Arminia Bielefeld

Founding and early years (1905–1918)

Arminia Bielefeld was founded on 3 May 1905 as 1. Bielefelder FC Arminia. The fourteen men who founded the club were from the local bourgeoisie. Arminia's name derives from the Cheruscan chieftain Arminius, who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Two weeks later, the club played its first match against a team from Osnabrück. Neither the name of the opponent nor the result are known. The club was admitted to the German Football Association in the same year and started to play in a league (in one consisting only of Arminia and three teams from Osnabrück, at first) in 1906. In 1907, local rivals FC Siegfried joined Arminia, a move which strengthened Arminia's squad. Soon other clubs from Bielefeld joined League football. After playing on various grounds, Arminia moved to a new home at the Pottenau in 1910. Their first league championship came during the 1912–13 season, when they won the Westphalian championship beating BV 04 Dortmund 5–1 in the final. The outbreak of World War I interrupted Arminia's rise, and between 1914 and 1918 the club played at the district level.

West German Champions and "The Alm" (1918–1933)

In 1919, Arminia merged with Bielefelder Turngemeinde 1848 to form TG Arminia Bielefeld. However, the two merged teams dissolved the merger in 1922 and both parent clubs were formed again. Arminia won the West German championship in 1922. Originally, they were level on points with…

Arminia Bielefeld has never won any major trophies, but they have won some silverware on a minor level.

League titles

2. Bundesliga: (II) Champions: 1977–78, 1979–80, 1998–99, 2019–20 3. Liga: (III) Champions: 2014–15, 2024–25 Regionalliga West/Südwest: (III) Champions: 1994–95 Oberliga Westfalen: (III) Champions: 1989–90

Regional titles

Western German football championship Winners: 1922, 1923

Cups

West German Cup Winners: 1966, 1974 Westphalian Cup Winners: 1908, 1932, 1991, 2012, 2013, 2024, 2025 DFB-Pokal Runners-up: 2024–25