DGF Flensborg
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| Full name | Dansk Gymnastik Forening Flensborg e.V. 1923 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 9 November 1923 | ||
| Ground | Frueskovens Idrætspark | ||
| Chairman | Dieter Lenz | ||
| Manager | Peter Feies | ||
| League | Verbandsliga Schleswig-Holstein-Nord(VII) | ||
| 2018–19 | Kreisliga Nordwest (VIII), 2nd (promoted) | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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TheDGF Flensborgis aGerman association football clubfrom the city ofFlensburg,Schleswig-Holstein.
DGFis the largest of the clubs of theDanish minorityin northern Germany.[1][2]Apart from offering association football, it also has well asboxing,baseball,badminton,handballandinline hockeydepartments. DGF no longer has anAmerican footballdepartment.
History
[edit]Danish minority
[edit]The Danish minority in Schleswig-Holstein is currently (2008) considered to consist of about 50,000 people.[3]The Danish government supports the minority financially, (400,000,000Danish kronein 2004).[4]Since theBonn-Kopenhagener-Declarationsin 1955, the Danish minority enjoys special rights equivalent to the special rights the German minority inDenmarkenjoys.[5]
Club
[edit]The club was formed in 1923 as a gymnastics association by the city'sDanishminority, as indicated by its Danish language name and the use of the DanishFlensborgrather than the German Flensburg. In 1926,DGFtook up football, playing games at theTivoliplatz.[6]In the following years, the club expanded its number of departments but from 1933, with the rise of theNazisto power, found itself more and more restricted. From 1937, the club's activities almost ceased altogether due to attempts by Nazis toGermanisethe Danish minority.
Upon the return of its members following the Second World War,DFGresumed its activities in 1947. In 1948, some club members leftDGFto form another ethnically-Danish club, theIF Stjernen Flensborg.DGFwas granted the use ofFrueskovens Idrætsparkas its home ground by the city of Flensburg. In 1951, an agreement was reached with the German football federation of Schleswig-Holstein and its clubs, granting Danish minority clubs the same rights and duties as their German counterparts, theSportfrieden vonMalente(English:Sports peace of Malente).
Through the support ofDanish Football Association,part of the gate receipts from aDenmark national football teamversusNorway national football teaminternational were made available to the club andDGFwas able to buyFrueskovens Idrætspark.The club had to use old military tents as its change rooms. By joining the Schleswig-Holstein Football Federation they were finally permitted to take part in competitive football.
In 1957,DGFbuilt its own club house and in 1967 the facility was expanded through the addition of change rooms and showers. However, in 1974, the club had to transferFrueskovens Idrætsparkback to the city of Flensburg as they were unable to afford necessary major upgrades.
For its 75th anniversary in 1998, the club attractedBrøndby IFfor a friendly. In 2001,Frueskovens Idrætsparkonce more changed ownership when it was acquired by theSydslesvigs danske Ungdomsforeninger,a community based Danish organization.[7]
On the field
[edit]DGFentered the Bezirksklasse Nord Schleswig-Holstein (III) in 1951 but could not hold their place. They returned to the Bezirksliga in 1959, and then in 1964 earned promotion to theAmateurliga Schleswig-Holstein,the local third division.[8]They played two season there before being relegated to the2nd Amateurliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord(IV) in 1966. While winning its league in 1966–67, they missed being promoted and after a 6th-place result the next season failed to qualify for the newVerbandsliga Nord(IV), slipping down to fifth tierBezirksliga Nord.
Winning another championship in this league in 1968–69, the team gained promotion to the tier fourVerbandsliga,where, after a difficult first season, it won the league in 1970–71 and returned to third division football. Coming second-last in theLandesligain 1972, it was relegated back down straight away.DGFcontinued in theVerbandsligaas a lower table side, earning a fifth place in 1978–79 as its best result. In 1978, theVerbandsligawas renamedLandesligaand had become a tier five league since 1974, when theOberliga Nordwas reformed. In 1980, the club was relegated once more.
In theBezirksliga Nord,DGFbecame a struggler against relegation, finishing one spot above it in each of its first three seasons there and improving from then on. After a couple of seasons in mid-table, the team was relegated further down in 1988 but returned immediately the year after. Mid to lower table finishes remained all the club could archive until a league championship in 1996 meant promotion once more.
Back in theLandesliga(V) the club finished in mid-table once more in the next three seasons until another league reorganisation meant it became part of the newBezirksoberliga Nord.After dropping down a level in 2005 and returning in 2007, a tenth-place finish in 2008 in theBezirksoberligawas enough for the club to qualify for the newVerbandsliga Schleswig-Holstein-Nord-Westin another league restructuring.[9]
In the 2008–09 season,DGFstruggled in theVerbandsliga Schleswig-Holstein-Nord-West(VI), eventually finding itself relegated to the Kreisliga Flensburg. In this league the club came close to promotion in 2010 and 2011 when it finished second on both occasions. It took until 2015 to return to the Verbandsliga after it won a Kreisliga title. The club was relegated back to the now tier-eight Kreisliga in 2017 when the new Landesligas were introduced at tier six but won promotion back to the now seventh-division Verbandsliga in 2019.
Honours
[edit]The club's honours:
- Verbandsliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord (IV): 1971
- 2nd Amateurliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord (IV): 1963, 1967
- Bezirksliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord (V–VI): 1969, 1996
- Kreisliga Schleswig-Flensburg 1: 2015
Recent seasons
[edit]The recent season-by-season performance of the club:[10][11]
| Season | Division | Tier | Position |
| 1999–2000 | Bezirksoberliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord | VI | 3rd |
| 2000–01 | Bezirksoberliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord | 8th | |
| 2001–02 | Bezirksoberliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord | 11th | |
| 2002–03 | Bezirksoberliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord | 6th | |
| 2003–04 | Bezirksoberliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord | 8th | |
| 2004–05 | Bezirksoberliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord | 16th ↓ | |
| 2005–06 | Bezirksliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord | VII | 6th |
| 2006–07 | Bezirksliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord | 3rd ↑ | |
| 2007–08 | Bezirksoberliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord | VI | 10th |
| 2008–09 | Verbandsliga Schleswig-Holstein-Nord-West | 18th ↓ | |
| 2009–10 | Kreisliga Flensburg | VII | 2nd |
| 2010–11 | Kreisliga Flensburg | 2nd | |
| 2011–12 | Kreisliga Flensburg | 6th | |
| 2012–13 | Kreisliga Flensburg | 4th | |
| 2013–14 | Kreisliga Schleswig-Flensburg 1 | 5th | |
| 2014–15 | Kreisliga Schleswig-Flensburg 1 | 1st ↑ | |
| 2015–16 | Verbandsliga Schleswig-Holstein-Nord-West | VI | 14th |
| 2016–17 | Verbandsliga Schleswig-Holstein-Nord-West | 17th ↓ | |
| 2017–18 | Kreisliga Nordwest | VIII | 4th |
| 2018–19 | Kreisliga Nordwest | 2nd ↑ |
- With the introduction of theRegionalligasin 1994 and the3. Ligain 2008 as the new third tier, below the2. Bundesliga,all leagues below dropped one tier. With the introduction of theLandesligasin 2017 as the new sixth tier, all leagues from the Verbandsligas below dropped one tier. The Verbandsliga Nord-West was renamed to Verbandsliga Nord.
References
[edit]- ^Dansk Gymnastikforening Flensborg(in Danish)Sydslesvigs danske Ungdomsforeningerwebsite: List of clubs of the Danish minority, accessed: 2 December 2008
- ^Sportvereine der dänischen Minderheit[permanent dead link](in German)Grenzlandportal— Clubs of the German and Danish minorities in the border region, accessed: 2 December 2008
- ^Dänische MinderheitArchived23 December 2008 at theWayback Machine(in German)German ministry of the interior website, accessed: 2 December 2008
- ^DIE GRENZZIEHUNG UND DIE MINDERHEITArchived30 July 2007 at theWayback Machine(in German)Danish foreign ministry website, accessed: 2 December 2008
- ^DIE DEUTSCH-DÄNISCHE MINDERHEITENREGELUNGArchived10 October 2009 at theWayback Machine(in German)Danish foreign ministry website, accessed: 2 December 2008
- ^DGF HistorieArchived18 July 2011 at theWayback Machine(in German)DGF website, accessed: 28 November 2008
- ^SdU websiteaccessed: 28 November 2008
- ^2nd Amateurliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord 1963–64Das deutsche Fussball archiv, accessed: 28 November 2008
- ^Bezirksoberliga Schleswig-Holstein Nordtbale 2007–08Fussball.de, accessed: 28 November 2008
- ^Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv(in German)Historical German domestic league tables
- ^Fussball.de – ErgebnisseArchived7 December 2011 at theWayback Machine(in German)Tables and results of all German football leagues
External links
[edit]
- Official website
- The Danish consulat in Flensburg website(in Danish and German)with information on the Danish minority
- Das deutsche Fußball-Archivhistorical German domestic league tables(in German)