About Ceský Pohár (1939-46)

The first era of the Czech Cup (1939–1946) began when the Czechoslovak Football Association introduced a new national knockout competition in 1938. However, the planned inaugural season was disrupted by the Sudeten crisis and the Munich Agreement, so the tournament only officially started in 1939–40 under the German occupation period. The first-ever winner was SK Olomouc ASO, a second-division team that defeated SK Prostějov in the final and became the historic first champion of the Czech Cup.

In the following years, the competition quickly gained importance despite political instability and wartime conditions. The early 1940s were dominated mainly by Prague giants SK Slavia Prague and AC Sparta Prague, who met several times in finals and shared most of the titles. Slavia won in 1940–41 and 1941–42, while Sparta took the next two seasons, showing a clear rivalry at the top level of Czech football during this period.

During World War II, especially in the 1944–45 season, the cup became the only major football competition in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia due to league suspension, and Slavia won the title again. In the first post-war season (1945–46), known as the “Liberation Cup,” Sparta defeated SK Slezská Ostrava in the final. Overall, in the first seven editions of the competition, Slavia and Sparta each won three titles, while SK Olomouc ASO claimed one, confirming their dominance in early Czech cup history.