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| Full name | Sportclub Verl von 1924 e.V. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 6 September 1924; 101 years ago (1924-09-06) | |||
| Ground | Sportclub Arena | |||
| Capacity | 5,207[1] | |||
| Chairman | Raimund Bertels | |||
| Manager | Tobias Strobl | |||
| League | 3. Liga | |||
| 2024–25 | 3. Liga, 7th of 20 | |||
 Current season | ||||
SC Verl is aGerman association football club based inVerl,North Rhine-Westphalia. The club was founded on 6 September 1924,[2] and since 1970 has consistently played in the higher echelons of amateur football. The club was promoted to the professional3. Liga in 2020.
After almost 50 years of comparably insignificant existence, SC Verl advanced to the Landesliga Westfalen (IV) in 1970. Since then, SC Verl have been relegated only once (in 2003), qualified for newly introduced higher-class leagues three times out of four, won their league twice, and played the promotion round for2. Bundesliga once (in 1991). Had they advanced, SC Verl would have been the smallest town ever to field a German pro football team. Their second bid for advancing to professional football was the 1994–95 season, when they finished second in the newly formed Regionalliga Nord (III), six points behindArminia Bielefeld.
SC Verl have appeared in theDFB-Pokal (German Cup) tournament six times. In 1979, they defeatedVfB Oldenburg (III)[3] andSpvgg Elversberg (IV)[4] before going out toStuttgarter Kickers (II).[5] In 1992, they lost an all-amateur match in the first round. In 1999, they eliminated theBundesliga clubBorussia Mönchengladbach 6–5 on penalties, withArne Friedrich scoring the decisive penalty.[6] They were defeated by the Bundesliga sideEintracht Frankfurt in the second round.[7] In both their fourth (2007) and fifth (2010) appearances, they lost their first round matches againstTSV 1860 Munich (II) – in the 2010 match by 2–1 after they led 1–0 at half-time.[8][9]
In the2019–20 season Verl caused a major upset by beating the Bundesliga clubAugsburg 2–1 in the first round[10] and 2. BundesligaHolstein Kiel on penalties in the second round[11] before losing 1–0 toUnion Berlin.[12]
In 2003, a 15th-place finish in the Regionalliga Nord (III) saw the team relegated for the first time in over thirty years. Some dispute surrounds Verl having to play the last game of the season in Paderborn during torrential rain, whileHamburger SV II were able to claim unplayable conditions and played the next day, securing a victory againstKFC Uerdingen to remain in the league.[13]
SC Verl had to play theOberliga Westfalen (IV) for four years before winning the championship and advancing to Regionalliga again in 2007. One season later, the3. Liga was introduced between the2. Bundesliga and the Regionalliga, which in turn was split up from two into three divisions. SC Verl suffered through a poor 2007–08 campaign, finishing 18th and failing to qualify for the 3. Liga.
Two SC Verl games from the 2008–09 season – among over two hundred games by other clubs – were suspected of having been rigged by players, leading to significant attention by the press as, for several days, SC Verl was the only club actually named. The two players accused were summarily suspended, and their contracts were eventually terminated.[14][15]
Having played at least fourth tier level since 1970, with 17 consecutive seasons in the third tier, makes SC Verl one of the most consistent top teams of Germany's amateur football. One of the smallest cities to field a fourth-tier football team, and together with neighbouring clubSC Wiedenbrück one of only two clubs in theRegionalliga West working under amateur conditions (both players and coaches have day-time jobs), the club is without any liabilities – a direct result of a continued policy of "no credit financing".
The club achieved mid-table finishes for their first eleven seasons in the Regionalliga West after 2008.
In the truncated2019–20 season, the club finished second on the points-per-game rule, but advanced to the promotion play-offs after first-placedSV Rödinghausen declined to apply for a licence to play in the3. Liga. Verl then beatLokomotive Leipzig on away goals to win promotion to the 3. Liga for the first time.[16]
In their first professional season, SC Verl performed strongly and finished 7th. Their second season went less smoothly, and they secured a third season only in their last match when they drew 1−1 againstMSV Duisburg.
The club's honours:
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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SC Verl has seen many players who went on to professional careers, the most notable beingArne Friedrich, who played his last amateur season with the club before joiningArminia Bielefeld in 2000, appeared for thenational side and captainedHertha Berlin.
After its establishment in 1924 and through part of the 1930s, SC Verl played at Auf der Heide. Sometime in the 1930s they moved to Birkenallee, where they remained until the end of World War II in 1945. Between 1945 and '55 their home ground was the Sportplatz Poststraße, and after 1955 the Stadion an der Poststraße. After capturing the Amateuroberliga Westfalen title in 1991, the team played its promotion round matches in the Heidewaldestadion Gütersloh in its failed attempt to advance to the2. Bundesliga (as the Poststraße was not up to the task both capacity- and security-wise). The Stadion an der Poststraße was last expanded in 2015–16 to a capacity of 5,153, and renamed "Sportclub-Arena".
(in German)51°53′00″N8°30′48″E / 51.88333°N 8.51333°E /51.88333; 8.51333
