BFC Germania 1888

BFC Germania 1888 was founded as BFC Germania by 17-year-old Paul Jestram, his three brothers (Max, Fritz, and Walter Jestram), and a number of their schoolmates from Askanischen Gymnasium, at a time when football was not yet common in Germany, the first football games having been played in Berlin and Hamburg in the winter of 1881–82 by expatriate Englishmen. No football pitches had yet been built so BFC played on the Tempelhofer Field where an airport would later be constructed.

Germany's first unofficial champion

BFC Germania 1888 was part of the country's first football league, the BDF (Bund Deutscher Fußballspieler or Federation of German Football Players) which was formed in November 1890 and was active until February 1892. The league was made up of the Berlin-based clubs BFC Vorwärts 1890, BFC Askania 1890, BFC Borussia 1890, BFC Concordia 1890, BFC Hellas 1890, BFC Tasmania 1890 and BFC Teutonia 1891. Germania emerged the winner in a tournament staged by the league, and as the DBF was the only football league in the country at the time, can lay claim to being Germany's first champion. Club records indicate that BFC then defended their title, but no supporting evidence has been found. Disagreement over whether or not to allow foreign players to participate in the championship rounds and how to manage the transfer of players between teams led to the collapse of the BDF and the formation of the DFuCB (Deutschen Fußball- und Cricket Bund or German Football and…