SSV Ulm

Full name	SSV Ulm 1846 FUSSBALL e.V.
Nickname	Die Spatzen (The Sparrows)[citation needed]
Founded	1846; 179 years ago (1846)
Ground	Donaustadion
Capacity	19,500[citation needed]
Chairman	Thomas Oelmeyer[citation needed]
Manager	Pavel Dochev
League	3. Liga
2024–25	2. Bundesliga, 17th of 18 (relegated)
Website	ssvulm1846-fussball.de
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

SSV Ulm 1846 FUSSBALL e.V., commonly known asSSV Ulm 1846 orSSV Ulm, is aGerman football club based inUlm, Baden-Württemberg. SSV Ulm 1846 FUSSBALL was formed on 7 March 2009 as new independent club through the separation of the football department from the present-day multi-sports club SSV Ulm 1846 e.V. After finishing in first place and earning promotion from3. Liga in 2023–24, the club played in2. Bundesliga in the2024–25 season; a 17th-place finish in 2. Bundesliga meant relegation back to 3. Liga for the 2025–26 season.^[1]

The club's greatest success has been promotion to theBundesliga in 1998–99, where it played for just one season. Ulm has also spent eight seasons in the2. Bundesliga between 1979–80 and 2000–01.

Organised sport inUlm dates to 1846 with the founding of Turngemeinde Ulm. In the 1939–40 season, four city clubs—Turnerbund Ulm, Turnverein Ulm, Ulmer Fußballverein 1894, and Sportvereinigung Ulm 1839—merged to form TSG Ulm 1846. Separately, on 12 October 1928, the 1. Schwimmverein Ulm and SV Schwaben Ulm combined as 1. Schwimm- und Sportverein Ulm (1. SSV Ulm). On 5 May 1970, TSG Ulm 1846 and 1. SSV Ulm 1928 merged at the Kornhaus to create SSV Ulm 1846, at the time one of Germany's largest multi-sport clubs.^[2][3]

The football section continued under the new umbrella until 2009, when it was spun off as the independent club SSV Ulm 1846 Fußball e.V., while the multi-sport association (SSV Ulm 1846 e.V.) remained in charge of non-football departments and facilities.^[2]

The football section in Ulm was consolidated in 1939 when Turnerbund Ulm, Turnverein Ulm, and Ulmer Fußballverein 1894 combined as TSG Ulm 1846; the new side entered theGauliga Württemberg for the 1939–40 season and remained at that level until league play ended in 1945.^[4] AfterWorld War II, the club alternated between the top-flightOberliga Süd and the2. Oberliga Süd: TSG played in the Oberliga in 1946–49, 1952–53, 1958–61 and 1962–63, otherwise competing in the second tier.^[5][6][7][8] With the creation of theRegionalliga Süd (II) in 1963, TSG qualified on league position and spent two seasons there, finishing eighth in 1963–64 before relegation as 18th in 1964–65 to the third-tier Amateurliga.^[9][10] In 1968, the Radsportvereinigung 1948 Ulm (RSV 1948 Ulm) joined TSG Ulm 1846 as part of the city's multi-sport consolidation.^[2]

1. Spiel- und Sportverein Ulm was formed in 1928 and, after two seasons in theBezirksliga Bayern, joined the Gauliga Württemberg in 1933, well before their future partner, where they earned just mid-table finishes. After the war and leading up to their union with TSG 1846, they played as a third or fourth division side. Finally, in 1970, 1. SSV Ulm merged with TSG 1846 to form SSV Ulm 1846.

At the time of the merger.^{[clarification needed]} both clubs were playing football in the tier IIIAmateurliga Württemberg and would continue to do so for a nearly a decade. In 1980, the combined side advanced to the2. Bundesliga Süd and would spend six of the next ten years playing at that level where, except for a fifth-place finish in 1982, their results were well down the table. After another decade in the level III AmateurOberliga Baden-Württemberg andRegionalliga Süd, 1846 made an unexpected^{[according to whom?]} breakthrough after just one season in the 2. Bundesliga with a third-place finish that led to the club's promotion to the top-flight Bundesliga for the1999–2000 season. Even though the issue was not decided until the last day of the season, Ulm could do no better than a sixteenth-place finish and returned to the second division. The2000–01 season was an unqualified disaster^[tone] for the club: they could manage only another sixteenth-place finish and were sent back down to the Regionalliga Süd (III). They were then denied a licence over the chaotic state of their finances which plunged^[tone] the club down to the fifth tierVerbandsliga Württemberg. Afterwards Ulm worked their way back, to the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg (IV) in 2002, and the Regionalliga in 2008.

Following the2009 European football betting scandal, the club released three allegedly involved players,Davor Kraljević, Marijo Marinović and Dinko Radojević.^[11] In January 2011, the club was declared insolvent, and the results of the 2010–11 season were declared void. The club was relegated to theOberliga Baden-Württemberg but immediately won the 2011–12 title, finishing nine points clear of second-placedVfR Mannheim and earning promotion to the newRegionalliga Südwest.

In May 2014, SSV Ulm 1846 was once again close to insolvency, for the third time in 13 years, requiring €420,000 in financial support before the end of the month to ensure survival.^[12] The club eventually entered administration and was relegated back to the Oberliga. After two seasons, SSV Ulm 1846 was promoted to the Regionalliga in May 2016.^[13]

On 28 May 2023, SSV Ulm 1846 secured promotion to 3. Liga for the first time from 2023 to 2024, after defeatingBarockstadt Fulda-Lehnerz 5–0 and becoming champion of the Regionalliga Südwest.

On 4 May 2024, SSV Ulm 1846 were crowned 3. Liga champions and earned back-to-back promotion to 2. Bundesliga for the 2024–25 season and the first time since 2000–01 season, after defeatingViktoria Köln 2–0.

• ^‡ Won by TSG Ulm 1846.
• ^† Won by SSV Ulm.
• ^¥ Won by reserve team.

Recent managers of the club:^[14]

The recent season-by-season performance of the club:^[15][16]

This list has noprecise inclusion criteria as described in theManual of Style for standalone lists. Pleaseimprove this article by adding inclusion criteria, or discuss this issue on thetalk page.(January 2024)

• With the introduction of theRegionalligas in 1994 and the3. Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier. In 2012, the number of Regionalligas was increased from three to five with all Regionalliga Süd clubs except the Bavarian ones entering the newRegionalliga Südwest.^{[citation needed]}

Key

As of 9 September 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  GER Max Schmitt(on loan fromBayern Munich) 2 DF  GER Luis Görlich 4 DF  GER Julian Etse 5 DF  GER Johannes Reichert(captain) 6 MF  GER Marcel Wenig 7 FW  GER Ensar Aksakal 8 MF  GER Ben Westermeier 9 FW  GER Lucas Röser 10 FW  GER Dominik Martinović 11 FW  GER Dennis Chessa 12 GK  GER Marvin Seybold 14 MF  GER Dennis Dressel 15 DF  GER Jonas David

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 FW  GER Paul-Philipp Besong 19 DF  GER Jonathan Meier 21 DF  GER Marcel Seegert 22 FW  BIH Aleksandar Kahvić 23 MF  GER Max Brandt 24 DF  SUI Sadin Crnovršanin 25 MF  GER Elias Löder 27 DF  GER Lukas Mazagg 28 DF  GER Max Scholze 32 DF  GER Niklas Kölle 34 DF  GER Jan Boller 39 GK  GER Christian Ortag 43 MF  GER Leon Dajaku 49 FW  GER André Becker

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  GER Niklas Castelle(atAlemannia Aachen until 30 June 2026)

In the fanscene there areright-wing extremist tendencies and right-winghooligans. In May 2019, several extremists attacked aRoma family. Four of the perpetrators had connections to the SSV Ulm fan scene. Despite a trial, the perpetrators were initially not banned from the stadium, which is why the club's management was heavily criticized by theCentral Council of German Sinti and Roma.^[17]

"To ignore this inhuman crime simply stunned us. Imagine if the same incident had occurred against the Jewish minority, then different measures would have been taken by the club's management. The Holocaust clearly also includes the annihilation of half a million Sinti and Roma in Nazi occupied Europe. And the responsibility of a club management must be the same here." - Romani Rose, chairman, Central Council of German Sinti and Roma.

In addition, there are group photos on which, among other things, theNazi salute is shown.^[18]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSSV Ulm 1846 Fußball.

• Official website
• SSV Ulm 1846 at Weltfussball.de
• Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv – historical German domestic league tables(in German)

• SSV Ulm 1846
• Football clubs in Germany
• Football clubs in Baden-Württemberg
• 1846 establishments in the German Confederation
• Association football clubs established in 1846
• Sport in Ulm
• Bundesliga clubs
• 2. Bundesliga clubs
• 3. Liga clubs

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