Gold in Nagano, the Dominator, and why a hockey match empties Czech streets faster than anything else.
Football is popular in the Czech Republic. Ice hockey is something else entirely — a sport tangled up with national identity in a way that takes visitors by surprise the first time they see a city centre go silent for a match.
Nagano 1998
The defining sporting moment in modern Czech memory. Czechia beat Canada in a shoot-out, then Russia in the final, to take Olympic gold with Dominik Hašek in goal. An estimated 100,000 people filled Old Town Square for the return. Hašek — “the Dominator” — is regarded by many as the greatest goaltender who ever played.
The rivalry that was never only sport
Matches against the Soviet Union during the communist era carried a weight no ordinary fixture could. The 1969 World Championship wins over the USSR, months after the invasion, brought crowds into the streets and ended in police violence.
Jaromír Jágr
Two Stanley Cups, an NHL scoring record spanning decades, and a professional career that continued into his fifties with his own club in Kladno. He wore number 68 for the year of the invasion.
Watching a game
The domestic league is the Extraliga. In Prague, HC Sparta Praha plays at the O2 Arena and HC Slavia at Eden. Tickets are inexpensive by Western European standards and easy to get for regular-season games; the atmosphere is loud, organised and family-heavy.
When
The season runs from September to April, with the World Championship in May — the tournament Czechs care about most, and one Prague has hosted several times.
שאלות נפוצות
Is hockey more popular than football here?
In terms of national attention, yes — particularly during the World Championship and the Olympics.
Can I watch a match as a visitor?
Easily. Extraliga tickets are cheap and available online; O2 Arena is on the metro.
What was Nagano 1998?
The Olympic tournament where Czechia won gold, beating Canada and Russia. It remains the country’s defining sporting memory.
Read more: events in Prague, famous Czech people ו Prague in winter.
Last reviewed in August 2026.
