German Cup

The German Cup (German: "DFB-Pokal", Deutscher Fußball Bund-Pokal) is a national football tournament held annually
since 1952. It is the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga championship.
Each football club which participates in the German football league system is entitled to enter the tournament.
The clubs of the lower leagues play in regional qualification rounds, with the winners joining the teams of the
Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga in the main round of the tournament in the following year. Each elimination is
determined by a single game held on the ground of one of the two participating teams. Since 1985 the final has
been held each year at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Bayern Munich has won the cup a record 12 times.
The Tschammer-Pokal was the predecessor to today's cup competition. It was introduced in 1934-35 and contested
until 1944.Divided after World War II, Germany had two cup competitions with East German sides competing for the
East German Cup (German: "FDGB-Pokal", Freie Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund-Pokal or Free German Trade Union Federation Cup).
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.)