Women's football in the GDR
Encyclopedia
In the GDR women's football clubs existed since the late 1960s. While local leagues existed since 1970 a national championship was first held in 1979 and a cup was incepted only in 1987.
). While several local functionaries were opposed to the idea of women playing football Zwetkov eventually was allowed to pursue his idea. The first women's football game in the GDR was held on 4 August 1969. Dresden defeated Empor Possendorf 2–0 in front of 1,600 spectators.
As women's football was not olympic, thus not holding a promise of reputation, the local authorities did not patronize the sport, but treated it as a recreational activity. Despite this lack of governmental interest the pioneers from Dresden were able to incept a league of eight teams in 1970. By the end of 1971 the number of women's football teams had grown to 150. Supra-regional competitions were refused for several years until in 1979 a national championship was held for the first time. A cup was incepted in 1987 and a national league was founded in 1990, the last year of the GDR. The national football team was organized in 1989, its only game was a 0–3 defeat at the hands of Czechoslovakia
on 9 May 1990 in Potsdam
.
After the 1990–91 season the clubs from the former GDR were integrated into the German Football Association
. The top two finishers from the only Oberliga season, USV Jena
and Wismut Aue, were assigned spots in the Bundesliga
, but both faced immediate relegation. In 1994 former GDR club Turbine Potsdam
was promoted to the Bundesliga and has since won every major honour in women's club football, including the UEFA Cup
in 2005.
. Few information is available about the competition, in particular of the first two seasons only the winners are known. In the short existence of the cup only Rotation Schlema was able to win the title twice.
History
In 1968 the Bulgarian student Wladimir Zwetkov founded the first women's team as a division of BSG Empor Dresden-Mitte (today Dresdner SCDresdner SC
Dresdner SC is a German multisport club playing in Dresden, Saxony. Founded on 30 April 1898, the club was a founding member of the German Football Association in 1900...
). While several local functionaries were opposed to the idea of women playing football Zwetkov eventually was allowed to pursue his idea. The first women's football game in the GDR was held on 4 August 1969. Dresden defeated Empor Possendorf 2–0 in front of 1,600 spectators.
As women's football was not olympic, thus not holding a promise of reputation, the local authorities did not patronize the sport, but treated it as a recreational activity. Despite this lack of governmental interest the pioneers from Dresden were able to incept a league of eight teams in 1970. By the end of 1971 the number of women's football teams had grown to 150. Supra-regional competitions were refused for several years until in 1979 a national championship was held for the first time. A cup was incepted in 1987 and a national league was founded in 1990, the last year of the GDR. The national football team was organized in 1989, its only game was a 0–3 defeat at the hands of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
on 9 May 1990 in Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
.
After the 1990–91 season the clubs from the former GDR were integrated into the German Football Association
German Football Association
The German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is...
. The top two finishers from the only Oberliga season, USV Jena
FF USV Jena
The Universitätssportverein Jena is a German sports club from Jena. Its women's football section has been an extra club since 2004-History:...
and Wismut Aue, were assigned spots in the Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga (women)
The Women's Football Bundesliga is the main league competition for women's football in Germany. In 1990 the German Football Association created the German Women's Bundesliga, based on the model of the men's Bundesliga. It was first played with north and south divisions, but in 1997 the groups...
, but both faced immediate relegation. In 1994 former GDR club Turbine Potsdam
1. FFC Turbine Potsdam
1. FFC Turbine Potsdam is a women's football club team in Potsdam, Germany. The full name is 1. Frauen-Fußball-Club Turbine Potsdam 71 e. V. . They are one of the most successful teams in Germany...
was promoted to the Bundesliga and has since won every major honour in women's club football, including the UEFA Cup
UEFA Women's Cup
The UEFA Women's Champions League is the first international women's association football club competition for teams that play in UEFA nations. Initially known as the UEFA Women's Cup, the competition has been re-branded since the 2009-2010 edition as the UEFA Women's Champions League...
in 2005.
Champions
Key| n/a | No final was held |
| Year | Champions | Result | Runners-Up | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Motor Mitte Karl-Marx-Stadt | n/a | BSG Aufbau Dresden-Ost | Templin Templin Templin is a small town in the Uckermark district of Brandenburg, Germany. Though it has a population of only 17,127 , it is with 377.01 km2 the second largest town in Brandenburg and the seventh largest town in Germany by area... |
| 1980 | BSG Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt | n/a | Aufbau Dresden-Ost | Bad Blankenburg Bad Blankenburg Bad Blankenburg is a spa town in the district of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 6 km southwest of Rudolstadt, and 37 km southeast of Erfurt.... |
| 1981 | BSG Turbine Potsdam 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam is a women's football club team in Potsdam, Germany. The full name is 1. Frauen-Fußball-Club Turbine Potsdam 71 e. V. . They are one of the most successful teams in Germany... |
n/a | BSG Chemie Wolfen | Babelsberg |
| 1982 | BSG Turbine Potsdam | n/a | Chemie PCK Schwedt | Lauchhammer Lauchhammer Lauchhammer is a town in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in southern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Schwarze Elster, approx. 17 km west of Senftenberg, and 50 km north of Dresden.... |
| 1983 | BSG Turbine Potsdam | n/a | BSG Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt | Schwedt |
| 1984 | BSG Motor Halle | n/a | BSG Turbine Potsdam | Colditz Colditz Colditz is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, near Leipzig, located on the banks of the river Mulde. The town has a population of 5,188 .... and Grimma Grimma Grimma is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany on the left bank of the Mulde, southeast of Leipzig. Founded in c. 1170, it is part of the Leipzig district.- Location :... |
| 1985 | BSG Turbine Potsdam | 2–0 | BSG Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt | Markkleeberg Markkleeberg Markkleeberg is a town in the Leipzig district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Pleiße, approx. 7 km south of Leipzig.In 1813 much of the Battle of Leipzig took place where today's Markkleeberg is situated.... |
| 1986 | BSG Turbine Potsdam | 4–1 | BSG Motor Halle | Dresden Dresden Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area.... |
| 1987 | BSG Rotation Schlema | 4–1 | BSG Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt | Kamenz Kamenz Kamenz is a Lusatian town in eastern Saxony, Germany, with a population of 18,243, and is part of the Bautzen district. The town is located about northeast of Dresden and about northwest of Bautzen.... |
| 1988 | BSG Rotation Schlema | 3–0 1–3 |
BSG Turbine Potsdam | Aue Aue Aue is a small town in Germany at the outlet of the river Schwarzwasser into the river Mulde in the Ore Mountains, and has roughly 18,000 inhabitants. Aue was the administrative seat of the former district of Aue-Schwarzenberg in Saxony, and is part of the Erzgebirgskreis since August 2008... Babelsberg |
| 1989 | BSG Turbine Potsdam | 3–1 2–3 |
BSG Rotation Schlema | Babelsberg Aue |
| 1990 | BSG Post Rostock | 6–1 4–2 |
BSG Wismut Chemnitz | Chemnitz Chemnitz Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle... Rostock Rostock Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders... |
| 1991 | Uni SV Jena FF USV Jena The Universitätssportverein Jena is a German sports club from Jena. Its women's football section has been an extra club since 2004-History:... |
n/a | FC Wismut Aue FC Erzgebirge Aue FC Erzgebirge Aue is a German football club based in Aue, Saxony. The former East German side was a charter member of the 3. Liga in 2008–09, after being relegated from the 2. Bundesliga in 2007–08. The city of Aue has a population of about 18,000 making it one of the smallest cities to ever... |
Cup
The Cup of the democratic women's league (German: Pokal des demokratischen Frauenbundes) has been held from 1987 to 1991. As the name suggests the cup was donated not by the football association as its male counterpart, but by the Democratic Women's League of GermanyDemocratic Women's League of Germany
The Democratic Women's League of Germany was the mass women's organisation in East Germany.It was established in March 1947 and had the following official aims:*Removal of fascist ideas...
. Few information is available about the competition, in particular of the first two seasons only the winners are known. In the short existence of the cup only Rotation Schlema was able to win the title twice.
| Year | Champions | Result | Runners-Up | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Rotation Schlema | –:– | unknown | unknown |
| 1988 | Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt | –:– | unknown | unknown |
| 1989 | Rotation Schlema | 1–0 | HSG Uni Jena FF USV Jena The Universitätssportverein Jena is a German sports club from Jena. Its women's football section has been an extra club since 2004-History:... |
Berlin Berlin Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union... |
| 1990 | BSG Post Rostock | 0–0 (aet) 5–3 (pso) |
Wismut Chemnitz | Senftenberg Senftenberg Senftenberg is a town in southern Brandenburg, Germany, capital of the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district.-Geography:Senftenberg is located in the southwest of the historic Lower Lusatia region at the border with Saxony... |
| 1991 | Wismut Aue FC Erzgebirge Aue FC Erzgebirge Aue is a German football club based in Aue, Saxony. The former East German side was a charter member of the 3. Liga in 2008–09, after being relegated from the 2. Bundesliga in 2007–08. The city of Aue has a population of about 18,000 making it one of the smallest cities to ever... |
2–0 | SSV Turbine Potsdam 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam is a women's football club team in Potsdam, Germany. The full name is 1. Frauen-Fußball-Club Turbine Potsdam 71 e. V. . They are one of the most successful teams in Germany... |
Hettstedt Hettstedt Hettstedt is a town in Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, on the Wipper.As of 1911, Hettstedt engaged in the manufacture of machinery, pianofortes, and artificial manure, and the surrounding district and villages were occupied with smelting due to the nearby mines of argentiferous... |
External links
- Frauenfußball in the GDR at FFArchiv (in German)