The South West Cup (german: Südwestpokal) is one of the 21 regional cup competitions of

German football Football (or "soccer") is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund, link=no or ) is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members (roughly eight percent of the popul ...

. The winner of the competition gains entry to the first round of the

German Cup The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

. It is limited to clubs from the

Rheinhessen Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...

Pfalz Pfalz, Pfälzer, or Pfälzisch are German words referring to Palatinate. They may refer to: Places *Pfalz, the Palatinate (region) of Germany **Nordpfalz, the North Palatinate **Vorderpfalz, the Anterior Palatinate **Südpfalz, the South P ...

region of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

, however, teams from the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

and 2. Bundesliga are not permitted to compete. It is one of two cup competitions in the state, the other being the

Rhineland Cup The Rhineland Cup (German: ''Rheinlandpokal'') is one of the 21 regional cup competitions of German football. The winner of the competition gains entry to the first round of the German Cup. It is limited to clubs from the northern part of Rhinela ...

, which covers roughly the northern half of the state. The competition is sponsored by the

Bitburger brewery Bitburger Brewery (Bitburger Brauerei Th. Simon GmbH) is a large German brewery headquartered in Bitburg, Rhineland-Palatinate. Founded in 1817 by Johann Wallenborn, its beer is the third best-selling beer in Germany, and the nation's number on ...

and carries the name Bitburger-Verbandspokal. It is operated by the

South West German Football Association The South West German Football Association (german: Südwestdeutscher Fussball-Verband), the ''SWFV'', is one of 21 state organisations of the German Football Association, the ''DFB'', and covers the southern part of the state of Rhineland-Palati ...

, the SWFV.

History

The Cup was established in 1973. The South West Cup is played annually. From 1974 onwards, the winner of the South West Cup qualified for the first round of the German Cup. Since the establishment of the 3. Liga in 2008, reserve teams can not take part in the German Cup anymore, but are permitted to play in the regional competitions. For the 2007–08 cup winner, 1. FC Kaiserslautern II, this meant the runners-up, SV Niederauerbach, was qualified instead for the

2008–09 DFB-Pokal The 2008–09 DFB-Pokal was the 66th season of the annual German football cup competition. The competition began with the first round on 7 August 2008, and ended with Werder Bremen defeating Bayer Leverkusen, who for their part eliminated defendi ...

Modus

Clubs from fully professional leagues are not permitted to enter the competition, meaning, no teams from the

and the 2. Bundesliga can compete. All clubs from the South West playing in the 3. Liga (III),

Regionalliga West The Regionalliga West is a German semi-professional football division administered by the Western German Football Association based in Duisburg. It is one of the five German regional football associations. Being the single flight of the Western ...

(IV), Oberliga Südwest (V),

Verbandsliga Südwest The Verbandsliga Südwest is a German amateur football division administered by the Southwest German Football Association, one of the 21 German state football associations. Being the top flight of the Southwestern state association, the Verbandslig ...

(VI) and the two Landesligas (VII) gain direct entry to the first round. Additionally, all clubs that have reached the quarter finals of the two Bezirkspokale, the two regional cup competitions staged for teams below the'Landesligas, also enter the competition. In 2007, for example, 129 clubs took part. The lower classed team always receives home advantage, except in the final, which is played on neutral ground.

Cup finals

Held annually at the end of season, these were the cup finals since 1974:

Winners

Listed in order of wins, the Cup winners are: ¹ Includes three wins by 1. FSV Mainz 05
² Includes two wins by 1. FC Kaiserslautern

References

Sources

*''Deutschlands Fußball in Zahlen'', An annual publication with tables and results from the Bundesliga to Verbandsliga/Landesliga, publisher: DSFS

External links

Fussball.de: South West Cup

South West Football association website: List of Cup winners
{{Football in Rhineland-Palatinate Recurring sporting events established in 1973 Football cup competitions in Germany Football competitions in Rhineland-Palatinate 1973 establishments in West Germany Palatinate (region)