The club currently plays in the Regionalliga, the fourth highest level in the German football league system.

For many years, Halle had been in East Germany's highest league, the DDR-Oberliga, up-until the German reunification.

However, like many other teams from the former East, it then suffered[tone] the effects of economic and demographic decline in the region in the 1990s and fell down to amateur leagues.

Since 2000, Hallescher FC has ended its downward trend and in the 2011–2012 season, they finally returned to a professional football league after 20 years of absence.

The origins of the club can be traced back to Hallescher Fussball-Club Wacker 1900, founded in 1900 and generally referred to[by whom?]

In the ensuing play-off matches for the German Championship, Wacker reached the semi-finals in 1921, there losing at home in front of a crowd of 12,000 1–5 to the later winners 1.

In the season 1951–52 the average rose to 22,170 per match and Turbine won the championship of East Germany, ahead of SV Deutsche Volkspolizei Dresden and defenders BSG Chemie Leipzig.

[citation needed] A number of BSGs were transformed to "Sport Clubs", often part of major bodies of industry.

Their best result in this period was third place Oberliga finish in 1970–71 that earned them a first-round UEFA Cup appearance.

The club had also formed a significant number of players for the East Germany national football team, such as Dariusz Wosz and Bernd Bransch.

However, this was only the beginning of a steady decline that followed and the club descended down to the Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt (fifth level league) by the 1995–96 season.

Finally, in the 2011–12 season, Hallescher FC managed to succeed in a neck-and-neck race[tone] with Holstein Kiel and RB Leipzig and was able to secure the first place.

[2] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

The following players represented the East Germany national football team whilst playing for Hallescher FC.