SV Babelsberg 03
Encyclopedia
SV Babelsberg 03 is a German association football club
based in Potsdam
-Babelsberg
, on the outskirts of Berlin
. The team was founded as Sport-Club Jugendkraft 1903 and again as SG Karl-Marx Babelsberg in 1948 as successor to the pre-war side SpVgg Potsdam 03
.
eastern half of the country. On 1 August 1949, they merged with the local club SG Drewitz and the following year were re-named BSG Motor Babelsberg.
The side was a perennial second division team in East Germany's DDR-Liga
with the exception of short spells in the third tier in 1968–71, 1972–73, and 1980–81. The club's record in league matches and in regular FDGB Pokal
(East German Cup) tournament appearances was undistinguished. Just prior to German re-unification the team suffered relegation from the second division.
(German Cup) matches in 2000 and 2001, but was eliminated in the early rounds.
Babelsberg's time in the second division was a short one. They finished at the bottom of the table and by 2003–04 had fallen all the way back to the Oberliga Nordost-Nord (IV). The club declared bankruptcy in 2003 but managed to continue playing through the adoption of a creditor supported bankruptcy plan. SV fielded strong sides and achieved several top three finishes until they were promoted to the Regionalliga Nord (III) for the 2007–08 campaign. In 2009–10 season Babelsberg were promoted back to the 3rd Liga
after finishing champions of the Regionalliga Nord.
Football in Germany
Association football is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members organized in over 26,000 football clubs. There is a league system, with the 1. and 2. Bundesliga on top, and the winner of the first...
based in Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
-Babelsberg
Potsdam-Babelsberg
Babelsberg is the largest district of the Brandenburg capital Potsdam in Germany. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as for Studio...
, on the outskirts of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin 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...
. The team was founded as Sport-Club Jugendkraft 1903 and again as SG Karl-Marx Babelsberg in 1948 as successor to the pre-war side SpVgg Potsdam 03
SpVgg Potsdam
SpVgg Potsdam was a German association football club from the city of Potsdam, Brandenburg. Founded in 1903 as Sportclub Jugendkraft Nowawes the club was active until the end of World War II when it was disbanded by occupying Allied authorities...
.
History
Playing as SV Nowawes the team gained promotion in 1935 to the first tier Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg, one of sixteen top flight divisions formed in the re-organization of German football under the Third Reich. The club was relegated after just three seasons at that level never finishing better than eighth in their ten team division. The club returned to the Gauliga as SpVgg Potsdam in 1943 and earned third and fourth place finishes in the two years before the end of World War II.Postwar play in East Germany
Following the war, occupying Allied authorities ordered the dissolution of all organizations in the country, including sports and football associations. The former membership of SpVgg was re-organized as SG Karl Marx Babelsberg in 1948 in the Soviet-occupiedAllied Occupation Zones in Germany
The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...
eastern half of the country. On 1 August 1949, they merged with the local club SG Drewitz and the following year were re-named BSG Motor Babelsberg.
DDR-Liga
The DDR-Liga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the second level of football competition in the DDR , being roughly equivalent to the Bundesliga in West Germany.-1950-1955:The league was established with two divisions of ten teams each in 1950...
with the exception of short spells in the third tier in 1968–71, 1972–73, and 1980–81. The club's record in league matches and in regular FDGB Pokal
FDGB Pokal
The FDGB-Pokal was an elimination football tournament held annually in the former East Germany. It was the second most important national title in East German football after the DDR-Oberliga championship...
(East German Cup) tournament appearances was undistinguished. Just prior to German re-unification the team suffered relegation from the second division.
Post-unification
On 10 December 1991 Motor adopted the name Sportverein Babelsberg 03. They remained a lower division side in the united Germany until breaking through to the Oberliga Nordost-Nord (IV) in 1996. The team's budget increased tenfold in the period from 1996 to 1999. They immediately captured the league title there and won promotion to the Regionalliga Nordost (III). A second place finish in 2001 in what had become the Regionalliga Nord (III) advanced the club to the 2. Bundesliga. SV also played its first DFB-PokalDFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
(German Cup) matches in 2000 and 2001, but was eliminated in the early rounds.
Babelsberg's time in the second division was a short one. They finished at the bottom of the table and by 2003–04 had fallen all the way back to the Oberliga Nordost-Nord (IV). The club declared bankruptcy in 2003 but managed to continue playing through the adoption of a creditor supported bankruptcy plan. SV fielded strong sides and achieved several top three finishes until they were promoted to the Regionalliga Nord (III) for the 2007–08 campaign. In 2009–10 season Babelsberg were promoted back to the 3rd Liga
3rd Liga
The 3rd Liga is the third division of football in Germany. The league started with the beginning of the 2008–09 season, when it replaced the Regionalliga as the third tier football league in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2...
after finishing champions of the Regionalliga Nord.
Honours
- Bezirksliga Potsdam (III) champions: 1973
- Bezirksliga Potsdam-Sud (III) champions: 1981
- Verbandsliga BrandenburgVerbandsliga BrandenburgThe Brandenburg-Liga is the highest league for football teams exclusively in the German state of Brandenburg. Since the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008, it is the sixth tier of the German football league system...
(V) champions: 1996 - NOFV-Oberliga NordNOFV-Oberliga NordThe NOFV-Oberliga Nord is the fifth tier of the German football league system in the northern states of former East Germany and West-Berlin. Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008, it was the fourth tier of the league system. It covers the German states of Berlin, Brandenburg and...
(IV) champions: 1997, 2007 - Regionalliga NordRegionalliga NordThe Regionalliga Nord is currently the fourth tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3rd Liga in 2008 it was the third tier. It currently is the highest regional league for the northern and eastern part of Germany. It covers ten of the sixteen states of Germany...
(III) runners-up: 2001 - Regionalliga NordRegionalliga NordThe Regionalliga Nord is currently the fourth tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3rd Liga in 2008 it was the third tier. It currently is the highest regional league for the northern and eastern part of Germany. It covers ten of the sixteen states of Germany...
(IV) champions: 2010