Global InformationVerbandspokal information
| Region |  Germany |
|---|---|
| Current champions | 21 regional winners |
| Most successful team(s) | Werder Bremen II (20 titles) |
| Television broadcasters | ARD |
 2023–24 Verbandspokal | |
A Verbandspokal (English: Association Cup) is a regional men's association football competition in Germany. There are 21 Verbandspokal competitions which function as qualifying tournaments for the following season's DFB-Pokal, the premier German Cup competition.[1] Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga clubs are not permitted to enter as they are already directly qualified for the first round of the DFB-Pokal.
While no Verbandspokal winner has ever gone on to win the German Cup, two have reached the final. Hertha BSC Amateure won the Berlin Cup in 1992 and went on to lose the 1993 DFB-Pokal final against Bayer Leverkusen, and Energie Cottbus won the 1996 Brandenburg Cup and went on to lose the 1997 DFB-Pokal final against VfB Stuttgart.[2]
Apart from the 21 Verbandspokal champions, three more teams qualify from the regional football association, to bring the number of clubs in the first round of the DFB-Pokal to 64. These three teams come from the three regional associations with the most members, these currently being Bavaria, Lower Saxony and Westphalia.[1]
The regional competitions, (plural:Verbandspokale) are generally open to all clubs in the 3. Liga and below, however regional rules vary between associations. 3. Liga clubs have a double chance to qualify for the first round of the DFB-Pokal, through the Verbandspokale and through finishing in the top four in their league.
The finals of the competitions can attract large numbers of spectators, like the 2014 Lower Rhine Cup between MSV Duisburg and TV Jahn Hiesfeld did, which was watched by 24,000 in Duisburg.[3]
As of 2013–14, Werder Bremen II, reserve team of Werder Bremen, is the most successful team in any Verbandspokal competition, having won the Bremen Cup twenty times, followed by Tennis Borussia Berlin with sixteen Berlin Cup wins and Holstein Kiel with fifteen Schleswig-Holstein Cup wins.
- ^ a b Modus (in German) DFB website: Modus, accessed: 17 January 2015
- ^ Historie (in German) DFB website: History, accessed: 17 January 2015
- ^ Hiesfeld schnuppert am Pokal-Coup (in German) Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, published: 16 May 2014, accessed: 18 January 2015