In 1971, the club was moved again, this time from the capital to Frankfurt an der Oder on the German-Polish border, to replace the local secret police-sponsored side SG Dynamo, which was then disbanded. The decision to relocate the club was taken by the Ministry for Defence. The exact reasons for decision has not been fully clarified. The relocation was probably the result of political intrigues by the Ministry for State Security and the SED. German author Hans Joachim Teichler writes that all speculations end up with the head of the Ministry for State Security and the president of SV Dynamo Erich Mielke. Teichler suggest that Mielke somehow must have convinced the Minister for National Defence Heinz Hoffmann that two clubs of the armed organs in Berlin were too many. Mielke regarded FC Vortwärts Berlin as a competitor to BFC Dynamo in the capital. His fellow Politburo member and SED First Secretary in Bezirk Frankfurt Erich Mückenberger on the other end anticipated a boost for the Frankfurt an der Oder region. Vorwärts then enjoyed another decent run in the 1980s, going to the UEFA Cup four times (where they were twice knocked out by West German clubs, (Werder Bremen and VfB Stuttgart). In 1983 they finished second nationally.