Football club (East Germany)
The traditional and self-governing clubs had been effectively banned in 1948 and replaced across the board by state-run and controlled bodies, the so-called "sports associations" (German: Sportvereinigung, SV).
Football was eventually given a special position in East German sports after a decision by the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) on 18 August 1965.
[5] An analysis by the DTSB during the summer of 1964 also showed that football in East Germany had fallen behind the rest of the world.
[5] The new football clubs were meant to provide stability to the game at the top level and to supply the national team with talent.
[7] All football clubs except FC Carl Zeiss Jena in Bezirk Gera were located in regional district capitals or in East Berlin.
The founding of the club likely owed much to the intervention of the powerful chairman of the national state trade union FDGB and Politburo member Herbert Warnke.
Herbert Warnke therefore argued for the formation of a civil football club for the working population in East Berlin.
[9] Liberal financial support from the DTSB and from large state-owned enterprises were meant to ensure their autonomy.
[7][6] As an example, BFC Dynamo immediately planned to expand its number of youth teams from 14 to 26 by its founding.
[17] The football clubs would be able to establish structured programs for the development of young talented players in special training centers (Trainingszentrum, TZ) and sports schools.
[8] Training centers (TZ) would eventually form the basis of the East German selection and screening system in competitive sports.
[21][18][22] The DFV would gradually build 196 training centers (TZ) based on guidelines from the DTSB across East Germany from the beginning of the 1970s.
[23] Young talented players from the age of 13 started to be enrolled into elite Children and Youth Sports Schools (KJS) at the same time.
[3][nb 2] However, a tug of war developed between the President of SV Dynamo Erich Mielke and the SED First secretary in Bezirk Dresden Werner Krolikowski.
[3] Mielke did not want to give up SG Dynamo Dresden, while Krolikowski advocated for the establishment of a civil football club.
[8] The 1970 DFV Football Resolution also aimed to root out the system of unauthorized financial incentives and bonuses to players that had developed.
[8] Players in enterprise sports communities (Betriebssportgemeinschaften, BSG), on the other hand, were expected to work morning shifts and only be paid according occupational qualifications.
The fact that BSG Stahl Brandenburg managed to qualify for the 1986–87 UEFA Cup owed much to generous payments to players from the social and cultural funds of the local steel and rolling mill works.
[35] A FIFA resolution for a more consistent distinction between amateurs and contract players would eventually prompted a radical reform to professionalize East German top-flight football during the summer of 1989.
This meant that East German players who defected to West Germany would be able to play for their new clubs immediately and without a transfer fee.
[36] The SED eventually formulated a scheme to put football onto a contractual basis between clubs and players, with transparent transfers and payments, from the 1989–90 season.
[36] However, the full implementation of the scheme was interrupted by the fall of the SED regime and the dismantling of East German football by competition from West Germany.
FC Lokomotive Leipzig was re-established in 2003 and SG Dynamo Dresden also reverted to its traditional name in 2007.
Four former East German football clubs including SG Dynamo Dresden have played in the Bundesliga: F.C.
Hansa Rostock and SG Dynamo Dresden qualified for the 1991–92 Bundesliga by finishing in first and second place in the 1990–91 NOFV-Oberliga.
FC Union Berlin qualified for the 2019–20 Bundesliga after defeating VfB Stuttgart in promotion play-offs.
FC Union Berlin is the only former East German football club playing in the Bundesliga as of the 2024–25 season.
FC Union Berlin was given the objective of producing a number of youth players who could be delegated to the focus club BFC Dynamo.
Many political leaders took a keen interest in football and used their connections and resources to promote their favorite team and boost the prestige of their regional district or organization.
[49] The access of football clubs and sports communities to young talents, as well as political and economic resources, depended on their rank in the hierarchy.
