar to those of an opponent. Most professional clubs have retained the basic colour scheme for several decades. Teams representing countries in international competition generally wear national colours in common with other sporting teams of the same nation, shirts are normally made of a polyester mesh, which does not trap the sweat and body heat in the same way as a shirt made of a natural fibre. Depending on local rules, there may be restrictions on how large these logos may be or on what logos may be displayed, competitions such as the Premier League may also require players to wear patches on their sleeves depicting the logo of the competition. The captain of team is usually required to wear an elasticated armband around the left sleeve to identify him as the captain to the referee. Most current players wear specialist football boots, which can be either of leather or a synthetic material. Modern boots are cut slightly below the ankles, as opposed to the high-ankled boots used in former times, studs may be either moulded directly to the sole or be detachable, normally by means of a screw thread
4.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
5.
Czech First League
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The Czech First League, currently known as the ePojisteni. cz liga, is a Czech professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Czech football league system, it is the primary football competition. It is contested by 16 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the Czech National Football League, seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each. The league is currently ranked 13th in Europe in the UEFA league rankings, the history of the Czech football league began at the end of the 20th century. It was reorganised for the 1993–1994 season, after the dissolution of former Czechoslovakia, having won more than half of league titles, Sparta Prague are the most successful team in Czech First League history. Other clubs who have won the title are Slavia Prague, Slovan Liberec, Baník Ostrava, there are 16 clubs in the league. During the course of a season, which lasts from August to May, each plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents. In the inaugural season, two points were awarded for a win, before switching to three points for a win in 1994, teams receive one point for a draw and no points are awarded for a loss. The two lowest placed teams are relegated to the second tier Czech National Football League, the following 16 clubs are competing in the 2015–16 Czech First League. In 1997 the league started a deal with Plzeňský Prazdroj. In 2008, the sponsorship was extended until the end of the 2013–14 season, in May 2014, the league announced a four-year sponsorship deal with betting firm Synot, becoming the Synot liga. However, in January 2016 the company announced that their deal would conclude at the end of the 2015–16 season, in July 2016 a new two-year sponsorship deal has been announced with an online insurance company ePojisteni. cz, the league is officially called ePojisteni. cz liga. In October 2016 FAČR, LFA and Czech betting company Fortuna signed a 6-year partnership deal, according to this deal the Czech First League will be called Fortuna liga from the 2018–19 season. Last update,17 September 2016 1993–94 – 2012–13 Point reductions, Czech Republic – List of Champions, RSSSF. com
6.
Mitropa Cup
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The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de lEurope Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. The tournament declined and was discontinued after 1992, Mitropa Cup had 51 editions in history, including a different format edition held in 1960 and won by Hungary. The most successful club is Vasas Budapest with 6 titles, a first International competition for football clubs was founded in 1897 in Vienna. The Challenge Cup was invented by John Gramlick Sr. a co-founder of the Vienna Cricket, the Challenge Cup was carried out until the year 1911 and is today seen as the predecessor to the Mitropa Cup and consequently the European Cup and Champions League. The last winner of the cup was Wiener Sport-Club, one of the oldest and most traditional clubs of Austria where the cup still remains. The idea of a European cup competition was shaped after World War I which brought the defeat, the centre of this idea were the Central European countries that, at this time, were still leading in continental football. In the early 1920s they introduced professional leagues, the first continental countries to do so, Austria started in 1924, followed by Hungary in 1925 and Czechoslovakia in 1926. Moreover, the creation of a European Cup for national teams - that unlike the Challenge Cup, the first matches were played on 14 August 1927. The competition was between the top teams of Central Europe. Initially two teams each from Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia entered, competing in a knock-out competition, the countries involved could either send their respective league winners and runners-up, or league winners and cup winners to take part. The first winners were the Czech side, AC Sparta Prague, in 1929 Italian teams replaced the Yugoslavian ones. The competition was expanded to four teams each of the competing countries in 1934. Other countries were invited to participate - Switzerland in 1936, and Romania, Switzerland, Austria was withdrawn from the competition following the Anschluss in 1938. In 1939, prior to the start of WW II, the cup involved only eight teams, the level of the competing nations is clearly shown by Italys two World Cup titles, Czechoslovakias and Hungarys World Cup final, and Austrias and Yugoslavias semi-finals. Out of the different teams competing in the first three World Cups, five were part of the Mitropa Cup. A tournament was started in 1940, but abandoned before the match due to World War II. Again, only eight teams competed, three each from Hungary and Yugoslavia and two from Romania, hungarian Ferencváros and Romanian Rapid qualified for the final, but did not meet because the northern part of Transylvania was ceded back to Hungary from Romania. After World War II, the cup was resumed in 1951, the Cup, once again named Mitropa Cup, lost much of its status because of the introduction of other European Club Competitions, and faced an ongoing decline
