VfL Halle 96

This club claims the heritage of an older club, although it's real roots are in the GDR, when it was known as Empor Halle. It was usually largely inferior to their rivals, Chemie Halle (which later became Hallescher FC).

Lineage is claimed back to 1896, when a club known as Hallescher FC 96 was founded. It's confusing, because current crosstown rivals HFC do not claim this lineage. In any case, in 1919 the original HFC merged with Kaufmännischer Turnverein 1875 to form the first VfL Halle.

In 1946, some mebers of the old VfL founded SG Halle-Giebichenstein, which transformed into SG Genossenschaft until finally becoming BSG Empor in 1951. Success in the various GDR leagues was basically non-existant, a single appearance in 1981/82 in the 2nd Division DDR-Liga.

Upon reunification, things gradually got better. The pinnacle was reached when they gained promotion to the 3rd division for 1999, which also meant a higher posting than rivals HFC. The club gave a decent account of itself, but was never really in contention for a new combined Regionalliga spot. Despite a decent finish in 2000, financial difficulties forced VfL to drop down.

Fullname Verein für Leibesübungen Halle 1896 e.V.
Address Halle (Sachsen-Anhalt). Pop: 243,000 (2002)
Address Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 24, 06118 Halle
Phone: (0345) 532-3726
Colors Red Jersey with black trim, red shorts, black socks.
Nickname Empor (former GDR name)
Stadium Stadion Am Zoo. Capacity: 8,200 (1,200 seats)
Officially, 1,000 spaces are reserved for visiting fans.
Tickets A bargain at only 4 euros (2007). Match day program is 1 euro, and parking is free...
Supporters Despite more recent success than crosstown rivals HFC, VfL is clearly the lesser club in Halle. They averaged only 191 spectators in 2004 (Verbandsliga). There is a Stammtisch fan meeting once a month on Friday at the club pub...
Friends Sachsen Leipzig "Since their is a friendship between HFC and VfB Leipzig, we are friends with Sachsen."
Foes Hallesche FC. A bitter rivalry exists between the city clubs.
Heroes Dariusz Wosz, a German international in the 1990s, came out of the youth system.
Zeroes
Beer Ur-Krostitzer, from a town north of Leipzig.
Grub and Pub The Sportbar 96 is the club pub and hangout. Closed Mondays, open Tu-Fru 16:00-23:00, Sa 11:00-23:00, Su 10:00-20:00.
The Net The official site is now online, www.vfl96.de , and is very nice. Among the fan pages, check out die.fans.von.halle96.de or www.halle96.de 


		Recent History:
		--------------

		BSG Empor Halle

1965-81		lower divisions of GDR	
1981-82	(II)	DDR-Liga, Staffel C	12th
1982-89		Lower divisions of GDR

		VfL Halle 96

1991-92	(VII)	Bezirksliga			1st
1992-93	(VI)	Landesliga			2nd
1993-94	(VI)	Landesliga			4th
1995-96	(V)	Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt	1st
1996-97	(V)	Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt	4th
1997-98	(IV)	Oberliga Nordost-Süd		3rd
1998-99	(IV)	Oberliga Nordost-Süd		1st
1999-00	(III)	Regionalliga Nordost		14th
2000-01	(IV)	Oberliga Nordost-Süd		6th
2001-02	(V)	Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt	15th
2002-03	(V)	Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt	13th
2003-04	(V)	Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt	4th
2004-05	(V)	Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt	
2005-06	(V)	Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt	10th
2006-07	(V)	Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt	7th
2007-08	(V)	Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt

(c) Abseits Guide to Germany