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