Region | ![]() |
---|---|
Current champions | 21 regional winners |
Most successful team(s) | SV Werder Bremen II (20 titles) |
Television broadcasters | ARD |
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A Verbandspokal (English: Association Cup) is a regional men's association football competition in Germany. There are 21 Verbandspokal competitions which function as qualifying tournaments for the following season's DFB-Pokal, the premier German Cup competition. [1] Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga clubs are not permitted to enter as they are already directly qualified for the first round of the DFB-Pokal. While no Verbandspokal winner has ever gone on to win the German Cup, two have reached the final. Hertha BSC Amateure won the Berlin Cup in 1992 and went on to lose the 1992–93 DFB-Pokal final against Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Energie Cottbus won the 1996 Brandenburg Cup and went on to lose the 1996–97 DFB-Pokal final against VfB Stuttgart. [2]
Apart from the 21 Verbandspokal champions, three more teams are qualified from the regional football association to bring the number of clubs in the first round of the DFB-Pokal to 64. These three teams come from the three regional associations with the most members, these currently being Bavaria, Lower Saxony and Westphalia. [1]
The regional competitions, (plural:Verbandspokale) are generally open to all clubs in the 3. Liga and below, however regional rules vary between associations. 3. Liga clubs have a double chance to qualify for the first round of the DFB-Pokal, through the Verbandspokale and through finishing in the top four in their league.
The finals of the competitions can attract large numbers of spectators, like the 2014 Lower Rhine Cup between MSV Duisburg and TV Jahn Hiesfeld did, which was watched by 24,000 in Duisburg. [3]
As of 2013–14 the SV Werder Bremen II, reserve team of SV Werder Bremen, is the most successful team in any Verbandspokal competition, having won the Bremen Cup twenty times, followed by Tennis Borussia Berlin with sixteen Berlin Cup wins and Holstein Kiel with 15 Schleswig-Holstein Cup wins.
Rules and regulations for the Verbandspokale are set by the regional football associations and vary. Bavaria, the largest one, stipulates that reserve teams are not permitted to participate in the Bavarian Cup. Teams from lower divisions always have home advantage, if two teams of the same division are drawn against each other the team drawn first receives home advantage.
Bavarian clubs from the 3. Liga and Regionalliga Bayern, except reserve teams, are obliged to participate in the cup. Clubs from the two Bayernliga divisions and the five Landesliga Bayern divisions play a qualifying round. Additionally, the 24 regional cup winners in Bavaria, the Kreispokale, are also qualified for the first round of the Bavarian Cup. If a game is undecided after regular time a penalty shoot out follows, no extra time is played. [4]
In Lower Saxony, the third-largest association, clubs from the state playing in the 3. Liga, Regionalliga Nord and Oberliga Niedersachsen as well as the four Bezirkspokal winners are qualified for the first round of the Lower Saxony Cup. [5]
The longest-running competition of the Verbandspokale is the Berlin Cup, first held in 1907. [6] All other cup competitions originated after the Second World War.
In Southern Germany, the South Baden Cup was established in 1945, [7] the Hesse Cup in 1946, [8] the Bavarian Cup in 1947, with a long interruption from 1954 to 1998, [9] [10] the North Baden Cup in 1949, [11] and the Württemberg Cup in 1950. [12] [13]
In Northern Germany, the Bremen Cup was established in 1950, [14] the Schleswig-Holstein Cup from 1953, [15] the Hamburg Cup was sporadically played from 1954 and permanently from 1981, [16] and the Lower Saxony Cup from 1955. [17]
In the former East Germany, the Verbandspokale, in the form of the Brandenburg Cup, [18] Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Cup, Saxony Cup, Saxony-Anhalt Cup, [19] and Thuringia Cup, [20] were established in 1990.
In Western Germany, the Lower Rhine Cup was established in 1980, [21] the Westphalia Cup in 1981, [22] and the Middle Rhine Cup in 1994. [23]
In South Western Germany, the Rhineland Cup was established in 1953, the South West Cup in 1973, [24] and the Saarland Cup in 1974. [25]
The winners of the 2017–18 Verbandspokal competitions:
In February 2016 it was announced that German broadcaster ARD for the first time would show all 21 Verbandspokal finals live in a conference as well as live stream them and that all finals would be played on the same date, 28 May 2016. [26]
The Bremer Pokal is an annual football cup competition, held by the Bremer Fußball-Verband. It is one of the 21 regional cup competitions in Germany and a qualifying competition for the German Cup, with the winner of the competition being automatically qualified for the first round of the German Cup in the following season. For sponsorship reasons, the competition is known as the Lotto-Pokal.
The Hamburger Pokal is an annual football cup competition, shortly known as Hamburg pokal, held by the Hamburger Fußball-Verband since 1982. For sponsorship reasons, the official name of the competition is ODDSET-Pokal. It is one of the 21 regional cup competitions in Germany and a qualifying competition for the German Cup, with the winner of the competition being automatically qualified for the first round of the German Cup in the following season.
The Schleswig-Holstein Cup is one of the 21 regional cup competitions of German football. It is a qualifying competition for the German Cup, with the winner of the competition being automatically qualified for the first round of the German Cup in the following season. For sponsorship reasons, the official name of the competition is SHFV-LOTTO-Pokal.
German reserve football teams compete at all levels of league football within the German football league system apart from the top two divisions, the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. The highest league these teams can currently enter is the 3. Liga, set at the third tier of the league system.
The 2013–14 Verbandspokal, consisting of twenty one regional cup competitions, the Verbandspokale, was the qualifying competition for the 2014–15 DFB-Pokal, the German Cup.
The 2014–15 Verbandspokal, consisting of twenty one regional cup competitions, the Verbandspokale, is the qualifying competition for the 2015–16 DFB-Pokal, the German Cup.
The 2015–16 Bavarian Cup was the nineteenth edition of this competition, first held in 1998 and organised by the Bavarian Football Association (BFV). The winner qualified for the first round of the 2016–17 DFB-Pokal, the German Cup.
The 2015–16 Verbandspokal, consisted of twenty one regional cup competitions, the Verbandspokale, was the qualifying competition for the 2016–17 DFB-Pokal, the German Cup.
The 2017–18 DFB-Pokal was the 75th season of the annual German football cup competition. Sixty-four teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. The competition began on 11 August 2017 with the first of six rounds and ended on 19 May 2018 with the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, a nominally neutral venue, which has hosted the final since 1985. The DFB-Pokal is considered the second-most important club title in German football after the Bundesliga championship. The DFB-Pokal is run by the German Football Association (DFB).
The 2016–17 Verbandspokal, consisted of 21 men's German association football regional cup competitions, the Verbandspokale, which serve as qualifying competition for the 2017–18 DFB-Pokal.
The 2017–18 Verbandspokal, consisted of twenty one regional cup competitions, the Verbandspokale, the qualifying competition for the 2018–19 DFB-Pokal, the German Cup.
The 2017–18 Verbandspokal, consisted of twenty-one regional cup competitions, the Verbandspokale, the qualifying competition for the 2018–19 DFB-Pokal, the German Cup.
The 2018–19 Verbandspokal, consisted of twenty-one regional cup competitions, the Verbandspokale, the qualifying competition for the 2019–20 DFB-Pokal, the German Cup.
The 2020–21 DFB-Pokal was the 78th season of the annual German football cup competition. Sixty-four teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. The competition began on 11 September 2020 with the first of six rounds and ended on 13 May 2021 with the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, a nominally neutral venue, which has hosted the final since 1985. The competition was originally scheduled to begin on 14 August 2020 and conclude on 22 May 2021, though this was delayed due to postponement of the previous season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The DFB-Pokal is considered the second-most important club title in German football after the Bundesliga championship. The DFB-Pokal is run by the German Football Association (DFB).
The 2018–19 Verbandspokal, consisted of twenty-one regional cup competitions, the Verbandspokale, the qualifying competition for the 2019–20 DFB-Pokal, the German Cup.
The 2019–20 Verbandspokal, consisted of twenty-one regional cup competitions, the Verbandspokale, the qualifying competition for the 2020–21 DFB-Pokal, the German Cup.
The 2020–21 DFB-Pokal was the 41st season of the annual German football cup competition. Several teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Frauen-Bundesliga and the 2. Frauen-Bundesliga, excluding second teams. The competition began on 19 September 2020 with the first of six rounds and ended on 30 May 2021 with the final at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, a nominally neutral venue, which has hosted the final since 2010. The DFB-Pokal is considered the second-most important club title in German women's football after the Bundesliga championship. The DFB-Pokal is run by the German Football Association (DFB).
The 2020–21 Verbandspokal consisted of twenty-one regional cup competitions, the Verbandspokale, the qualifying competition for the 2021–22 DFB-Pokal, the German Cup.
The 2021–22 Verbandspokal consisted of twenty-one regional cup competitions, the Verbandspokale, the qualifying competition for the 2022–23 DFB-Pokal, the German Cup.
The 2022–23 Verbandspokal consisted of twenty-one regional cup competitions, the Verbandspokale, the qualifying competition for the 2023–24 DFB-Pokal, the German Cup.