# German amateur football championship

The German amateur football championship was a national football competition in Germany organized by the German Football Association (German: Deutscher Fußball-Bund; DFB) and in existence from 1950 to 1998.

## History
### Overview

The championship was established in 1950 as a counterpart to the German football championship, which was open only to the winners of the tier-one Oberligas.
To qualify for the German amateur championship, a club had to play in the highest amateur league of its regional football federation. The majority of these leagues were tier-three leagues. Only in Niedersachsen, Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Berlin were these leagues set at the second level. From 1963, with the introduction of the Bundesliga, all these leagues became tier-three leagues, too.
To qualify for the amateur championship, a club either had to win its highest local amateur league and then not to have to take part in any post-season promotion-round. A club could also decline to take part in the promotion round and play in the amateur championship instead. Also, league winners who were reserve teams of professional clubs were ineligible for promotion to the professional level and had to play in the amateur championship instead. Mostly, however, the clubs playing in the championship were the runners-up of their leagues.

### 1950 to 1955

In the first five editions of the competition, the modus remained unchanged from season to season. Fifteen clubs competed in a knock-out system, whereby one club had a bye for the first round. Clubs paired against each other would only play one game to determine the winner of the tie. The competition only included teams from West Germany and West Berlin, East German clubs did not take part. Also, clubs from the Saarland did not take part either at this stage. The fifteen clubs came from the following leagues (tier):
* From the Southern region:
** Amateurliga Bayern (III)
** Amateurliga Württemberg (III)
** Amateurliga Südbaden (III)
** Amateurliga Nordbaden (III)
** Amateurliga Hessen (III)
* From the Southwest region:
** Amateurliga Rheinland (III)
** Amateurliga Südwest (III)
** Amateurliga Saarland (III) from 1955
* From the Western region:
** Landesliga Niederrhein (III) in three regional divisions
** Landesliga Mittelrhein (III) in two regional divisions
** Landesliga Westfalen (III) in five regional divisions
* From the Northern region:
** Amateurliga Bremen (II)
** Landesliga Schleswig-Holstein (II)
** Amateuroberliga Niedersachsen (II) in two regional divisions
** Amateurliga Hamburg (II)
* From West Berlin:
** Amateurliga Berlin (II)
From 1952, the knock-out system in the first round was replaced by a group stage, where in three groups of four and one group of three teams, a group winner was determined. This four winners then went on to the semi-finals.

### 1955 to 1964

The modus was altered in 1955, when, from then on, the five regions each determined their own champion. The five regional winners then qualified for the German amateur championship. The competition still operated on a knock-out system, but now only four games, ignoring possible replays, were played:
* A preliminary game between the West Berlin winner and one of the other four teams, altering on a yearly base.
* Two semi-final games
* The final
This system remained in place until the end of the 1963–64 season.

### 1964 to 1978

From the 1964–65 season, the sixteen regional champions, now with the Saarland, were again qualified for the competition. In a knock-out system, now with home-and-away games, the winner was determined. Only the final was played as an on-off match on neutral ground. Only in 1976–77 and 1977–78 was the final also played as a home-and-away contest. Otherwise, the modus remained unchanged until 1978, when the Amateur Oberligas were formed.

### 1979 to 1991

A league reform in 1978 reduced the number of tier-three leagues from sixteen to eight. Also, the leagues were renamed to Amateur Oberliga. The winner of each of those leagues qualified for the amateur championship, which was played as the years before, in a knock-out format with home-and-away games, including the final in the first season, 1978–79. From 1979 to 1980, the final was again played as a single game, but now as a home game for one of the two teams involved, to improve attendance figures.
The eight teams came from the following leagues:
* Amateur Oberliga Bayern
* Amateur Oberliga Baden-Württemberg
* Amateur Oberliga Hessen
* Amateur Oberliga Südwest
* Amateur Oberliga Berlin
* Amateur Oberliga Nordrhein
* Amateur Oberliga Westfalen
* Amateur Oberliga Nord
After the 1980–81 season, the winners of the eight leagues had to compete for 2. Bundesliga promotion. The amateur championship was therefore played out by the league runners-up from then on. This system in turn remained in place until the German reunion in 1991.

### 1991 to 1994

The effects of the German reunion changed the map of German football considerably and in regards of the German amateur championship, the number of teams qualified increased. East Germany and West-Berlin were sub-divided in three new Oberligas while the 'berliga Berlin was disbanded. The three new leagues were:
* NOFV-Oberliga Nord
* NOFV-Oberliga Mitte
* NOFV-Oberliga Süd
This meant, ten clubs, still the runners-up of their league, were now qualified for the competition. It was staged in two regional groups, north and south, with five teams each. Each team would play the other four in their group once and the two group winners would then stage the final. The 1991–92 competition marked a unique event, the Rot-Weiß Essen became the first and to-date only club to have taken out the German championship (1955) and the German amateur championship (1992) with its first team. Having won the German Cup in 1953, the club holds a unique triple of titles in German football.
This system only operated for three seasons, 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94. It was replaced when the Regionalligas were established as the new tier-three leagues in Germany in 1994. From then on, the Oberligas were not the highest amateur leagues in the country any more.

### 1994 to 1998

Four Regionalligas were established in 1994 and the teams competing in the German amateur championship now came from these leagues:
* Regionalliga Nord
* Regionalliga Nordost
* Regionalliga West/Südwest
* Regionalliga Süd
In each of the three next seasons, four teams qualified for the competition in a varying set-up:
* 1994–95: runners-up of the four leagues
* 1995–96: champion Nordost, third placed West/Südwest, second and third placed Süd
* 1996–97: champion Nordost, second and third placed West/Südwest, third placed Süd
The variation in teams qualified from each league resulted in a different number of teams from each league being promoted to the 2. Bundesliga.
In its last season, the championship was played with only three teams, the runners-up from West/Südwest and Süd and the winner of Nordost. Each played each other once only and the group winner Tennis Borussia Berlin was named German amateur champion. Additionally, the club was promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. This last edition, played without a final for the first time, was much more a promotion round with the amateur title being only a footnote.

### Disbanding and current status

A lack of interest in the competition led to its being disbanded. It suffered from being regarded as a competition for failed clubs that had missed out on more meaningful regional or national honours, or that had missed promotion to a higher level of play. Attempts to make the competition more attractive by allowing the top teams of the competition into the German Cup tournament had little effect.
In May 2006, the chairman of the DFB (German Football Association), Theo Zwanziger, voiced his interest in re-establishing a national amateur championship from 2008 onwards, after the 3. Liga was to be formed. He left open as to whether the competition should be for the winners of Regionalliga (IV) or Oberliga (V) play.

### Media

The SC Jülich, the only club to win the title three times in a row, was the feature of a documentary by a German sports network, the Deutsches Sportfernsehen — DSF, about Germany's most successful amateur club. The club had fallen on hard times and almost folded in the 1990s, dropping to the lowest tier of the local league system before recovering.

## List of winners

In its almost fifty-year history, the competition had thirty-eight different winners.

### Finals 1950 to 1997

| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | Result | Date | Venue | Attendance |
| 1950–51 | ATSV 1860 Bremen | Karlsruher FV | 3–2 | 30 June 1951 | Berlin | 70,000 |
| 1951–52 | VfR Schwenningen | Cronenberger SC | 5–2 | 22 June 1952 | Ludwigshafen | 80,000 |
| 1952–53 | SV Bergisch Gladbach 09 | Homberger SpV | 3–2 | 28 June 1953 | Wuppertal | 35,000 |
| 1953–54 | TSV Marl-Hüls | SpVgg Neu-Isenburg | 6–1 | 26 June 1954 | Gelsenkirchen | 15,000 |
| 1954–55 | Sportfreunde Siegen | SpVgg Bad Homburg | 5–0 | 25 June 1955 | Wetzlar | 15,000 |
| 1955–56 | SpVgg Neu-Isenburg | VfB Speldorf | 3–2 | 24 June 1956 | Berlin | 25,000 |
| 1956–57 | VfL Benrath | Alemannia 90 Berlin | 4–2 | 23 June 1957 | Hannover | 60,000 |
| 1957–58 | FV Hombruch 09 | ASV Bergedorf 85 | 3–1 | 14 June 1958 | Dortmund | 20,000 |
| 1958–59 | FC Singen 04 | Arminia Hannover | 3–2 | 14 June 1959 | Offenburg | 9,000 |
| 1959–60 | Hannover 96 Amateure | BV Osterfeld | 1–1 aet / 3–0 | 26 & 29 June 1960 | Herford | 12,000 & 9,000 |
| 1960–61 | KSV Holstein Kiel Amateure | SV Siegburg 04 | 5–1 | 24 June 1961 | Hannover | 70,000 |
| 1961–62 | SC Tegel Berlin | Tura Bonn | 1–0 | 30 June 1962 | Wuppertal | 12,000 |
| 1962–63 | VfB Stuttgart Amateure | VfL Wolfsburg | 1–0 | 6 July 1963 | Kassel | 10,000 |
| 1963–64 | Hannover 96 Amateure | SV Wiesbaden | 2–0 | 27 June 1964 | Hagen | 10,000 |
| 1964–65 | Hannover 96 Amateure | SV Wiesbaden | 2–1 | 27 June 1965 | Siegen | 8,000 |
| 1965–66 | SV Werder Bremen Amateure | Hannover 96 Amateure | 5–1 | 2 July 1966 | Herford | 10,000 |
| 1966–67 | STV Horst Emscher | Hannover 96 Amateure | 2–0 | 1 July 1967 | Herford | 8,500 |
| 1967–68 | VfB Marathon Remscheid | FC Wacker München | 5–3 aet | 9 June 1968 | Bochum | 10,000 |
| 1968–69 | SC Jülich | SpVgg Erkenschwick | 2–1 | 12 July 1969 | Krefeld | 12,000 |
| 1969–70 | SC Jülich | Eintracht Braunschweig Amateure | 3–0 | 11 July 1970 | Siegen | 8,000 |
| 1970–71 | SC Jülich | VfB Stuttgart Amateure | 1–0 | 10 July 1971 | Würzburg | 6,000 |
| 1971–72 | FSV Frankfurt | TSV Marl-Hüls | 2–1 | 8 July 1972 | Neuwied | 10,000 |
| 1972–73 | SpVgg Bad Homburg | 1. FC Kaiserslautern Amateure | 1–0 | 30 June 1973 | Offenbach | 7,000 |
| 1973–74 | SSV Reutlingen | VfB Marathon Remscheid | 2–2 aet / 2–1 | 29 June 1974 | Worms | 5,000 & 2,500 |
| 1974–75 | VfR Oli Bürstadt | Victoria Hamburg | 3–0 | 29 June 1975 | Ludwigsburg | 8,000 |
| 1975–76 | SV Holzwickede | VfR Oli Bürstadt | 1–0 | 27 June 1976 | Oldenburg | 750 |
| 1976–77 | Fortuna Düsseldorf Amateure | SV Sandhausen | 1–0 / 2–2 | 22 & 26 June 1977 | Düsseldorf & Sandhausen | 8,000 & 10,000 |
| 1977–78 | SV Sandhausen | ESV Ingolstadt | 2–0 / 1–1 | 24 & 28 June 1978 | Ingolstadt & Sandhausen | 2,100 & 5,000 |
| 1978–79 | ESV Ingolstadt | Hertha Zehlendorf | 4–1 / 0–1 | 27 & 30 June 1979 | Ingolstadt & Berlin | 3,000 & 3,600 |
| 1979–80 | VfB Stuttgart Amateure | FC Augsburg | 2–1 | 20 June 1980 | Stuttgart | 2,000 |
| 1980–81 | 1. FC Köln Amateure | FC St. Pauli | 2–0 | 14 June 1981 | Cologne | 7,500 |
| 1981–82 | FSV Mainz | SV Werder Bremen Amateure | 3–0 | 17 June 1982 | Mainz | 8,000 |
| 1982–83 | FC 08 Homburg | FC Bayern München Amateure | 2–0 aet | 17 June 1983 | Homburg | 6,000 |
| 1983–84 | Offenburger FV | SC Eintracht Hamm | 4–1 | 16 June 1984 | Offenburg | 8,000 |
| 1984–85 | SV Werder Bremen Amateure | DSC Wanne-Eickel | 3–0 | 22 June 1985 | Bremen | 3,000 |
| 1985–86 | BVL 08 Remscheid | VfR Oli Bürstadt | 2–1 aet | 21 June 1986 | Remscheid | 8,000 |
| 1986–87 | MSV Duisburg | FC Bayern München Amateure | 4–1 | 21 June 1987 | Duisburg | 10,000 |
| 1987–88 | Eintracht Trier | VfB Oldenburg | 0–0 aet, 5–4 pen | 19 June 1988 | Oldenburg | 7,000 |
| 1988–89 | Eintracht Trier | SpVgg Bad Homburg | 1–1 aet, 5–4 pen | 17 June 1989 | Trier | 5,500 |
| 1989–90 | FSV Salmrohr | Rheydter SpV | 2–0 | 10 June 1990 | Salmrohr | 3,000 |
| 1990–91 | SV Werder Bremen Amateure | SpVgg 07 Ludwigsburg | 2–1 | 9 June 1991 | Ludwigsburg | 4,500 |
| 1991–92 | Rot-Weiss Essen | SpVgg Bad Homburg | 3–2 aet | 13 June 1992 | Essen | 6,395 |
| 1992–93 | SV Sandhausen | SV Werder Bremen Amateure | 2–0 | | Sandhausen | 3,000 |
| 1993–94 | SC Preußen Münster | Kickers Offenbach | 1–0 | 11 June 1994 | Offenbach | 6,000 |
| 1994–95 | VfL Osnabrück | Stuttgarter Kickers | 4–2 aet | 13 June 1995 | Stuttgart | 1,194 |
| 1995–96 | SSV Ulm 1846 | VfR Mannheim | 2–1 | 15 June 1996 | Ulm | 500 |
| 1996–97 | SSV Reutlingen | Rot-Weiß Oberhausen | 2–1 | | Oberhausen | 1,600 |
Source:"(West) Germany — Amateur Championship Finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 2008-08-05.

### Group winners 1998

| Year | Champion | Runner-Up |
| 1997–98 | Tennis Borussia Berlin | Sportfreunde Siegen |

### Winners and runners-up statistics

| Club | Championships | Runners-up |
| Hannover 96 Amateure | 3 | 2 |
| SV Werder Bremen Amateure | 3 | 2 |
| SC Jülich | 3 | 0 |
| VfB Stuttgart Amateure | 2 | 1 |
| SV Sandhausen | 2 | 1 |
| SSV Reutlingen | 2 | 0 |
| Eintracht Trier | 2 | 0 |
| SpVgg Bad Homburg | 1 | 3 |
| VfR Oli Bürstadt | 1 | 2 |
| TSV Marl-Hüls | 1 | 1 |
| Sportfreunde Siegen | 1 | 1 |
| SpVgg Neu-Isenburg | 1 | 1 |
| VfB Marathon Remscheid | 1 | 1 |
| ESV Ingolstadt | 1 | 1 |
| VfL Osnabrück | 1 | 1 |
| ATSV 1860 Bremen | 1 | 0 |
| VfR Schwenningen | 1 | 0 |
| SV Bergisch Gladbach 09 | 1 | 0 |
| VfL 06 Benrath | 1 | 0 |
| FV Hombruch 09 | 1 | 0 |
| FC Singen 04 | 1 | 0 |
| KSV Holstein Kiel Amateure | 1 | 0 |
| SC Tegel Berlin | 1 | 0 |
| STV Horst-Emscher | 1 | 0 |
| FSV Frankfurt | 1 | 0 |
| SV Holzwickede | 1 | 0 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf Amateure | 1 | 0 |
| 1. FC Köln Amateure | 1 | 0 |
| FSV Mainz 05 | 1 | 0 |
| FC 08 Homburg | 1 | 0 |
| Offenburger FV | 1 | 0 |
| BVL 08 Remscheid | 1 | 0 |
| MSV Duisburg | 1 | 0 |
| FSV Salmrohr | 1 | 0 |
| Rot-Weiß Essen | 1 | 0 |
| SC Preußen Münster | 1 | 0 |
| SSV Ulm 1846 | 1 | 0 |
| Tennis Borussia Berlin | 1 | 0 |

## First edition 1950–51: clubs

Fifteen teams took part in the competitions first edition, taking place in June 1951, qualified from the following leagues:
* Amateurliga Bremen (runners-up): ATSV Bremen 1860
* Amateurliga Nordbaden (runners-up): Karlsruher FV
* Landesliga Niederrhein (winner group 1): SC Cronenberg
* Landesliga Mittelrhein (winner group 1): SSV Troisdorf 05
* Landesliga Schleswig-Holstein (runners-up): Heider SV
* Amateurliga Württemberg (runners-up): VfL Sindelfingen
* Amateuroberliga Niedersachsen (runners-up): SSV Delmenhorst
* Amateurliga Hessen (runners-up): Borussia Fulda
* Amateurliga Berlin (champion): VfL Nord Berlin
* Amateurliga Südbaden (champion): FC 08 Villingen
* Rheinland region: VfL Neuwied
* Amateurliga Hamburg (3rd placed): Union Altona
* Amateurliga Bayern (runners-up): FC Bayreuth
* Landesliga Westfalen (champion): SpVgg Röhlinghausen
* Südwest region: SC Zweibrücken