User:Wiggy!/current club edit 4

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BFC Germania
Full name	Berliner Fussball Club Germania 1888 e.V.
Nickname(s)	Die Germanen
Founded	April 15, 1888
Ground	Sportplatz an der Götzstrasse
Capacity	1,000
League	Landesliga Berlin (VI)
2005-06	18th, Verbandsliga Berlin (V)
Home colours 　 Away colours

BFC Germania is a German football club from Berlin. Founded on April 15, 1888 it is the oldest still active club in the country.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Germany's first unofficial champion 1.2 Slide from prominence 1.3 Current 2 Honours 3 Stadium 4 Famous players 5 Team trivia 6 External links

[edit] History

Germania was founded by 17-year-old Paul Jestram, his brothers, and a number of schoolmates at a time when football was not yet common in Germany, the first football games having been played in Berlin and Hamburg in the winter of 1881-82 by expatriate Englishmen. No football pitches had yet been built so BFC played on the Tempelhofer field where an airport would later be constructed.

[edit] Germany's first unofficial champion

Germania was part of the country's first football league, the DBF (Bund Deutscher Fußballspieler or Federation of German Football Players) which was was formed in November 1890 and was active until February 1892. The league was made up of the Berlin-based clubs BFC Vorwärts 1890, BFC Askania 1890, BFC Borussia 1890, BFC Concordia 1890, BFC Hellas 1890, BFC Tasmania 1890 and BFC Teutonia 1891. Germania emerged the winner in a tournament staged by the league, and as the DBF was the only football league in the country at the time, can lay claim to being Germany's first champion. Club records indicate that BFC then defended their title, but no supporting evidence has been found.

Disagreement over whether or not to allow foreign players to participate in the championship rounds and how to manage the transfer of players between teams led to the collapse of the DBF and the formation of the DFuCB (Deutschen Fußball- und Cricket Bund or German Football and Cricket Federation) in 1891. Many of the DBF's former clubs joined the new league, a few folded, while some played in other leagues. Germania tried to join the DFuCB but was initially refused entry because of its difficult, overly nationalist attitude and inability to cooperate with other clubs while part of the DBF. It was admitted to the new circuit a year later in 1892. Over the next half dozen seasons league play was dominated by BTuFC Viktoria 89 with Germania frustratingly able only to earn four second place finishes.

[edit] Slide from prominence

In 1900 the team left to join the VDBV (Verband Deutscher Ballspiel Vereine or Federation of German Ballplay Teams) and in that same year became a founding member of the DFB (Deutscher Fussball Bund or German Football Association) at Leipzig . However, with the growth of the game and the arrival on the scene of many new teams Germania became less prominent. By the start of World War I the club had fallen out of Berlin's top flight competition.

Germania continued to play on the local amateur circuit. After World War II occupying Allied authorities banned all organizations in the country including sports and football clubs. The team was re-established in 1946 as SG Neu-Tempelhof and appeared fleetingly in the Amateurliga Berlin (III) in 1948-49 where they were able only to earn a single point from a draw in 18 matches.

[edit] Current

Today the club plays lower tier football in the local city leagues. In 2001 they competed in the Berzirksliga Berlin (VII) and over the course of the following two seasons advanced to the Verbandsliga Berlin (V) where they spent the next three seasons. Since 2005 Germania has played in the Landesliga Berlin (VI).

[edit] Honours

[edit] Stadium

[edit] Famous players

[edit] Team trivia

[edit] External links

• Official team site

[Category:German football clubs|Berlin]]