BSG Stahl Brandenburg is a German association football club based in Brandenburg an der Havel,

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

History

The club was formed in 1950 as ''BSG Einheit Brandenburg'' and played its earliest seasons in the II division of

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

football. They took on the name ''BSG Stahl Brandenburg'' in 1955 to reflect the backing of the local steel company. With that support, the club was able to assemble competitive sides by offering attractive salaries to the castoffs of other teams. The strategy drew some capable players to their ranks and helped them develop a solid fan base. The side earned promotion to the

DDR-Oberliga The DDR-Oberliga (English: ''East German Premier League'' or ''GDR Premier League'') was the top-level association football league in East Germany. Overview Following World War II, separate sports competitions emerged in the occupied eastern ...

for the 1984–85 season and played there until

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

in 1990. After a name change to ''BSV Stahl Brandenburg'' they spent the 1991–92 season in the 2. Bundesliga Nord. In 1993, with the closing of the local steel mill and the loss of their financial support, 'Stahl' was dropped from the team name. The club played in the tier three NOFV-Oberliga Nord from 1992 to 1994, won the league and earned promotion to the new Regionalliga Nordost. After a year at this level it dropped back to the Oberliga and down to the

Verbandsliga Brandenburg The Brandenburg-Liga (VI) (''formerly the Verbandsliga Brandenburg'') is the highest league for football teams exclusively in the German state of Brandenburg and at step six of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3. L ...

in 1996. By the end of the 90s they found themselves mired in financial difficulty. The club declared bankruptcy in 1998 and quickly re-formed as ''FC Stahl Brandenburg'', but continued to stumble. In 2002, in a desperate move to save something of the club, a merger with crosstown rival ''

Brandenburger SC Süd 05 Brandenburger SC Süd is a German association football club from the town of Brandenburg, in the federal state of the same name. The footballers are part of a larger sports club that also has departments for bowling, canoeing, cycling, swimming ...

'' to form ''FC Brandenburg'' was put into the works, but only went as far as the union of the clubs' youth sides. Fan protests from both sides – and more money problems – caused the merger to unravel the next year. On 1 June 2022, the club was renamed ''BSG Stahl Brandenburg'' and plays in the tier seven Landesliga as a lower table side.

Rugby department

During the East German era, the club also had a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

department, which now is separate club, the

Stahl Brandenburg Rugby Stahl Brandenburg Rugby is a German rugby union club from Brandenburg, currently playing in the Rugby-Regionalliga East A. The club, located in former East Germany, used to be part of the BSG Stahl Brandenburg, a multi-sports club formed in Nove ...

Honours

The club's honours: * NOFV-Oberliga Nord ** Champions: 1994 ** Runners-up: 1993 *

Brandenburg Cup The Brandenburgischer Landespokal ( en, Brandenburg Cup), known as the '' Krombacher Pokal Brandenburg'' for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football cup competition, held by the ( en, Brandenburg Football Association). It is one of the 21 re ...

** Winners: 1994

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandenburg, Stahl Football clubs in Germany Football clubs in Brandenburg Sport in Brandenburg an der Havel Football clubs in East Germany Association football clubs established in 1950 1950 establishments in East Germany Works association football clubs in Germany 2. Bundesliga clubs