Länderpokal
Encyclopedia
The Länderpokal is the oldest cup competition of the German Football Association
. It came into existence as the Kronprinzenpokal (English:Crown Prince
Cup) but has changed its name various times since. The cup is held annually at the Sportschule Duisburg-Wedau. Contestants in the cup are teams of the 21 regional football associations, composed of youth players from that area. Also guest teams are invited each year since 2005, which play in the competition but will not be awarded a place in the final standings.
In the past, the cup was contested by senior regional selections, later by senior amateur selections from the Amateur-Oberligas
and below. In the mid-90's, this was changed to Under-21 selections. In 1981 the a women's competition was introduced. Record titleholder for the men's competition is the Bavarian football association.
The competition was formed in 1908, when the German Crown Prince William donated a cup to the German Football Association
- DFB, to initiate the Kronprinzenpokal. His only condition for the new competition was that the final was always to be played in Berlin.
The trophy had an inscription engraved which it still bears today:
The Kronprinzenpokal was initially contested by only seven teams, the selections of the seven regional German football associations, North, South, West, Brandenburg, Central, South East and Baltic.
With the end of the First World War, the name of the competition was altered to reflect the fact, that Germany was not a monarchy anymore. The throphy donated by William with its inscription is however still used and handed to the winner each season.
s were introduced, 16 regional first divisions. A new competition to replace the Bundespokal was introduced in 1935, now contested by selections from the Gaue, the new administrative subdivisions of Germany. This competition lasted until 1942, when the consequences caused by the Second World War made football more and more difficult.
, not including East German or Saarland
selections, the later entering a team from 1957. Selections from the five East German federations only started to participated after the German reunion. The now twenty-one regional football federations are not always identical in size to the current sixteen German federal states, a number of states have more than one federation.
Since 2005, a final is not played anymore and the competitions winner is determined by a group stage.
German Football Association
The German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is...
. It came into existence as the Kronprinzenpokal (English:Crown Prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
Cup) but has changed its name various times since. The cup is held annually at the Sportschule Duisburg-Wedau. Contestants in the cup are teams of the 21 regional football associations, composed of youth players from that area. Also guest teams are invited each year since 2005, which play in the competition but will not be awarded a place in the final standings.
In the past, the cup was contested by senior regional selections, later by senior amateur selections from the Amateur-Oberligas
Oberliga (football)
The Oberliga is currently the name of the fifth tier of the German football leagues. Before the introduction of the 3rd Liga in 2008, it was the fourth tier...
and below. In the mid-90's, this was changed to Under-21 selections. In 1981 the a women's competition was introduced. Record titleholder for the men's competition is the Bavarian football association.
History
German Football Association
The German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is...
- DFB, to initiate the Kronprinzenpokal. His only condition for the new competition was that the final was always to be played in Berlin.
The trophy had an inscription engraved which it still bears today:
The Kronprinzenpokal was initially contested by only seven teams, the selections of the seven regional German football associations, North, South, West, Brandenburg, Central, South East and Baltic.
With the end of the First World War, the name of the competition was altered to reflect the fact, that Germany was not a monarchy anymore. The throphy donated by William with its inscription is however still used and handed to the winner each season.
Kronprinzenpokal
Held from 1909 to 1918, when the monarchy in Germany was abolished, the Crown Prince Cup was the first version of the tournament. It was contested between the selections of the seven regional football associations in Germany at the time. The competition was interrupted by the First World War and was not held in 1915 and 1916:| Year | Winner |
| 1909 | Central Germany |
| 1910 | Southern Germany |
| 1911 | Northern Germany |
| 1912 | Southern Germany |
| 1913 | Western Germany |
| 1914 | Northern Germany |
| 1915 | not held |
| 1916 | not held |
| 1917 | Northern Germany |
| 1918 | Brandenburg |
Bundespokal
The competition continued in its previous form after the end of the monarchy, in the new German Republic, now renamed Federal Cup:| Year | Winner |
| 1919 | Northern Germany |
| 1920 | Western Germany |
| 1921 | Central Germany |
| 1922 | Southern Germany |
| 1923 | Southern Germany |
| 1924 | Southern Germany |
| 1925 | Northern Germany |
| 1926 | Southern Germany |
| 1927 | Central Germany |
| 1928 | South Eastern Germany |
| 1929 | Brandenburg |
| 1930 | Northern Germany |
| 1931 | Southern Germany |
| 1932 | Northern Germany |
| 1933 | Southern Germany |
Reichsbundpokal
In 1933, with the rise of the Nazis to power, the old regional football federations were abolished, football in Germany was centralized and the GauligaGauliga
A Gauliga was the highest level of play in German football from 1934-45. The leagues were introduced in 1933, after the Nazi takeover of power by the Sports office of the Third Reich.-Name:...
s were introduced, 16 regional first divisions. A new competition to replace the Bundespokal was introduced in 1935, now contested by selections from the Gaue, the new administrative subdivisions of Germany. This competition lasted until 1942, when the consequences caused by the Second World War made football more and more difficult.
| Year | Winner |
| 1935 | Gau Mitte Gauliga Mitte The Gauliga Mitte was the highest football league in the Prussian province of Saxony and the German states of Thuringia and Anhalt from 1933 to 1945, all located in the center of Germany... |
| 1936 | Gau Sachsen Gauliga Sachsen The Gauliga Saxony was the highest football league in the German state of Saxony from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the Gau Saxony replaced the state Saxony.-Overview:The league was introduced in 1933,... |
| 1937 | Gau Niederrhein Gauliga Niederrhein The Gauliga Niederrhein was the highest football league in the northern part of the Prussian Rhine Province from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the Gaue Essen and Düsseldorf replaced the Prussian province in... |
| 1938 | Gau Nordmark Gauliga Nordmark The Gauliga Nordmark was the highest football league in the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein and the German states of Hamburg, Lübeck, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz and parts of Oldenburg from 1933 to 1945... |
| 1939 | Gauliga Schlesien Gauliga Schlesien The Gauliga Schlesien was the highest football league in the region of Silesia , which consisted of the Prussian provinces of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia from 1933 to 1945... |
| 1940 | Gau Bayern Gauliga Bayern The Gauliga Bayern was the highest football league in the German state of Bavaria from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the five Gaue Bayreuth, Munich-Upper Bavaria, Swabia, Main Franconia and Franconia de... |
| 1941 | Gau Sachsen |
| 1942 | Gau Niederrhein |
Länderpokal
Staged for the first and only time after the Second World War, the State Cup was played in 1950 and won by Bavaria.Amateur-Länderpokal
From 1951 onwards, the competition, now renamed Amateur State Cup, was open only to non-professional players. It started out with the selections of the fifteen regional football federations in West GermanyWest Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, not including East German or Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
selections, the later entering a team from 1957. Selections from the five East German federations only started to participated after the German reunion. The now twenty-one regional football federations are not always identical in size to the current sixteen German federal states, a number of states have more than one federation.
| Year | Winner | Runners-up | Result |
| 1951 | Lower Rhine | Berlin | 5–4 aet |
| 1952 | Bavaria | Lower Rhine | 4–0 |
| 1953 | Bavaria | Lower Saxony | 5–2 |
| 1954 | Bavaria | Schleswig-Holstein | 3–0 |
| 1955 | Bavaria | Westphalia | 5–2 |
| 1956 | Hesse | Lower Rhine | 3–1 |
| 1957 | Lower Saxony | Westphalia | 3–2 |
| 1958 | Lower Rhine | Lower Saxony | 2–0 |
| 1959 | Hamburg | Hesse | 4–1 |
| 1960 | Middle Rhine | Hesse | 3–0 |
| 1961 | Hamburg | Schleswig-Holstein | 2–1 |
| 1962 | Westphalia | Middle Rhine | 2–1 |
| 1963 | Bavaria | Hesse | 3–1 |
| 1964 | Middle Rhine | South Baden | 4–0 |
| 1965 | Bavaria | Westphalia | 3–2 |
| 1966 | Westphalia | Lower Saxony | 1–0 |
| 1967 | North Baden | Hesse | 2–1 |
| 1968 | Bavaria | Hamburg | 5–0 |
| 1969 | North Baden | Hamburg | 2–1 |
| 1970 | Bavaria | North Baden | 2–1 |
| 1971 | Bavaria | Lower Rhine | 2–1 aet |
| 1972 | North Baden | Lower Saxony | 2–1 |
| 1973 | North Baden | Lower Rhine | 1–1 aet 1 |
| 1974 | Middle Rhine | Westphalia | 1–0 |
| 1975 | South West | North Baden | 0–0 aet (4–2 pso) |
| 1976 | Lower Saxony | Bavaria | 1–0 |
| 1977 | Bavaria | South West | 4–2 aet |
| 1978 | Westphalia | Lower Saxony | 1–0 / 1–0 |
| 1979 | Württemberg | Berlin | 2–1 |
| 1980 | Bavaria | Lower Rhine | 4–2 |
| 1981 | South West | Hesse | 1–1 aet (4–3 pso) |
| 1982 | South West | Lower Rhine | 3–1 |
| 1983 | Hesse | Schleswig-Holstein | 2–1 aet |
| 1984 | Bremen | Bavaria | 3–1 |
| 1985 | Rhineland | Hamburg | 1–1 aet (3–2 pso) |
| 1986 | Westphalia | Lower Rhine | 0–0 aet (4–2 pso) |
| 1987 | Lower Saxony | Berlin | 3–1 |
| 1988 | Württemberg | Lower Rhine | 2–0 |
| 1989 | Bavaria | Hesse | 2–2 aet (4–2 pso) |
| 1990 | Bavaria | Baden | 3–0 |
| 1991 | Lower Rhine | Hesse | 1–1 aet (4–3 pso) |
| 1992 | Hesse | Bremen | 3–2 |
| 1993 | Westphalia | Hesse | 5–2 |
| 1994 | Westphalia | Bavaria | 3–1 aet |
| 1995 | Lower Rhine | Rhineland | 1–0 |
| 1996 | Baden | Middle Rhine | 1–0 |
| 1997 | Westphalia | Rhineland | 4–1 |
| 1998 | Westphalia | Middle Rhine | 5–2 |
| 1999 | Schleswig-Holstein | Lower Saxony | 4–1 |
| 2000 | Bavaria | Westphalia | 2–1 |
| 2001 | Württemberg | Westphalia | 3–0 |
| 2002 | Middle Rhine | Westphalia | 3–0 |
| 2003 | South West | Lower Saxony | 2–2 aet (4–2 pso) |
| 2004 | Middle Rhine | Bremen | 1–0 |
Since 2005, a final is not played anymore and the competitions winner is determined by a group stage.
| Year | Winner | Runners-up |
| 2005 | Saxony | Württemberg |
| 2006 | Lower Rhine | Middle Rhine |
| 2007 | Lower Rhine | Baden |
| 2008 | South West | Berlin |
| 2009 | Württemberg | Westphalia |
| 2010 |
- 1 North Baden declared the winner because Lower Rhine was unable to field a team for the rematch.
1950 onwards
The selections of the twenty-one regional German football federations take part in the cup, these being:- Bavaria (Bayern), covering the state of BavariaBavariaBavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
- Berlin, covering the city state of BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
+ - Brandenburg, covering the state of BrandenburgBrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
+ - Bremen, covering the city state of BremenBremenThe City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
- Hamburg covering the city state of HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
- Hesse (Hessen), covering the state of HesseHesseHesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
- Lower Rhine (Niederrhein), covering the north western part of the state of North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
- Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), covering the state of Lower SaxonyLower SaxonyLower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, covering the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern +
- Middle Rhine (Mittelrhein), covering the south western part of the state of North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
- North Baden (Nordbaden), covering the north western part of the state of Baden-WürttembergBaden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
- Rhineland (Rheinland), covering the northern half of Rhineland-PalatinateRhineland-PalatinateRhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
- Saarland, covering the state of SaarlandSaarlandSaarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
- Saxony (Sachsen), covering the state of SaxonySaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
+ - Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt), covering the state of Saxony-AnhaltSaxony-AnhaltSaxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
+ - Schleswig-Holstein, covering the state of Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
- South Baden (Südbaden), covering the south western part of the state of Baden-WürttembergBaden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
- South West (Südwest), covering the southern half of Rhineland-PalatinateRhineland-PalatinateRhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
- Thuringia (Thüringen), covering the state of ThuringiaThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
+ - Westphalia (Westfalen), covering the eastern part of the state of North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
- Württemberg, covering the eastern part of the state of Baden-WürttembergBaden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, divided into north and south in the first edition in 1951.- + Formerly part of East Germany, except Berlin, which was divided between East and West.
- German names in brackets, when different from English name.
Sources
- kicker Allmanach 1990, by kickerKicker (sports magazine)kicker Sportmagazin is Germany's leading sports magazine and is focused primarily on football. The magazine was founded in 1920 by German football pioneer Walther Bensemann and is published twice a week, usually Monday and Thursday, in Nuremberg...
, page 216 & 225 – Der Länderpokal der Amateure (German Amateur State Cup)