Southwestern Cup

The South West Cup (German: Südwestpokal) is one of the 21 regional cup competitions of German football. The winner of the competition gains entry to the first round of the German Cup. It is limited to clubs from the Rheinhessen-Pfalz region of Rhineland-Palatinate, however, teams from the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga are not permitted to compete. It is one of two cup competitions in the state, the other being the Rhineland Cup, which covers roughly the northern half of the state.

South West Cup

Founded	1973
Region	Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Qualifier for	DFB-Pokal
Current champions	FK Pirmasens (2024–25)
Most successful club(s)	1. FSV Mainz 05 (8 titles)

The competition is sponsored by the Bitburger brewery and carries the name Bitburger-Verbandspokal. It is operated by the South West German Football Association, the SWFV.

History

The Cup was established in 1973. The South West Cup is played annually.

From 1974 onwards, the winner of the South West Cup qualified for the first round of the German Cup.^[1]

Since the establishment of the 3. Liga in 2008, reserve teams can not take part in the German Cup anymore, but are permitted to play in the regional competitions. For the 2007–08 cup winner, 1. FC Kaiserslautern II, this meant the runners-up, SV Niederauerbach, was qualified instead for the 2008–09 DFB-Pokal.

Modus

Clubs from fully professional leagues are not permitted to enter the competition, meaning, no teams from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga can compete.

All clubs from the South West playing in the 3. Liga (III), Regionalliga West (IV), Oberliga Südwest (V), Verbandsliga Südwest (VI) and the two Landesligas (VII) gain direct entry to the first round. Additionally, all clubs that have reached the quarter finals of the two Bezirkspokale, the two regional cup competitions staged for teams below the'Landesligas, also enter the competition. In 2007, for example, 129 clubs took part.^[2] The lower classed team always receives home advantage, except in the final, which is played on neutral ground.

Cup finals

Held annually at the end of season, these were the cup finals since 1974:

Season	Winner	Finalist	Result	Location, Date	Attendance
1973–74	FC Rodalben
1974–75	ASV Landau
1975–76	Wormatia Worms
1976–77	SG Eintracht Bad Kreuznach
1977–78	SG Eintracht Bad Kreuznach
1978–79	1. FC Kaiserslautern II
1979–80	1. FSV Mainz 05
1980–81	BFV Hassia Bingen
1981–82	1. FSV Mainz 05
1982–83	BFV Hassia Bingen
1983–84	SV Südwest Ludwigshafen
1984–85	SC Birkenfeld
1985–86	1. FSV Mainz 05
1986–87	SV Südwest Ludwigshafen
1987–88	Wormatia Worms
1988–89	TSG Pfeddersheim
1989–90	SV Südwest Ludwigshafen
1990–91	SV Viktoria Herxheim
1991–92	Wormatia Worms
1992–93	TSG Pfeddersheim
1993–94	SV Edenkoben
1994–95	TSG Pfeddersheim
1995–96	TSG Pfeddersheim
1996–97	1. FC Kaiserslautern II	SV Viktoria Herxheim	2–1	29 May 1997
1997–98	SC Idar-Oberstein
1998–99	FK Pirmasens
1999–2000	TSG Pfeddersheim	1. FC Kaiserslautern II	2–2 (4–2 pen)	Neustadt, 7 June 2000	400
2000–01	1. FSV Mainz 05 II	VfR Grünstadt	1–0	Bad Kreuznach, 7 June 2001	400
2001–02	1. FSV Mainz 05 II	1. FC Kaiserslautern II	3–0	Alzey, 30 May 2002	1,500
2002–03	1. FSV Mainz 05 II	1. FC Kaiserslautern II	1–0	Worms, 3 June 2003	800
2003–04	1. FSV Mainz 05 II	SC Hauenstein	3–1	Ludwigshafen, 3 June 2004	500
2004–05	1. FSV Mainz 05 II	SC Hauenstein	2–0	Grünstadt, 25 May 2005
2005–06	FK Pirmasens	1. FSV Mainz 05 II	2–1	Alzey, 24 May 2006	1,150
2006–07	Wormatia Worms	1. FC Kaiserslautern II	1–0	Ludwigshafen, 1 May 2007	3,700
2007–08	1. FC Kaiserslautern II	SV Niederauerbach	2–1	21 May 2008
2008–09	Wormatia Worms	FSV Oggersheim	5–1	19 May 2009
2009–10	FK Pirmasens	FV Dudenhofen	3–0	Offenbach, 26 May 2010
2010–11	SVN Zweibrücken	SC Idar-Oberstein	2–1 pen	31 May 2011
2011–12	Wormatia Worms	FK Pirmasens	4–1	Idar-Oberstein, 22 May 2012
2012–13	TSG Pfeddersheim	Arminia Ludwigshafen	4–3 pen	Bobenheim-Roxheim, 29 May 2013
2013–14	SV Alemannia Waldalgesheim	SVN Zweibrücken	1–0	Mehlingen, 14 May 2014	1,005
2014–15	FK Pirmasens	FV Dudenhofen	1–0	Offenbach, 13 May 2015	2,500
2015–16	SC Hauenstein	TSV Schott Mainz	2–1 (aet)	Römerberg, 28 May 2016	1,002
2016–17	SV Morlautern	Wormatia Worms	2–1	Pirmasens, 25 May 2017	2,410
2017–18	Wormatia Worms	SV Alemannia Waldalgesheim	3–1 (a.e.t.)	Worms, 21 May 2018	3,393
2018–19	1. FC Kaiserslautern	Wormatia Worms	3–1	Pirmasens, 25 May 2019	7,343
2019–20	1. FC Kaiserslautern	SV Alemannia Waldalgesheim	5–3 pen	Pirmasens, 22 August 2020	400
2021–22	Schott Mainz	FK Pirmasens	3–0	Weingarten, 21 May 2022	1,008
2022–23	Schott Mainz	Wormatia Worms	7–6 pen	Pirmasens, 3 June 2023
2023–24	Schott Mainz	SV Gonsenheim	4–1	Ingelheim, 25 May 2024	2,182
2024–25	FK Pirmasens	Schott Mainz	2–1	Weingarten, 24 May 2025	1,628

Winners

Listed in order of wins, the Cup winners are:

Club	Wins
1. FSV Mainz 05 II 1	8
Wormatia Worms	7
TSG Pfeddersheim	6
1. FC Kaiserslautern II2	5
FK Pirmasens	5
SV Südwest Ludwigshafen	3
TSV Schott Mainz	3
BFV Hassia Bingen	2
SG Eintracht Bad Kreuznach	2
Alemannia Waldalgesheim	1
SVN Zweibrücken	1
SC Idar-Oberstein	1
SV Edenkoben	1
SV Viktoria Herxheim	1
SC Birkenfeld	1
ASV Landau	1
FC Rodalben	1
SC Hauenstein	1
SV Morlautern	1

¹ Includes three wins by 1. FSV Mainz 05
² Includes two wins by 1. FC Kaiserslautern