leagues) of the championship group to determine who will participate in the Europa League. The teams from 11th–16th position play in the same format as the championship group. The team finishing in 16th position is relegated directly to the Czech National Football League, while teams in 15th and 14th places play relegation play-offs against teams finishing 2nd and 3rd in the Czech National Football League. Changes in 2020/21 Due to positive tests for Covid-19 in the 2019–20 season the relegation group was abandoned. The league announced that due to time pressure the relegation group will remain unfinished and as a consequence, no team can be relegated and the winner of the second league should be promoted. To avoid playing the 2020–21 season with odd number of teams, the automatic promotion was granted to the second placed team as well. There were 18 clubs in the league, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 34 games. The three lowest placed teams were relegated to the second tier (Czech National Football League). From the 2021–22 season, the system returns to its previous format. Champions Year by year Performance by club Participating teams in 2022–23 Map 2022–23 season The following 16 clubs are competing in the 2022–23 Czech First League. Managers . Sponsorship In 1997 the league started a sponsorship deal with Plzeňský Prazdroj, a. s. and became known as the Gambrinus liga (after the company's Gambrinus beer). 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 was announced, with the league partnering ePojisteni.cz, an online insurance company. The league subsequently became known as the ePojisteni.cz liga. Due to a government subsidy scandal and the arrest of FAČR chairman , ePojisteni.cz terminated the contract prematurely in May 2017. The league was then renamed HET liga for the 2017–18 season, after paint manufacturer HET. In October 2016 FAČR, League Football Association and Czech betting company Fortuna a.s. signed a 6-year partnership deal. In accordance with this deal, the Czech First League will be called Fortuna liga from the 2018–19 season.