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DFB-Pokal facts for kids

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DFB-Pokal
DFB-Pokal logo 2016.svg
Organising body Deutscher Fußball-Bund
Founded 1935; 90 years ago (1935)
Region Germany
Number of teams 64
Qualifier for UEFA Europa League
Domestic cup(s) DFL-Supercup
Current champions VfB Stuttgart (4th title)
Most successful club(s) Bayern Munich (20 titles)
Television broadcasters
  • ARD
  • Sky Sport
  • OneFootball

The DFB-Pokal, also known as the German Cup, is a big football competition in Germany. It's a "knockout" tournament, which means teams are eliminated if they lose a match. The German Football Association (DFB) organizes it every year.

Sixty-four teams play in the DFB-Pokal. This includes all clubs from the top two German leagues, the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. The four best teams from the 3. Liga also join. It's the second most important football title in Germany, after the Bundesliga championship. The tournament runs from August to May. The team that wins the DFB-Pokal gets to play in the DFL-Supercup. They also get a spot in the UEFA Europa League, which is a big European competition.

The competition started in 1935. Back then, it was called the Tschammer-Pokal. 1. FC Nürnberg was the first team to win it. In 1937, Schalke 04 became the first team to win "the double". This means they won both the league and the cup in the same year. The Tschammer-Pokal stopped in 1944 because of World War II. It was brought back in 1952–53 in West Germany as the DFB-Pokal. Rot-Weiss Essen won the first DFB-Pokal.

Bayern Munich has won the DFB-Pokal a record 20 times. The current champions are VfB Stuttgart. They won their fourth title in the 2025 final by beating Arminia Bielefeld 4–2. Fortuna Düsseldorf holds a record for winning 18 games in a row in the tournament. This happened between 1978 and 1981. They won the cup in both 1979 and 1980.

How the Tournament Works

The way the DFB-Pokal is played has changed over the years.

Who Can Play?

The DFB-Pokal starts with 64 teams. The 36 teams from the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga automatically qualify. The top four teams from the 3. Liga also get a spot. The other 21 spots go to the winners of regional cup competitions. These are called Verbandspokale. The last three spots are given to the three regional football associations with the most men's teams. They usually give these spots to the runner-up teams in their regional cups.

Almost any team in the German football league system can try to qualify. They do this by playing in local tournaments. However, reserve teams, like Bayern Munich II, are not allowed to enter.

How Teams Are Chosen for Matches

For the first round, the 64 teams are put into two groups, or "pots," of 32 teams each. One pot has the 18 teams from the previous Bundesliga season. It also includes the top 14 teams from the previous 2. Bundesliga season. The other pot has the bottom 4 teams from the 2. Bundesliga. It also includes the top 4 teams from the 3. Liga. Finally, the 24 amateur teams that won their regional cups are in this pot.

Teams from one pot play against teams from the other pot. Since 1982, the amateur teams always play their games at home. For the second round, teams are again divided into two pots. The same rules apply for drawing opponents.

For all later rounds, except the final, teams are drawn from just one pot. Since 1985, the final match has always been held at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

Match Rules

If a game is a draw after 90 minutes, teams play extra time. This means two more 15-minute halves. If the score is still tied after extra time, they have a penalty shootout. This decides the winner.

History of the DFB-Pokal

The number of teams in the main tournament has changed a lot. It was as few as four teams from 1956 to 1960. It grew to 128 teams from 1973 to 1982. Since the Bundesliga started in 1963, all Bundesliga clubs have automatically qualified. All 2. Bundesliga clubs have qualified since their league began in 1974. Reserve teams used to be allowed but have been excluded since 2008.

The final has been held in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin every season since 1985. Before 1985, the location of the final was decided closer to the time.

Originally, if a game was a draw after extra time, it was replayed. The team that played away in the first game would then play at home. In the 1939 Tschammer-Pokal, one semi-final game was drawn three times! The winner was decided by drawing lots. Later, the DFB decided to use penalty shootouts if a replay was also a draw. This change was made after a similar situation in the 1970 cup.

In 1971–72 and 1972–73, matches were played over two games, called "legs." If the total score was a draw after both legs, extra time was played. If still tied, a penalty shootout decided the winner. In 1977, the final had to be replayed, which caused problems. After that, the DFB decided that cup finals would no longer be replayed. Instead, they would go straight to a penalty shootout after extra time. This rule was then applied to all cup games in 1991.

Playing in Europe

Since 1960, the DFB-Pokal winner has qualified for European competitions. First, it was the European Cup Winners' Cup. If the cup winner had already qualified for the UEFA Champions League, the team that lost in the final would get the spot instead. After the Cup Winners' Cup ended in 1999, the DFB-Pokal winner started qualifying for the UEFA Europa League. If the DFB-Pokal winner (or both finalists) already qualified for European cups through their league position, the next best team in the Bundesliga gets the Europa League spot.

The First German Cup

The very first German cup was in 1935. It was called the von Tschammer und Osten Pokal, or Tschammerpokal. It was named after Hans von Tschammer und Osten, who was the Sports Chief at the time. The first final was between 1. FC Nürnberg and Schalke 04. Nürnberg won 2–0. After the last Tschammerpokal in 1943, the cup didn't happen for almost ten years. The German Football Association (DFB) brought it back in 1952 as the DFB-Pokal. In 1965, the original trophy was replaced with the one used today. This was because the old trophy reminded people of the Nazi era.

Big Surprises

The DFB-Pokal used to be only for teams from the top German leagues. But from 1974, amateur clubs could also enter. Before 2008, only the top two leagues were fully professional. With the start of the 3. Liga in 2008, the third tier also became professional.

When professional and amateur teams started playing each other, it led to many surprising results. In 1974, Hamburger SV lost to VfB Eppingen. This was a huge upset, as it was the first time an amateur team knocked out a Bundesliga club. In 1990, a fourth-division team, SpVgg Fürth, beat Borussia Dortmund.

In 1993, the reserve team of Hertha BSC, Hertha BSC II, even reached the cup final! This was a first for a third-division club and a reserve team. In 1997, Eintracht Trier beat both Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund. In 2000, 1. FC Magdeburg became the first fourth-division team to knock out two Bundesliga clubs in one season. Hannover 96, a second-division team at the time, won the cup after beating several Bundesliga teams.

These surprise results get a lot of attention in Germany and sometimes even abroad. When TSV Vestenbergsgreuth beat Bayern Munich in 1994, an Italian sports newspaper reported it on its front page!

Records

Bayern Munich has won the most DFB-Pokal titles, with 20 wins. They have been the most successful team since 1969. Fortuna Düsseldorf holds the record for winning 18 German Cup matches in a row between 1978 and 1981. Werder Bremen has won the most home games in a row (37 between 1988 and 2019). Bayern Munich has won the most away games in a row (33 between 2009 and 2020). Schalke 04 holds the record for the biggest win in a DFB-Pokal final. They won 5–0 against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 1972 and 5–0 against MSV Duisburg in 2011.

Final Matches

2018-09-17 Eintracht Frankfurt Golf Open DFB Pokal-8909
The Trophy

Tschammer-Pokal Finals

Year Winners Runners-up Result Date Venue Attendance
1935 1. FC Nürnberg Schalke 04 2–0 08/12/35 Düsseldorf 55,000
1936 VfB Leipzig Schalke 04 2–1 03/01/37 Berlin 70,000
1937 Schalke 04 Fortuna Düsseldorf 2–1 09/01/38 Cologne 72,000
1938 Rapid Wien FSV Frankfurt 3–1 08/01/39 Berlin 38,000
1939 1. FC Nürnberg Waldhof Mannheim 2–0 28/04/40 Berlin 60,000
1940 Dresdner SC 1. FC Nürnberg 2–1 (aet) 01/12/40 Berlin 60,000
1941 Dresdner SC Schalke 04 2–1 02/11/41 Berlin 65,000
1942 1860 Munich Schalke 04 2–0 15/11/42 Berlin 80,000
1943 First Vienna Luftwaffen-SV Hamburg 3–2 (aet) 31/10/43 Stuttgart 45,000

DFB-Pokal Finals

Season Winners Runners-up Result Date Venue Attendance
1952–53 Rot-Weiss Essen Alemannia Aachen 2–1 01/05/53 Düsseldorf 40,000
1953–54 VfB Stuttgart 1. FC Köln 1–0 (aet) 17/04/54 Ludwigshafen 60,000
1954–55 Karlsruher SC Schalke 04 3–2 21/05/55 Braunschweig 25,000
1955–56 Karlsruher SC Hamburger SV 3–1 05/08/56 Karlsruhe 25,000
1956–57 Bayern Munich Fortuna Düsseldorf 1–0 29/12/57 Augsburg 42,000
1957–58 VfB Stuttgart Fortuna Düsseldorf 4–3 (aet) 16/10/58 Kassel 28,000
1958–59 Schwarz-Weiss Essen Borussia Neunkirchen 5–2 27/12/59 Kassel 20,000
1959–60 Borussia Mönchengladbach Karlsruher SC 3–2 05/10/60 Düsseldorf 50,000
1960–61 Werder Bremen 1. FC Kaiserslautern 2–0 13/09/61 Gelsenkirchen 18,000
1961–62 1. FC Nürnberg Fortuna Düsseldorf 2–1 (aet) 29/08/62 Hannover 41,000
1962–63 Hamburger SV Borussia Dortmund 3–0 14/08/63 Hannover 68,000
1963–64 1860 Munich Eintracht Frankfurt 2–0 13/06/64 Stuttgart 45,000
1964–65 Borussia Dortmund Alemannia Aachen 2–0 22/05/65 Hannover 55,000
1965–66 Bayern Munich Meidericher SV 4–2 04/06/66 Frankfurt am Main 62,000
1966–67 Bayern Munich Hamburger SV 4–0 10/06/67 Stuttgart 67,000
1967–68 1. FC Köln VfL Bochum 4–1 09/06/68 Ludwigshafen 60,000
1968–69 Bayern Munich Schalke 04 2–1 14/06/69 Frankfurt am Main 60,000
1969–70 Kickers Offenbach 1. FC Köln 2–1 29/08/70 Hannover 50,000
1970–71 Bayern Munich 1. FC Köln 2–1 (aet) 19/06/71 Stuttgart 71,000
1971–72 Schalke 04 1. FC Kaiserslautern 5–0 01/07/72 Hannover 61,000
1972–73 Borussia Mönchengladbach 1. FC Köln 2–1 (aet) 23/06/73 Düsseldorf 69,000
1973–74 Eintracht Frankfurt Hamburger SV 3–1 (aet) 17/08/74 Düsseldorf 52,000
1974–75 Eintracht Frankfurt MSV Duisburg 1–0 21/06/75 Hannover 43,000
1975–76 Hamburger SV 1. FC Kaiserslautern 2–0 26/06/76 Frankfurt am Main 61,000
1976–77 1. FC Köln Hertha BSC 1–1 (aet)
1–0 replay
28/05/77
30/05/77
Hannover 54,000
35,000
1977–78 1. FC Köln Fortuna Düsseldorf 2–0 15/04/78 Gelsenkirchen 70,000
1978–79 Fortuna Düsseldorf Hertha BSC 1–0 (aet) 23/06/79 Hannover 56,000
1979–80 Fortuna Düsseldorf 1. FC Köln 2–1 04/06/80 Gelsenkirchen 56,000
1980–81 Eintracht Frankfurt 1. FC Kaiserslautern 3–1 02/05/81 Stuttgart 71,000
1981–82 Bayern Munich 1. FC Nürnberg 4–2 01/05/82 Frankfurt am Main 61,000
1982–83 1. FC Köln Fortuna Köln 1–0 11/06/83 Cologne 61,000
1983–84 Bayern Munich Borussia Mönchengladbach 1–1 (7–6 p) 31/05/84 Frankfurt am Main 61,000
1984–85 Bayer Uerdingen Bayern Munich 2–1 26/05/85 West Berlin 70,000
1985–86 Bayern Munich VfB Stuttgart 5–2 03/05/86 West Berlin 76,000
1986–87 Hamburger SV Stuttgarter Kickers 3–1 20/06/87 West Berlin 76,000
1987–88 Eintracht Frankfurt VfL Bochum 1–0 28/05/88 West Berlin 76,000
1988–89 Borussia Dortmund Werder Bremen 4–1 24/06/89 West Berlin 76,000
1989–90 1. FC Kaiserslautern Werder Bremen 3–2 19/05/90 West Berlin 76,000
1990–91 Werder Bremen 1. FC Köln 1–1 (4–3 p) 22/06/91 Berlin 73,000
1991–92 Hannover 96 Borussia Mönchengladbach 0–0 (4–3 p) 23/05/92 Berlin 76,000
1992–93 Bayer Leverkusen Hertha BSC II 1–0 12/06/93 Berlin 76,000
1993–94 Werder Bremen Rot-Weiss Essen 3–1 14/05/94 Berlin 76,000
1994–95 Borussia Mönchengladbach VfL Wolfsburg 3–0 24/06/95 Berlin 75,700
1995–96 1. FC Kaiserslautern Karlsruher SC 1–0 25/05/96 Berlin 75,800
1996–97 VfB Stuttgart Energie Cottbus 2–0 14/06/97 Berlin 76,400
1997–98 Bayern Munich MSV Duisburg 2–1 16/05/98 Berlin 75,800
1998–99 Werder Bremen Bayern Munich 1–1 (5–4 p) 12/06/99 Berlin 75,841
1999–2000 Bayern Munich Werder Bremen 3–0 06/05/00 Berlin 76,000
2000–01 Schalke 04 Union Berlin 2–0 26/05/01 Berlin 73,011
2001–02 Schalke 04 Bayer Leverkusen 4–2 11/05/02 Berlin 70,000
2002–03 Bayern Munich 1. FC Kaiserslautern 3–1 31/05/03 Berlin 70,490
2003–04 Werder Bremen Alemannia Aachen 3–2 29/05/04 Berlin 71,682
2004–05 Bayern Munich Schalke 04 2–1 28/05/05 Berlin 74,349
2005–06 Bayern Munich Eintracht Frankfurt 1–0 29/04/06 Berlin 74,349
2006–07 1. FC Nürnberg VfB Stuttgart 3–2 (aet) 26/05/07 Berlin 74,220
2007–08 Bayern Munich Borussia Dortmund 2–1 (aet) 19/04/08 Berlin 74,244
2008–09 Werder Bremen Bayer Leverkusen 1–0 30/05/09 Berlin 72,244
2009–10 Bayern Munich Werder Bremen 4–0 15/05/10 Berlin 72,954
2010–11 Schalke 04 MSV Duisburg 5–0 21/05/11 Berlin 75,708
2011–12 Borussia Dortmund Bayern Munich 5–2 12/05/12 Berlin 75,708
2012–13 Bayern Munich VfB Stuttgart 3–2 01/06/13 Berlin 75,420
2013–14 Bayern Munich Borussia Dortmund 2–0 (aet) 17/05/14 Berlin 76,197
2014–15 VfL Wolfsburg Borussia Dortmund 3–1 30/05/15 Berlin 75,815
2015–16 Bayern Munich Borussia Dortmund 0–0 (4–3 p) 21/05/16 Berlin 74,322
2016–17 Borussia Dortmund Eintracht Frankfurt 2–1 27/05/17 Berlin 74,322
2017–18 Eintracht Frankfurt Bayern Munich 3–1 19/05/18 Berlin 74,322
2018–19 Bayern Munich RB Leipzig 3–0 25/05/19 Berlin 74,322
2019–20 Bayern Munich Bayer Leverkusen 4–2 04/07/20 Berlin 0
2020–21 Borussia Dortmund RB Leipzig 4–1 13/05/21 Berlin 0
2021–22 RB Leipzig SC Freiburg 1–1 (4–2 p) 21/05/22 Berlin 74,322
2022–23 RB Leipzig Eintracht Frankfurt 2–0 03/06/23 Berlin 74,667
2023–24 Bayer Leverkusen 1. FC Kaiserslautern 1–0 25/05/24 Berlin 74,322
2024–25 VfB Stuttgart Arminia Bielefeld 4–2 24/05/25 Berlin 74,036

Club Performance

Club
Wins
Runner-up
Winning Years
Bayern Munich
20
4
1957, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020
Werder Bremen
6
4
1961, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009
Schalke 04
5
7
1937, 1972, 2001, 2002, 2011
Borussia Dortmund
5
5
1965, 1989, 2012, 2017, 2021
Eintracht Frankfurt
5
4
1974, 1975, 1981, 1988, 2018
1. FC Köln
4
6
1968, 1977, 1978, 1983
VfB Stuttgart
4
3
1954, 1958, 1997, 2025
1. FC Nürnberg
4
2
1935, 1939, 1962, 2007
Hamburger SV
3
3
1963, 1976, 1987
Borussia Mönchengladbach
3
2
1960, 1973, 1995
1. FC Kaiserslautern
2
6
1990, 1996
Fortuna Düsseldorf
2
5
1979, 1980
Bayer Leverkusen
2
3
1993, 2024
Karlsruher SC
2
2
1955, 1956
RB Leipzig
2
2
2022, 2023
Dresdner SC
2
1940, 1941
1860 Munich
2
1942, 1964
Rot-Weiss Essen
1
1
1953
VfL Wolfsburg
1
1
2015
KFC Uerdingen 05
1
1985
Hannover 96
1
1992
1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig
1
1936
Kickers Offenbach
1
1970
Rapid Wien
1
1938
Schwarz-Weiss Essen
1
1959
First Vienna
1
1943
MSV Duisburg
4
Alemannia Aachen
3
VfL Bochum
2
Hertha BSC
2
Arminia Bielefeld
1
Borussia Neunkirchen
1
Energie Cottbus
1
Fortuna Köln
1
FSV Frankfurt
1
SC Freiburg
1
Hertha BSC II
1
Luftwaffen-SV Hamburg
1
Stuttgarter Kickers
1
Union Berlin
1
Waldhof Mannheim
1

East German Cup

East Germany had its own national cup competition. It was called the FDGB-Pokal. This cup started in 1949 and continued every year until 1991. After Germany became one country again in 1990, the two German football leagues merged.

Women's German Cup

Since 1981, women's football clubs have also played for their own DFB-Pokal. This is called the DFB-Pokal Frauen. There was also a women's cup in East Germany from 1987 to 1991.

Watching the Games

In Germany

In Germany, you can watch 15 DFB-Pokal matches each season on ARD and ZDF. All matches are available on Sky Sport.

Around the World

For countries that don't have special TV rights, all matches are streamed live. You can watch them on the German Football YouTube channel and DFB Play.

Country Broadcaster Ref
Albania SuperSport
Andorra Movistar Plus+
Australia Optus Sport
Austria Sky Sport, Servus TV
Brazil ESPN
Caribbean
Latin America
Puerto Rico
Sub-Saharan Africa
United States
Bosnia and Herzegovina Arena Sport
Croatia
Macedonia
Montenegro
Serbia
Slovenia
Brunei Astro SuperSport
Malaysia
Belgium DAZN
Bulgaria Diema Sport
Canada DAZN
China CCTV, Migu
Cyprus CytaVision Sports
Czech Republic Nova Sport
Slovakia
Estonia Go3 Sport
France L'Équipe
Hong Kong M Plus
Hungary Sport 1
Indian Subcontinent Sony Ten
Indonesia Kompas TV
Ireland Premier Sports
Israel Charlton
Italy Sky Sport
Japan DAZN
Kazakhstan Qazsport
Kosovo Art Sport
Latvia Go3 Sport
Liechtenstein Sky Sport
Lithuania Go3 Sport
Luxembourg DAZN
Sky Sport
Macau M Plus, Macau Cable TV
Malta TSN
MENA Dubai Sports
Netherlands Ziggo Sport
Norway VG+
Pacific Islands Digicel
Papua New Guinea Digicel
Poland Eleven Sports
Portugal DAZN
San Marino Sky Sport
Singapore Mio Sports
South Korea Coupang
Spain Movistar Plus+
Sub-Saharan Africa New World TV
Sweden Aftonbladet
Switzerland Sky Sport
Thailand BG Sports
Turkey S Sport
Ukraine MEGOGO
United Kingdom Premier Sports
United States ESPN+
Vietnam SCTV

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Copa de Alemania para niños

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DFB-Pokal Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.