[8] On 28 January 1900, representatives from 86 football clubs from German-speaking areas in and outside the German Empire met in the restaurant Mariengarten in Leipzig, founding the DFB.

The first championship beyond municipal areas was held in 1898 from the Verband Sueddeutscher Fussball-Vereine (Association of South German football clubs), later affiliated with the DFB.

Communist sporting officials such as Ernst Grube, Reichstag deputy and head of Rotsport, were murdered in concentration camps.

The DFB integrated as Fachamt Reichsfußball into the National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise.

The FIFA World Cup 1974 was staged in West Germany, and both German teams were drawn in the same group in the first round.

However, with a goal from Max Morlock on the tenth minute and Helmut Rahn on the nineteenth before halftime, the tide began to turn in the Germans' favor.

Led by legendary libero Franz Beckenbauer, keeper Sepp Maier, playmaker Paul Breitner, and strikers Uli Hoeneß and "Der Bomber" Gerd Müller (Germany's all-time leading scorer with 68 goals in 62 games), Germany won its second World Cup by defeating the Netherlands in the final, 2–1, behind goals by Breitner and Müller.

The Final was famous for the battle between Kaiser Franz (Beckenbauer) and King Johann (Cruyff).

In a tournament which included a memorable clash with rival the Netherlands, Germany defeated Argentina, 1–0, on an Andreas Brehme penalty kick, to win its third World Cup title.

With its third title (and three second-place finishes), West Germany became the most successful World Cup nation for four years, until Brazil won their fourth championship in 1994.

The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup was held in the United States (changed from China due to the SARS epidemic) and won by Germany, who defeated Sweden by 2–1 in extra time.

Zinedine Zidane was controversially sent off for headbutting Italy's Marco Materazzi with 10 minutes to go before the match went into penalties.

Germany went on to win Group A without dropping a point, but lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Japan.

Germany emerged champions of the 2014 World Cup competition, defeating Argentina 1–0 thanks to a memorable goal by 22-year-old Mario Götze.

In the run-up to the finals, Germany routed Brazil 7–1 in their semi-final match, breaking several World Cup records.

They would ultimately be eliminated for the second straight World Cup by the eventual champion, dropping their semifinal to the United States.

In the two-leg quarter-finals, Germany first crushed England, 3–1, in Wembley Stadium on 29 April 1972, then closed the door by earning a 0–0 draw in Berlin.

In admiration of the German effort, the French L’Equipe wrote: "Brussels witnessed the rehabilitation of attacking football."

After defeating Czechoslovakia, Netherlands, and Greece in the opening round, Germany got past Belgium, 2–1, in the final through two goals by Horst Hrubesch.

This tournament would be the first of many for midfielder Lothar Matthäus, who would retire after Euro 2000 as Germany's most capped (experienced) player with 150 national team appearances.

Led by captain Jürgen Klinsmann on offense and Matthias Sammer on defense, the Germans easily defeated the Czech Republic, 2–0, and Russia, 3–0, in the first round.

This victory set the stage for a classic battle against England, again in Wembley Stadium, in the tournament semifinals.

Both teams fought through the remainder of regulation and two sudden-death 15-minute overtime periods without scoring, leading to a dramatic penalty kick shootout.

In the final, Germany fell behind the same Czech squad it had defeated earlier in the tournament on a controversial penalty kick decision.

Nonetheless, the Germans displayed their usual fighting spirit and tied the game on substitute Oliver Bierhoff's 73. minute header.

Five minutes into the first sudden-death overtime, it was again Oliver Bierhoff who led the Germans to victory with his historic golden goal.

Largely because of his outstanding defensive efforts in the tournament, Matthias Sammer was voted "Europe's Player of the Year" after the finals.

It took place in 10 cities, Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart.

The clubs of the lower leagues play in regional qualification rounds, with the winners joining the teams of the Bundesliga and 2.

Introduced in 1949, the cup was contested annually until 1991 when the tournament was ended in the wake of German re-unification and the merger of the football leagues of the two Germanys.