Football
DFB-Pokal history
How the competition came to look the way it does.
Single-leg knockout, sixty-four clubs
The cup predates the current league structure and has always been open to clubs from outside the professional divisions.
Home advantage for the smaller club was written into the draw deliberately, and it remains the competition's defining rule.
A European place for the winner has repeatedly turned the cup into a realistic route into continental football for mid-table clubs.
Season-by-season champions, records and historical tables need a licensed historical data source. Until we have one, this page carries written history only.