Länderpokal


The Länderpokal is the oldest cup competition of the German Football Association. It came into existence as the Kronprinzenpokal but has changed its name various times since. The cup is held annually at the Sportschule Duisburg-Wedau. Contestants in the cup are teams of the 21 regional football associations, composed of youth players from that area. Also guest teams are invited each year since 2005, which play in the competition but will not be awarded a place in the final standings.
In the past, the cup was contested by senior regional selections, later by senior amateur selections from the Amateur-Oberligas and below. In the mid-1990s, this was changed to Under-21 selections. In 1981 the a women's competition was introduced. Record titleholder for the men's competition is the Bavarian football association.

History

The competition was formed in 1908, when the German Crown Prince William donated a cup to the German Football Association - DFB, to initiate the Kronprinzenpokal. His only condition for the new competition was that the final was always to be played in Berlin.
The trophy had an inscription engraved which it still bears today:
The Kronprinzenpokal was initially contested by only seven teams, the selections of the seven regional German football associations, North, South, West, Brandenburg, Central, South East and Baltic.
With the end of the First World War, the name of the competition was altered to reflect the fact, that Germany was not a monarchy anymore. The trophy donated by William with its inscription is however still used and handed to the winner each season.

Winners

Kronprinzenpokal

Held from 1909 to 1918, when the monarchy in Germany was abolished, the Crown Prince Cup was the first version of the tournament. It was contested between the selections of the seven regional football associations in Germany at the time. The competition was interrupted by the First World War and was not held in 1915 and 1916:
YearWinner
1909Central Germany
1910Southern Germany
1911Northern Germany
1912Southern Germany
1913Western Germany
1914Northern Germany
1915not held
1916not held
1917Northern Germany
1918Brandenburg

Bundespokal

The competition continued in its previous form after the end of the monarchy, in the new German Republic, now renamed Federal Cup:
YearWinner
1919Northern Germany
1920Western Germany
1921Central Germany
1922Southern Germany
1923Southern Germany
1924Southern Germany
1925Northern Germany
1926Southern Germany
1927Central Germany
1928South Eastern Germany
1929Brandenburg
1930Northern Germany
1931Southern Germany
1932Northern Germany
1933Southern Germany

Reichsbundpokal

In 1933, with the rise of the Nazis to power, the old regional football federations were abolished, football in Germany was centralized and the Gauligas were introduced, 16 regional first divisions. A new competition to replace the Bundespokal was introduced in 1935, now contested by selections from the Gaue, the new administrative subdivisions of Germany. This competition lasted until 1942, when the consequences caused by the Second World War made football more and more difficult.
YearWinner
1935Gau Mitte
1936Gau Sachsen
1937Gau Niederrhein
1938Gau Nordmark
1939Gauliga Schlesien
1940Gau Bayern
1941Gau Sachsen
1942Gau Niederrhein

Länderpokal

Staged for the first and only time after the Second World War, the State Cup was played in 1950 and won by Bavaria.

Amateur-Länderpokal

From 1951 onwards, the competition, now renamed Amateur State Cup, was open only to non-professional players. It started out with the selections of the fifteen regional football federations in West Germany, not including East German or Saarland selections, the later entering a team from 1957. Selections from the five East German federations only started to participate after the German reunion. The now twenty-one regional football federations are not always identical in size to the current sixteen German federal states; a number of states have more than one federation.
YearWinnerRunners-upResult
1951Lower RhineBerlin5–4 aet
1952BavariaLower Rhine4–0
1953BavariaLower Saxony5–2
1954BavariaSchleswig-Holstein3–0
1955BavariaWestphalia5–2
1956HesseLower Rhine3–1
1957Lower SaxonyWestphalia3–2
1958Lower RhineLower Saxony2–0
1959HamburgHesse4–1
1960Middle RhineHesse3–0
1961HamburgSchleswig-Holstein2–1
1962WestphaliaMiddle Rhine2–1
1963BavariaHesse3–1
1964Middle RhineSouth Baden4–0
1965BavariaWestphalia3–2
1966WestphaliaLower Saxony1–0
1967North BadenHesse2–1
1968BavariaHamburg5–0
1969North BadenHamburg2–1
1970BavariaNorth Baden2–1
1971BavariaLower Rhine2–1 aet
1972North BadenLower Saxony2–1
1973North BadenLower Rhine1–1 aet 1
1974Middle RhineWestphalia1–0
1975South WestNorth Baden0–0 aet
1976Lower SaxonyBavaria1–0
1977BavariaSouth West4–2 aet
1978WestphaliaLower Saxony1–0 / 1–0
1979WürttembergBerlin2–1
1980BavariaLower Rhine4–2
1981South WestHesse1–1 aet
1982South WestLower Rhine3–1
1983HesseSchleswig-Holstein2–1 aet
1984BremenBavaria3–1
1985RhinelandHamburg1–1 aet
1986WestphaliaLower Rhine0–0 aet
1987Lower SaxonyBerlin3–1
1988WürttembergLower Rhine2–0
1989BavariaHesse2–2 aet
1990BavariaBaden3–0
1991Lower RhineHesse1–1 aet
1992HesseBremen3–2
1993WestphaliaHesse5–2
1994WestphaliaBavaria3–1 aet
1995Lower RhineRhineland1–0
1996BadenMiddle Rhine1–0
1997WestphaliaRhineland4–1
1998WestphaliaMiddle Rhine5–2
1999Schleswig-HolsteinLower Saxony4–1
2000BavariaWestphalia2–1
2001WürttembergWestphalia3–0
2002Middle RhineWestphalia3–0
2003South WestLower Saxony2–2 aet
2004Middle RhineBremen1–0

Since 2005, a final is not played anymore and the competitions winner is determined by a group stage.
YearWinnerRunners-up
2005SaxonyWürttemberg
2006Lower RhineMiddle Rhine
2007Lower RhineBaden
2008South WestBerlin
2009WürttembergWestphalia
2010Middle RhineWürttemberg

1950 onwards

The selections of the twenty-one regional German football federations take part in the cup, these being: