History
The club has its roots in the village teams of SG Sigambria Geisweid, founded in 1908, and SpVgg Klafeld. In 1927 these two sides merged to form SpVgg Klafeld-Geisweid. This club was joined by Turngemeinde Friesen in 1946 to form VfL Klafeld-Geisweid. The gymnastics department would separate the following year to become Turngemeinde Friesen Klafeld-Geisweid 1889.
After World War II in 1946 the footballers began play in the Berzirksliga Siegerland (V) and won promotion to the Landesliga Westfalen (IV) in 1952. They played at that level, with the exception of a single season demotion, until they advanced to the Verbandsliga Westfalen-2 (III) for the first time in 1964. A seventeenth place finish saw the club quickly relegated, but they returned to third tier football in 1967. Just four years later, despite losing the overall division championship 0:1 to Arminia Gütersloh, the team earned promotion to the second division Regionalliga West for the 1971–72 season, which was the high point of the club's history. The team was well-supported in spite of its poor performance in the Regionalliga, drawing nearly 4,000 spectators a game. Part of the club's success through these years was based on the support of Hans Elbracht, head of the Edelstahlwerke Südwestfalen GmbH steelworks in Geisweid, who made jobs available for the players, a critical contribution in an era of still largely amateur football in Germany.
The side fell quickly after their single season turn in the Regionalliga, through Verbandsliga to the fourth division Landesliga within two years. On 13 October 1974 VFL lost a friendly to Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt by a score of 0:9.
The club recovered itself and returned to third division play on the strength of a Landesliga title in 1978. VfL acquitted itself well finishing in the upper half of the table in five of the next seven seasons before being sent down again in 1984. During this stretch the club made its first German Cup appearances in 1981 and 1982 losing 1:2 to Rot-Weiß Frankfurt and 0:4 to VfB Stuttgart II.
Read more about this topic: Vf L Klafeld-Geisweid 08
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