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{{short description|German association football club from Chemnitz, Saxony}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox football club
| clubname      = Chemnitzer FC
| fullname      = Chemnitzer Fußballclub e.V.
| image         = Chemnitzer FC Logo.svg
| upright  = 0.8
| nickname      = ''Die Himmelblauen'' (Sky Blues)
| founded       = {{Start date and age |df=yes|1966|1|15}}
| ground        = [[Stadion an der Gellertstraße]]
| capacity      = 15,200{{contradictory inline|date=January 2024|article=Chemnitzer FC|section=Stadium}}{{cn|date=January 2024}}
| manager       = Michael Reichardt
| coach         = [[Benjamin Duda]]
| league        = [[Regionalliga Nordost]]
| season        = [[2024–25 Regionalliga|2024–25]]
| position      = 7th
| website       = {{URL|https://www.chemnitzerfc.de/cfc/home/|chemnitzerfc.de}}
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'''Chemnitzer Fußballclub e.V.''' is a [[Football in Germany|German association football club]] based in [[Chemnitz]], Saxony. The club competes in [[Regionalliga Nordost]], the fourth tier of German football.

The roots of the club go back to its establishment as Chemnitzer BC 1933, following the financial collapse of former Chemnitzer BC 1899.

==History==
{{main|Chemnitzer BC}}
The club was initially formed by students from [[Mittweida]] as Chemnitzer SC Britannia on 2 December 1899.

On 28 January 1900, Chemnitzer SC Britannia was a [[Founding Clubs of the DFB|founding member]] of the [[German Football Association]] (DFB) in [[Leipzig]]. During April the same year, the club changed its name to [[Chemnitzer BC|Chemnitzer BC 1899]].

On 8 August 1903, the club became a founding member of the Verband Chemnitzer Fußball-Vereine (VCFV). This local federation was included into the Verband Mitteldeutscher Fußball-Vereine (VMBV), the great regional federation of Central Germany, two years later.

Until 1933, Chemnitzer BC were a strong side of the VMBV leagues. They took part in the WMBV's final round fifteen times, reaching the final once in 1927. Despite a 0–4 defeat against [[VfB Leipzig]], Chemnitz qualified for the [[1927 German football championship]] as vice-champions, where they lost in the first round against eventual champions [[1. FC Nürnberg]], 1–5.

In 1933, Chemnitzer BC 1899 came into financial difficulties.{{vague|date=January 2024|reason='came into financial difficulties'? is there anything more specific?}} Despite a merger with local rivals SC Sachsen 1909 Chemnitz, bankruptcy and [[liquidation]] could not be avoided. The side was then immediately re-formed under the name Chemnitzer BC 1933, which assumed the history of the old club. CBC 1933 were part of the [[Gauliga]] Saxony until the end of [[World War II]].

===FC Karl-Marx-Stadt===
[[File:Chemnitzer Performance Chart.png|260px|thumb|Historical chart of Chemnitzer FC league performance]]
In the aftermath of the conflict, most organizations in Germany, including sports and football clubs, were dissolved by the Allied occupation authorities. The side was re-established in 1945 as SG Chemnitz Nord before, as it was common in [[East Germany|East German]] football at the time, undergoing a number of name changes, from BSG Fewa Chemnitz in 1948 to BSG Chemie Chemnitz in 1951. Upon the renaming of the city of [[Chemnitz]] to Karl-Marx-Stadt in 1953, the club followed suit and assumed the new city name as well. In 1956, the football club was attached to the larger centralized sports club SC Motor Karl-Marx-Stadt, which was in turn renamed SC Karl-Marx-Stadt in 1963. The football department was then once again separated from the sports club as ''FC Karl-Marx-Stadt'' in 1966, under a government plan to establish a number of [[Football club (East Germany)|football clubs]] as centres throughout the country intended to identify and develop talent in support of a strong national side. When the city re-claimed its original name in 1991, the team followed suit to become Chemnitzer FC.

After joining the [[DDR-Oberliga]] for the [[1962–63 DDR-Oberliga|1962–63 season]], the club generally earned uninspiring results, most often finishing in the lower half of the league table. They managed a surprising East German championship win at the end of the [[1966–67 DDR-Oberliga|1966–67 season]], and were runners-up in the East German Cup ([[FDGB Cup]]) in 1969, 1983 and 1989. The club enjoyed its best international turn in 1989, advancing through two preliminary rounds to the Round of 16 of the [[1989–90 UEFA Cup]] before being knocked out against [[Juventus FC|Juventus]]. In the same season the team finished as runners-up in the East German championship, second to ''[[Dynamo Dresden]]'' on goal differential.

After [[German reunification]] in 1990, Chemnitzer FC qualified for the [[2. Bundesliga]] at the end of the [[1990–91 NOFV-Oberliga]]. Beginning with the [[1991–92 2. Bundesliga|1991–92 season]], Chemnitz spent five years in the second tier of German football until being relegated to the then third-tier [[Regionalliga]] in 1996, and also advanced to the semi-final of the [[1992–93 DFB-Pokal]] during this time. Since then, the importance of the club has faded. The following four years were evenly split between the Regionalliga and the 2. Bundesliga, before eventually being relegated back to the Regionalliga (III) in 2001, and subsequently to the [[NOFV-Oberliga Süd]] (IV) in 2006. The last couple of years, however, saw the club slowly rising through the German league system once again with promotions to the now fourth-tier Regionalliga in 2008 and the [[3. Liga]] in 2011. In 2018, the club was relegated to the fourth league.<ref name="Archiv" >{{cite web|url=http://www.f-archiv.de/|title=Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv|language=German|access-date=8 October 2017}}</ref><ref name="Fussball" >{{cite web|url=http://www.fussball.de/mannschaft/chemnitzer-fc-chemnitzer-fc-sachsen/-/saison/1415/team-id/011MIBR3HK000000VTVG0001VTR8C1K7#!/section/stage|title=Chemnitzer FC|website=Fussball.de|language=German|access-date=8 October 2017}}</ref>

[[File:2021-05-29 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig gegen Chemnitzer FC (Finale Wernesgrüner Sachsenpokal 2020-21) by Sandro Halank–087.jpg|thumb|200px|A Chemnitzer player in 2018 wearing the home kit]]

==Club identity and supporters==
In 2019 the club was at the centre of a controversy after the club, some of its players and fans paid tribute to Thomas Haller, a prominent [[Far-right politics in Germany|far-right]] activist, before kick-off against [[VSG Altglienicke]] at home on 9 March 2019. Haller, who provided security for the club and co-founded [[HooNaRa]] (Hooligans-Nazis-Racists) in the 1990s received a minute's silence, while a picture of Haller was displayed on a large screen at the stadium.<ref>[https://www.thelocal.de/20190311/chemnitzer-football-club-fires-staff-over-neo-nazi-tribute Chemnitz football club fires staff over neo-Nazi tribute]</ref> Chemnitzer FC forward [[Daniel Frahn]] held up a shirt honouring Haller and other "local hooligans". The club's chief executive, Thomas Uhlig, resigned as a result of the controversy, and Sparkasse Chemnitz said it would no longer sponsor the club after the end of that season.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-03-11 |title=Chemnitzer FC: Far-right tribute taints German football club |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47524378 |access-date=2023-11-16}}</ref>

The incident led to a four-match suspension and a €3,000 fine for Chemnitzer FC striker [[Daniel Frahn]], who had held up a "Support your local hools!" T-shirt during the tribute to Haller. In August that year, while sidelined with injury, Frahn was seen among supporters affiliated with far-right groups such as 'Kaotic Chemnitz' and the now-defunct 'NS Boys' during a match against Hallescher FC. The club responded by terminating his contract for "massive club-damaging behaviour", citing his apparent sympathy with extremist fan elements.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/aug/05/chemnitzer-fc-sack-captain-for-openly-displaying-sympathy-for-neo-nazi-groups|title=Chemnitzer FC sack captain for 'openly displaying' sympathy for neo-Nazi groups|last=Oltermann|first=Philip|date=5 August 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=5 August 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

The dismissal provoked support for Frahn from a portion of the fanbase, some of whom chanted racist and anti-Semitic slogans at subsequent matches. Frahn issued a public statement denying far-right affiliations and condemning the offensive chants, which included "at least Daniel Frahn isn't a negro" and "Thomas Sobotzik, you Jewish pig".<ref name="Thorogood 2019">{{cite news |last=Thorogood |first=James |date=27 July 2019 |title=Chemnitzer FC’s battle with their right-wing fans |url=https://www.dw.com/en/daniel-frahn-chemnitzer-fc-and-the-battle-with-their-right-wing-fans/a-50179270 |work=[[DW News]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=18 June 2025}}</ref> He said his intent had been to maintain strong ties with supporters, not to endorse extremist ideologies. Nonetheless, the club lodged police complaints over the chants and affirmed its opposition to discrimination. Chemnitz, where the club is based, has shown significant far-right electoral support, with the [[Alternative for Germany]] gaining 23.5% of the vote locally in the [[2019 European Parliament election in Germany]]. Nevertheless, Chemnitzer FC has publicly committed to promoting inclusivity and distancing itself from extremist influences.<ref name="Thorogood 2019"/>

==Honours==
===League===
* '''[[DDR-Oberliga]]'''
** Champions: 1967{{cn|date=January 2024}}
** Runners-up: 1990{{cn|date=January 2024}}
* '''[[Central German football championship]]'''
** Runners-up: 1922, 1927, 1929{{cn|date=January 2024}}
* '''[[Regionalliga Nord]] (Tier 4)'''
** Champions: 2011
* '''[[Regionalliga Nordost]] (Tier 3 & 4)'''
** Champions: 1999, 2019

===Cup===
* '''[[FDGB-Pokal]]'''
** Runners-up: 1969, 1983, 1989{{cn|date=January 2024}}
* '''[[DFB-Pokal]]'''
** Semi-finalist: 1993
* '''Fuwo-Pokal''' ([[:de:Fuwo-Pokal|de]])
** Winners: 1972{{cn|date=January 2024}}

===Regional===
* '''[[Gauliga Sachsen]]'''
** Champions: 1935, 1936{{cn|date=January 2024}}
* '''[[Saxony Cup]] (Tiers 3–7)'''
** Winners (12): 1997, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, [[2013–14 Verbandspokal|2014]], [[2014–15 Verbandspokal|2015]], [[2016–17 Verbandspokal|2017]], [[2018–19 Verbandspokal|2019]], [[2019–20 Verbandspokal|2020]], [[2021–22 Verbandspokal|2022]]

==Players==
===Current squad===
{{updated|15 January 2025}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chemnitzerfc.de/cfc/1-mannschaft/team/|title=1. Mannschaft - Team|website=chemnitzerfc.de}}</ref>

{{fs start}}
{{fs player|no= 1|pos=GK|nat=GER|name=Daniel Adamczyk}}
{{fs player|no= 4|pos=DF|nat=GER|name=Niclas Walther}}
{{fs player|no= 6|pos=MF|nat=GER|name=[[Niclas Erlbeck]]}}
{{fs player|no= 7|pos=MF|nat=GER|name=[[Fynn Seidel]]}}
{{fs player|no= 8|pos=MF|nat=GER|name=Nils Lihsek}}
{{fs player|no=10|pos=FW|nat=GER|name=Artur Mergel}}
{{fs player|no=11|pos=FW|nat=GER|name=Louis Malina}}
{{fs player|no=13|pos=FW|nat=GER|name=[[Leon Damer]]}}
{{fs player|no=14|pos=FW|nat=KOR|name=[[Seo Jong-min]]}}
{{fs player|no=16|pos=MF|nat=GER|name=Manuel Reutter}}
{{fs player|no=17|pos=MF|nat=GER|name=[[Anton Rücker]]}}
{{fs player|no=18|pos=FW|nat=GER|name=[[Dardan Karimani]]}}
{{fs mid}}
{{fs player|no=19|pos=DF|nat=GER|name=Ole Schiebold}}
{{fs player|no=20|pos=FW|nat=GER|name=Ephraim Eshele}}
{{fs player|no=21|pos=DF|nat=GER|name=[[Robert Zickert]]}}
{{fs player|no=22|pos=GK|nat=GER|name=David Wunsch}}
{{fs player|no=23|pos=DF|nat=GER|name=Felix Müller}}
{{fs player|no=25|pos=DF|nat=GER|name=Roman Eppendorfer}}
{{fs player|no=26|pos=MF|nat=GER|name=Luca Löwelt}}
{{fs player|no=27|pos=FW|nat=GER|name=Luis Fischer}}
{{fs player|no=29|pos=MF|nat=GER|name=[[Tom Baumgart]]}}
{{fs player|no=32|pos=GK|nat=GER|name=Clemens Boldt}}
{{fs player|no=33|pos=FW|nat=GER|name=[[Dejan Božić]]}}
{{fs player|no=38|pos=MF|nat=GER|name=[[Tobias Müller (footballer, born 1993)|Tobias Müller]]}}
{{fs end}}

==Coaches==
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2018}}
* Karl Haueisen&nbsp;– 1952 to 1953
* <!-- Heinz Hartmann (football manager) -->Heinz Hartmann&nbsp;– 1953 to 1955
* [[Rolf Kukowitsch]]&nbsp;– 1955
* [[Walter Fritzsch]]&nbsp;– 1956–1957
* Fritz Wittenbecher&nbsp;– February 1958 to May 1958
* Hans Höfer&nbsp;– May 1958 to December 1960
* Siegfried Seifert&nbsp;– September 1960 to February 1961
* [[Heinz Werner (footballer, born 1916)|Heinz Werner]]&nbsp;– 1 March 1961 to 1963
* Horst Scherbaum&nbsp;– 1963 to 1968
* [[Bringfried Müller]]&nbsp;– 1968 to 1970
* <!-- Heinz Weber (football manager) -->Heinz Weber&nbsp;– 1970 to 30 June 1971
* Gerhard Hofmann&nbsp;– 1 July 1971 to December 1974
* [[Dieter Erler]]&nbsp;– December 1974 to 1976
* Herbert Naumann&nbsp;– 1976 to 31 March 1976
* [[Manfred Kupferschmied]]&nbsp;– 1 April 1976 to 1980
* [[Manfred Lienemann]]&nbsp;– 1981 to 1985
* <!-- Heinz Werner (footballer, born 1935) -->Heinz Werner&nbsp;– 1985 to 1988
* [[Hans Meyer (football)|Hans Meyer]]&nbsp;– 1988 to 30. June 1993
* [[Reinhard Häfner]]&nbsp;– 1 July 1993 to 15 May 1996
* [[Christoph Franke]]&nbsp;– 15 May 1996 to 7 September 2000
* [[Josip Kuze]]&nbsp;– 7 September 2000 to 29 November 2000
* [[Manfred Lienemann]]&nbsp;– 29 November 2000 to 10 December 2000
* [[Dirk Karkuth]]&nbsp;– 11 December 2000 to 24 August 2001
* [[Matthias Schulz]]&nbsp;– 24 August 2001 to 31 October 2002
* [[Dirk Barsikow]]&nbsp;– 31 October 2002 to 11 November 2002
* [[Joachim Müller (footballer, born 1952)|Joachim Müller]]&nbsp;– 11 November 2002 to 18 June 2003
* [[Frank Rohde]]&nbsp;– 18 June 2003 to 18 September 2004
* [[Dirk Barsikow]]&nbsp;– 18 September 2004 to 4 March 2005
* [[Dietmar Demuth]]&nbsp;– 5 March 2005 to 15 December 2005
* [[Joachim Müller (footballer, born 1952)|Joachim Müller]]&nbsp;– 15. December 2005 to 7 April 2007
* Tino Vogel&nbsp;– 10 April 2007&nbsp;– 21 April 2008
* [[Christoph Franke]]&nbsp;– 21 April 2008 to 30 June 2008
* [[Gerd Schädlich]]&nbsp;– 1 July 2008 to 6 October 2013
* [[Karsten Heine]]&nbsp;– 9 October 2013 to 2 March 2016
* [[Sven Köhler (footballer, born 1966)|Sven Köhler]]&nbsp;– 2 March 2016 to 30 June 2017
* [[Horst Steffen]]&nbsp;– 1 July 2017 to 2 January 2018
* [[Sreto Ristić]]&nbsp;– 2 January 2018 to 6 January 2018
* [[David Bergner]]&nbsp;– 6 January 2018 to 4 September 2019
* [[Sreto Ristić]]&nbsp;– 4 September 2019 to 22 September 2019
* [[Patrick Glöckner]]&nbsp;– 22 September 2019 to 16 July 2020
* Daniel Berlinski&nbsp;– 20 July 2020 to 1 March 2022
* [[Christian Tiffert]]&nbsp;– 1 March 2022 to 2 September 2024
* Benjamin Duda&nbsp;– 8 September 2024 to

==Recent seasons==
The recent season-by-season performance of the club:<ref name="Archiv" /><ref name="Fussball" />
{|class="wikitable"
! Year
! Division
! [[German football league system|Tier]]
! Position
|- style="text-align:center;"
|1999–00
|style="text-align:left;"|[[2. Bundesliga]]
|rowspan=2|II
|11th
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2000–01
|style="text-align:left;"|2. Bundesliga
|style="background:#ffcccc"|18th ↓
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2001–02
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Regionalliga Nord]]
|rowspan=5|III
|6th
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2002–03
|style="text-align:left;"|Regionalliga Nord
|11th
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2003–04
|style="text-align:left;"|Regionalliga Nord
|11th
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2004–05
|style="text-align:left;"|Regionalliga Nord
|15th
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2005–06
|style="text-align:left;"|Regionalliga Nord
|style="background:#ffcccc"|19th ↓
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2006–07
|style="text-align:left;"|[[NOFV-Oberliga Süd]]
|rowspan=5|IV
|2nd
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2007–08
|style="text-align:left;"|NOFV-Oberliga Süd
|style="background:#ddffdd"|2nd ↑
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2008–09
|style="text-align:left;"|Regionalliga Nord
|7th
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2009–10
|style="text-align:left;"|Regionalliga Nord
|3rd
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2010–11
|style="text-align:left;"|Regionalliga Nord
|style="background:#ddffdd"|1st ↑
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2011–12
|style="text-align:left;"|3. Liga
|rowspan=7|III
|6th
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2012–13
|style="text-align:left;"|3. Liga
|9th
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2013–14
|style="text-align:left;"|3. Liga
|12th
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2014–15
|style="text-align:left;"|3. Liga
|5th
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2015–16
|style="text-align:left;"|3. Liga
|6th
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2016–17
|style="text-align:left;"|3. Liga
|8th
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2017–18
|style="text-align:left;"|3. Liga
|style="background:#ffcccc"|19th ↓
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2018–19
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Regionalliga Nordost]]
||IV
|style="background:#ddffdd"|1st ↑
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2019–20
|style="text-align:left;"|3. Liga
|III
|style="background:#ffcccc"|17th ↓
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2020–21
|style="text-align:left;"|Regionalliga Nordost
|rowspan=2|IV
|10th
|- style="text-align:center;"
|2021–22
|style="text-align:left;"|Regionalliga Nordost
|5th
|}
* With the introduction of the [[Regionalliga]]s in 1994 and the [[3. Liga]] in 2008 as the new third tier, below the [[2. Bundesliga]], all leagues below dropped one tier.{{cn|date=January 2024}}

;Key
{|class="wikitable" align="center"
|style="background:#ddffdd"|↑ <small>[[Promotion and relegation|Promoted]]</small>
|style="background:#ffcccc"|↓ <small>[[Promotion and relegation|Relegated]]</small>
|}

==Reserve team==
The [[German reserve football teams|club's reserve team]], '''Chemnitzer FC II''', most recently played in the tier five [[NOFV-Oberliga Süd]]. It first played at this level from 1993 to 1998 with a runners-up finish in 1996 as its best result. After relegation and an absence of thirteen seasons the team returned to the Oberliga in 2010.<ref name="Archiv"/><ref name="Fussballreserve" >{{cite web|url=http://www.fussball.de/mannschaft/chemnitzer-fc-ii-chemnitzer-fc-sachsen/-/saison/1415/team-id/011MICQKVG000000VTVG0001VTR8C1K7#!/section/stage|title=Chemnitzer FC II|website=Fussball.de|language=de|access-date=8 October 2017}}</ref> The club announced that it would withdraw its reserve team at the end of the 2014–15 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fupa.net/berichte/rueckzugswelle-der-u23-teams-265338.html|title=Rückzugswelle der U23 Teams?|website=fupa.net|language=de|date=30 March 2015|access-date=8 October 2017}}</ref>

The team also made a losing appearance in the 1996 [[Saxony Cup]] final.

==Stadium==
''Chemnitzer FC'' plays in the club-owned [[Stadion an der Gellertstraße]] which has a capacity of 16,061 spectators (~540 seats).{{contradictory inline|date=January 2024|article=Chemnitzer FC|section=Infobox}} Until 1990, the facility was officially known as "Dr. Kurt-Fischer-Stadion", or locally as the "Fischerwiese". During its [[2. Fußball-Bundesliga|2. Bundesliga]] seasons, the club also made use of the larger [[Sportforum Chemnitz|Chemnitzer Sportforum]], which has a capacity of over 19,000.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Chemnitzer FC}}
*{{Official website}}
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20020725152250/http://www.abseits-soccer.com/clubs/chemnitz.html The Abseits Guide to German Soccer]}}
*[http://www.cfc-fanpage.de/ CFC Fanpage]
*[http://www.cfc-fans.com/ CFC Fans]

{{Chemnitzer FC}}
{{Regionalliga Nordost}}
{{2. Bundesliga}}
{{3. Liga}}
{{U19 Bundesliga North Northeast}}
{{U17 Bundesliga North Northeast}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Chemnitzer FC| ]]
[[Category:Football clubs in Germany]]
[[Category:Football clubs in East Germany]]
[[Category:Football clubs in Saxony]]
[[Category:Association football clubs established in 1966]]
[[Category:1966 establishments in East Germany]]
[[Category:Sport in Chemnitz]]
[[Category:2. Bundesliga clubs]]
[[Category:3. Liga clubs]]
[[Category:SC Karl-Marx-Stadt]]
[[Category:Right-wing politics in sports]]