Altonaer FC Hamburg
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| FC Altona | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Altonaer Fußball-Club von 1893 e. V. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | AFC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1893 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Adolf-Jäger-Kampfbahn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 6.000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Oberliga Nord | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-06 | 7. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Altona FC is a German football club based in the Altona district of the city of Hamburg. The football team is a department of a larger sports club which also offers handball, karate, table tennis and volleyball.
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Late in the 19th century a number of sports with their origins in England – including cricket, rugby, and football – were introduced to continental Europe where they enjoyed considerable popularity. The club was founded on July 29, 1893 by a group of students as Altonaer Cricketclub, but demonstrated an early interest in football. In 1894, it was re-named Altonaer FuCC and then Altonaer FC in quick succession.
Altona is one of Germany's oldest football clubs: they were part of the Altona-Hamburg football league formed in 1894, as well as one of the founding clubs of the DFB (Deutscher Fussball Bund or German Football Association) at Leipzig in 1900. In 1903 Altona was the host club for the first ever German national championship final played between VfB Leipzig and DFC Prague. The match was refereed by AFC player Franz Behr, who also served as the vice-chairman of the newly formed DFB until 1904. The club rescued the match by providing a new ball when the original one proved to be unsuitable for play. Ironically, the hosts of the country's first title match would never capture or even play in a national final, being able only to advance as far as the semi-finals in 1903 and 1909, and the quarter-finals in 1914.
In 1919, the club merged with Altonaer TS 1880 in a union that lasted until 1922, during which time they were known as VfL Altona. After the break-up the team played as Altonaer FC 1893 VfL. Another merger in 1938 with Borussia 03 Bahrenfeld created Altonaer FC 93 Borussia. Between the end of World War I and the end of World War II the team played continuously in the country's top-flight leagues. Under the Third Reich German football was re-organized into sixteen Gauliga and AFC played first in the Gauliga Nordmark, and later in the Gauliga Hamburg.
After the war the club picked up play in the Stadtliga Hamburg before earning promotion to the first tier Oberliga Nord. Their best results were a pair of third place finishes in 1954 and 1958, and semi-final appearances in the German Cup in 1955 and 1964. After the formation of the Bundesliga – Germany's new professional league – in 1963, Altona found itself in the second-tier Regionalliga Nord where they played until 1968. Between 1969 and 1981 Altona played third and fourth division ball before slipping to Landesliga Hamburg-Hammonia (V). They returned to using their old name, Altona FC, in 1979. The club has moved up and down between the third and fifth tiers since the mid-80's and presently plays in the Oberliga Nord (IV). They were unable to sustain themselves financially in the Regionalliga Nord after a single season at the professional level in 1997 and voluntarily withdrew to lower league play.
[edit] Notable players
- Adolf Jaeger, capped 18 times (1908-1924)
- Dieter Seeler, upper league player (1952-1955)
- Heinz Spundflasche, upper league player (1952-1958) and coach (1957-1960)
[edit] Stadium
Since 1909 the team has played in the AFC Kampfbahn, re-named the Adolf Jaeger Kampfbahn in 1944. Jaeger was killed in an air-raid within weeks of the stadium-naming ceremony honouring him. The facility has a capacity of 10,000 spectators (1,500 seats). Germany's first national championship was played at the club's original grounds, Exerzierplatz, in Altona's Bahrenfeld district (known today as Schnackenburgallee) on May 31, 1903.
