Western German football championship
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| Country | |
|---|---|
| Region | Western Germany |
| Founded | 1903 |
| Folded | 1933 (25 seasons) |
| Replaced by | |
| Level on pyramid | Level 1 |
| Last champions |
FC Schalke 04 (1932-33) |
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The Western German football championship (German: Westdeutsche Fußball Meisterschaft) was the highest association football competition in Western Germany, in the Prussian Province of Westphalia, the Rhine Province, the northern parts of the province of Hesse-Nassau as well as the Principality of Lippe, later to become the Free State of Lippe. The competition was disbanded in 1933 with the rise of the Nazis to power.
It is not to be confused with the German championship in what was commonly referred to as West Germany from 1949 to 1990.
German football was, from its beginnings, divided into regional associations, which carried out their own championship, which often pre-dated the national German championship. With the interception of the later in 1903, the former became qualifying tournaments for it but these regional championships still held a high value for the local clubs. These regional championships were:
All this regional championships were suspended with the rise of the Nazis to power in 1933. At the end of the Second World War, some resumed, now in league format. Others completely disappeared, like the Baltic championship, as the territories they were held in were not part of Germany any more. With the South West German football championship, a new regional competition also appeared in 1945. Ultimately, with the formation of the Fußball-Bundesliga, all this regional championships ceased altogether.
When the Western German championship was established in 1903, the region of Western Germany (German: Westdeutschland) was politically divided into three territories, the first three being part of the Kingdom of Prussia:
With the defeat of the German Empire in 1918 and the formation of a Republic, the former Kingdoms and Principalities became states. For the two Prussian provinces, this only meant that the Kingdom was replaced with the Free State of Prussia, while the Principality was transformed into the Free State of Lippe.
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