FT Braunschweig
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| Full name | Freie Turnerschaft Braunschweig e. V. |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Die Turner |
| Founded | 2 September 1903 |
| Ground | Prinzenparkstadion |
| Capacity | 3,500 |
| Manager | Kai Olzem |
| League | Niedersachsenliga (V) |
| 2015–16 | 7th |
Freie Turnerschaft Braunschweig, commonly known as Freie Turner, FT Braunschweig or simply FTB, is a German association football and sports club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony.
The club was founded as a worker's sports club on 2 September 1903. In 1913, the club was declared a leftist political organization by the authorities of the German Empire and dissolved. A new club, Neue Freie Turnerschaft Braunschweig, was formed shortly after. The Neue Freie Turnerschaft had to disband again in 1933 because of financial problems, caused by the construction of a new stadium for the club. Its successor Freier Sportverein Braunschweig was formed in January 1933, but shortly after, in March 1933, banned as a socialist club by the new Nazi government. The club was refounded after World War II under its original name.
In 1952 the club was promoted into the second tier Amateuroberliga Niedersachsen-Ost. The stint proved short and FTB were relegated again after two seasons in 1954, spending the next 20 years at the 3rd or 4th level of German football, before slipping down as far as the 7th division during the 1980s and 90s. The club finally returned to the Niedersachsenliga in 2000, now the 5th tier. Here the club usually finished in the upper half of the table, but narrowly missed the qualification for the new single-division Niedersachsenliga in 2010. After three seasons in the 6th tier Landesliga Braunschweig, the club returned to the Oberliga in 2013.
On 21 April 2014 the Turner reached the final of the Lower Saxony Cup, which also secured FT Braunschweig's qualification for the 2014–15 DFB-Pokal – the club's first ever participation in the main rounds of Germany's national cup competition. The semi-final, played in front of 6,350 spectators at Eintracht Braunschweig's Eintracht-Stadion, was won 1–0 against VfB Oldenburg. The final, which had no bearing on DFB-Pokal qualification, was lost 1–2 against BSV Schwarz-Weiß Rehden. In the first round of the 2014–15 DFB-Pokal, FT Braunschweig then lost 0–4 against Bundesliga side 1. FC Köln.
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