1.FC Gera 03


This club came from nowhere to become the Gera superpower...

It was founded in 2003 through a merger of the TSV 1880 Gera-Zwötzen and SV 1861 Liebschwitz TSV had just achieved promotion to the Thüringenliga (Verbandsliga) and since 1.SV Gera collapsed into bankruptcy, they immediately became the top club in the city. And they had some profile, as ex-GDR international Konrad Weise was their coach.

The roots go back to 1919, when SC Wacker Zwötzen was founded. After WW-II, the club was restarted as TUS Zwötzen, until in 1950 it was renamed as BSG Fortschritt Zwötzen. This lasted until the reorganization of GDR football in 1966, when it became TSG Gera Zwötzen. In 1973, the club was affiliated with the textile industry, and once again was changed to BSG Modedruck Gera. Success was modest, as they played mostly in the 3rd and 4th division of GDR soccer.

After reunification, the club was renamed TSV 1880 Gera-Zwötzen, which lasted until 2003. The soccer players decided to form their own club and merged with Liebschwitz to become 1.FC Gera 03.

Full Name Erster Fussball-Club Gera 2003 e.V.
City Gera (Thüringen). Pop: 110,000 (2002) Originally based in Zwötzen, a district of about 5,300.
Address Liebschwitzer Straße 116, 07551 Gera
Tel.: 0365 / 710 8822, Fax.: 0365 / 710 8855
e-mail: info@fcgera03.de
Open Mo-Th 9:00-16:00, Fr 9:00-12:00
Colors Yellow jersey, black shorts, black socks. Away uniform is all gray.
Nickname
Stadium Stadion der Freundschaft. Capacity: 15,900 (1,000 covered, 4,000 open seats)
Originally built in 1954, this was the home base of Wismut Gera, which averaged around 7500 attendance when they played in the Oberliga. It also was filled to the original capacity of 20,000 when hosting the occasional GDR international. In the 1990s, the stadium was refurbished to it's current size.
Tickets
Supporters About 410 club members. Also two supporters clubs, Toto´s Treff (see Pub Grub) and Löwen Komando Ost. The players have on occasion paid for a bus to carry fans to away games.
Friends
Foes I would imagine the old fans of 1.SV Gera (now FV Gera Süd) wouldn't be too happy, since the success if over the corpse of SV...
Heroes
Zeroes
Beer Köstritzer is a "premium" sponsor. Köstritzer-Schwarzbier is of course one of the world's greatest beers...
Pub Grub Toto's Treff is a popular local pub, and the owner Thomas Taut sponsors the fan club with the same name. You can reach him at the pub (located at Auf dem Steinweg) everyday around 10:00am. Or just call him on his cell-phone, 0172 / 3470395.
The Net Official site: www.1fcgera03.de

Recent History:
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2005-06	(V)	Verbandsliga Thüringen		2nd
2006-07	(V)	Verbandsliga Thüringen		1st
2007-08	(IV)	Oberliga NOFV-Süd	



(c) Abseits Guide to Germany : www.abseits-soccer.com