VfB Fichte Bielefeld
Encyclopedia
VfB Fichte Bielefeld is a German association football club
based in Bielefeld
, North Rhine-Westphalia
. The club was formed out of the merger of VfB Bielefeld 03 and SpVgg Fichte Bielefeld 06/07 on 1 July 1999.
in 1941. However, they were immediately relegated after finishing at the bottom of the table well back of other clubs. In 1943 VfB joined Arminia Bielefeld
in the wartime side (Kriegspielgemeinschaft) KSG VfB/DSC Arminia Bielefeld to play to the Gauliga. The combined side also finished last, but remained in the top flight through the incomplete 1944–45 season as the league struggled to continue play as Allied armies advanced on Germany.
After the war the two clubs resumed play as separate sides. VfBs best result was ascent into the 2nd Oberliga West
in 1950 and participation in the semi-finals of the German amateur championships. Through the 60s and into the early 70s the club played as a third division side in the Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO, before slipping and bouncing between fourth and fifth tier competition until the end of the 90s.
SpVgg played in the Landesliga Westfalen (IV) during most of this period, with the occasional descent to the Verbandsliga (V) or Bezirksliga Westfalen (VI).
At the time of their 1999 merger VfB and SpVgg were both competing in the Verbandsliga Westfalen (V). Two years later the new club was promoted to the Oberliga Westfalen
(IV) where they remained until being sent down in 2006.
VfB Fichte Bielefeld
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 Bielefeld
Bielefeld
Bielefeld is an independent city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 323,000, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold...
, North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North 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...
. The club was formed out of the merger of VfB Bielefeld 03 and SpVgg Fichte Bielefeld 06/07 on 1 July 1999.
History
Of the these predecessor sides VfB Bielefeld 03 was the more successful, as SpVgg remained an anonymous local side. In 1931 VfB captured the west German championship. Two years later German football was re-organized under the Third Reich into sixteen top flight divisions and VfB eventually earned promotion to the Gauliga WestfalenGauliga Westfalen
The Gauliga Westphalia was the highest football league in the Prussian province of Westphalia and the small Free State of Lippe from 1933 to 1945...
in 1941. However, they were immediately relegated after finishing at the bottom of the table well back of other clubs. In 1943 VfB joined Arminia Bielefeld
Arminia Bielefeld
DSC Arminia Bielefeld is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia offers the sports of football, field hockey, figure skating and cue sports. The club has 11,394 members and the club colours are black, white and blue...
in the wartime side (Kriegspielgemeinschaft) KSG VfB/DSC Arminia Bielefeld to play to the Gauliga. The combined side also finished last, but remained in the top flight through the incomplete 1944–45 season as the league struggled to continue play as Allied armies advanced on Germany.
After the war the two clubs resumed play as separate sides. VfBs best result was ascent into the 2nd Oberliga West
2nd Oberliga West
The 2nd Oberliga West was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the west of Germany from 1949 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, the most populous state of Germany....
in 1950 and participation in the semi-finals of the German amateur championships. Through the 60s and into the early 70s the club played as a third division side in the Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO, before slipping and bouncing between fourth and fifth tier competition until the end of the 90s.
SpVgg played in the Landesliga Westfalen (IV) during most of this period, with the occasional descent to the Verbandsliga (V) or Bezirksliga Westfalen (VI).
At the time of their 1999 merger VfB and SpVgg were both competing in the Verbandsliga Westfalen (V). Two years later the new club was promoted to the Oberliga Westfalen
Oberliga Westfalen
From 1978 to 2008, the Oberliga Westfalen was the highest Football League in the region of Westphalia which is part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In its last season, it was one of nine Oberligas in German Football, the 4th tier of the German football league system...
(IV) where they remained until being sent down in 2006.
Honours
VfB Bielefeld- West German champions: 1931 (as VfB Bielefeld)
- Verbandsliga Westfalen champions: 1973
VfB Fichte Bielefeld
- Verbandsliga Westfalen champions: 2001