Sports+in+the+Czech+Republic

====The most popular sports in the Czech Republic are //**football**// (soccer), //**ice hockey**//, //**volley-ball**//, //**tennis**// and //**kickball**// (an original Czech sport similar to volley-ball in which the players kick the ball over a low net.)====

=**//Football//**=

====Football is the most popular sport in the Czech Republic. The Czech Football Association has run the country´s top league, the 1st league, since l925. The most popular club, AC Sparta Praha, have been remarkably successful in both domestic and European contests. Czechoslovakia were runners-up in the 1934 and 1962 World Cups, European champions in 1976 and the Czech Republic narrowly lost to Germany in the finals of 1996´s European championships held in England. //F. Pl////á////nička, I. Bican, J. Masopust, I. Viktor, A. Panenka, Z. Nehoda, T. Skuhravý, K. Poborský, P. Berger and P. Nedvěd// are among the most famous Czech footballers.====



= **Ice-hockey** =

====For years Czechoslovakia's national ice hockey teams have ranked among the top five or six national teams in the world. The national ice hockey team have won the World Hockey Championships seven times (the last time in 1996 in Vienna). They came 2nd in the Canada Cup in 1976. Today, Czech ice hockey suffers from a mass exodus of its best players to foreign leagues, especially to the NHL. Among the most famous players to have left are //J. J////ágr, D. Hašek, M. Straka, R. Holík, R. Reichel, M.Ručínský and V. Vujtek. V. Nedomanský, J. Holeček.//====

=**Tennis**=

====Czech tennis players have been remarkably successful in international competitions. One of them, //Martina Navr////átilová////,// is arguably the best female tennis player of all time. Many other male and female tennis players have appeared in the top 100 rankings of international tennis.====



=**Track and Field**=

====Czech athletes have made a great impression on track and field competitions. The runners //E. Z////á////topek// and //J. Kratochv////ílová////,// the javelin-throwers //D. Z////átopková//, //J. Železný// and //B. Špotáková//, the discus-throwers //L. Daněk// and //I. Bug////á////r//, the decathletes //R. Změl////í////k// and //R. Šebrle//, the shot-putters //H. Fibingerov////á// and //R. Machura// and others are among the most famous Czech athletes.====



=**Other sports**=