VfR Bürstadt
Encyclopedia
Kickers VfR Bürstadt is a German association football club
playing out of Bürstadt
, Hesse
. The team was founded 1 February 1910 as SC 1910 Bürstadt and took on the name VfR on 23 August 1919. Between 1973 and 1983 they played as VfR Oli Bürstadt in recognition of sponsoring firm Otto Limburg Bürstadt-Bobstadt.
in 1921–22 and the Bezirksliga Main-Hessen
for one season in 1932–33, but quickly disappeared back into lower tier competition again. The club made two failed attempts (1933 and 1942) to qualify for the Gauliga Hessen
(I), one of 16 regional top-flight divisions established in the 1933 reorganization of German football under the Third Reich. Following World War II
, the club was reestablished and played briefly as SG Bürstadt.
Kickers enjoyed their greatest success during its sponsorship by OLI and stirred some excitement through the 1970s and 1980s as an overachieving side playing in Hesse's tier III leagues with occasional brave forays into the Regionalliga Süd (II) and 2.Bundesliga where they were the smallest club playing at that level. In 1973, they won the national amateur championship
with a 3-0 victory over SC Victoria Hamburg
. They made two more failed final appearances in 1976 and 1986, losing in turn to HSV Holzwickede (0:1) and BVL Remscheid (1:2 aet). VfR is one of the relatively few German clubs that have sold their naming rights to an outside sponsor, an arrangement that ended with the bankruptcy of OLI in 1982.
Their run of success ended in the 1990s with a series of poor finishes in the Amateur Oberliga Hessen (III) early in the decade. Beginning with the 1993–94 season, they bounced between the Oberliga Hessen (IV) and Landesliga Hessen-Süd (V) for nearly a decade before finally collapsing in 2002 and voluntarily accepting relegation all the way down to Bezirksliga
(VII). They currently play in the Kreisoberliga (VIII).
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...
playing out of Bürstadt
Bürstadt
Bürstadt is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany, 7 km east of Worms, and 17 km north of Mannheim.-Location:Bürstadt lies in the Rhine rift between the Rhine and the Odenwald, and thereby in the Hessisches Ried....
, Hesse
Hesse
Hesse 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...
. The team was founded 1 February 1910 as SC 1910 Bürstadt and took on the name VfR on 23 August 1919. Between 1973 and 1983 they played as VfR Oli Bürstadt in recognition of sponsoring firm Otto Limburg Bürstadt-Bobstadt.
History
The club briefly rose to the highest level when playing in the Kreisliga OdenwaldKreisliga Odenwald
The Kreisliga Odenwald was the highest association football league in the northern part of the German state of Baden and the southern part of the state of Hesse from 1919 to 1923...
in 1921–22 and the Bezirksliga Main-Hessen
Bezirksliga Main-Hessen
The Bezirksliga Main-Hessen was the highest association football league in the German state of Hesse and the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau from 1927 to 1933...
for one season in 1932–33, but quickly disappeared back into lower tier competition again. The club made two failed attempts (1933 and 1942) to qualify for the Gauliga Hessen
Gauliga Hessen
The Gauliga Hessen was the highest football league in the German state of Hesse and the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau from 1933 to 1945. From 1941, it was renamed Gauliga Kurhessen...
(I), one of 16 regional top-flight divisions established in the 1933 reorganization of German football under the Third Reich. Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the club was reestablished and played briefly as SG Bürstadt.
Kickers enjoyed their greatest success during its sponsorship by OLI and stirred some excitement through the 1970s and 1980s as an overachieving side playing in Hesse's tier III leagues with occasional brave forays into the Regionalliga Süd (II) and 2.Bundesliga where they were the smallest club playing at that level. In 1973, they won the national amateur championship
German amateur football championship
The German amateur football championship was a football competition in Germany, existing from 1950 to 2000, organised by the German Football Association, the DFB.-Overview:...
with a 3-0 victory over SC Victoria Hamburg
SC Victoria Hamburg
SC Victoria Hamburg is a German association football club from the city of Hamburg. The football team is part of a larger sports club that has departments for badminton, handball, hockey, athletics, tennis, table tennis , gymnastics, baseball , and softball .-History:The club was founded 5 May 1895...
. They made two more failed final appearances in 1976 and 1986, losing in turn to HSV Holzwickede (0:1) and BVL Remscheid (1:2 aet). VfR is one of the relatively few German clubs that have sold their naming rights to an outside sponsor, an arrangement that ended with the bankruptcy of OLI in 1982.
Their run of success ended in the 1990s with a series of poor finishes in the Amateur Oberliga Hessen (III) early in the decade. Beginning with the 1993–94 season, they bounced between the Oberliga Hessen (IV) and Landesliga Hessen-Süd (V) for nearly a decade before finally collapsing in 2002 and voluntarily accepting relegation all the way down to Bezirksliga
Bezirksklasse
The Bezirksliga, Bezirksklasse or Landesklasse is the 8th tier of football in Germany. The Bezirksliga exists in all regions of German football. Below the Bezirksliga usually ranks the Kreisliga...
(VII). They currently play in the Kreisoberliga (VIII).
Honours
- German amateur champions: 1975
- Oberliga Hessen champions: 1972, 1977, 1979, 1983, 1984
- Landesliga Hessen-Süd champions: 2001
- Hesse CupHesse CupThe Hesse Cup is one of the 21 regional cup competitions of German football. The winner of the competition gains entry to the first round of the German Cup.-History:...
winners: 1975, 1977
Recent seasons
| Year | Division | Position |
| 1999–2000 | Landesliga Hessen-Süd (V) | 3rd |
| 2000–01 | Landesliga Hessen-Süd | 1st ↑ |
| 2001–02 | Oberliga Hessen (IV) | 18th ↓ |
| 2002–03 | Bezirksliga Darmstadt-Süd (VII) | ↓ |
| 2003–04 | Kreisliga A Bergstraße (VIII) | 1st ↑ |
| 2004–05 | Bezirksliga Darmstadt-Süd (VII) | 2nd |
| 2005–06 | Bezirksliga Darmstadt-Süd | 6th |
| 2006–07 | Bezirksliga Darmstadt-Süd | 5th |
| 2007–08 | Bezirksliga Darmstadt-Süd | 15th ↓ |
| 2008–09 | Kreisliga A Bergstraße (IX) | 2nd ↑ |
| 2009–10 | Kreisoberliga (VIII) |