The Lower Rhine Cup (German: Niederrheinpokal) is a German football club Cup competition open to teams from the Lower Rhine region of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The competition is one of the 21 regional cup competitions of German football and acts as a qualifier for the following seasons' German Cup.
The competition is sponsored by the Diebels brewery and carries the official name Diebels Niederrheinpokal. It is operated by the Lower Rhine Football Association, the FVN.Diebels Niederrheinpokal FVN website. Retrieved 9 July 2012
Modus Clubs from fully professional leagues are not permitted to enter the competition, meaning, no teams from the Fußball-Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga can compete.
All clubs from the Lower Rhine playing in the 3. Liga (III), Regionalliga West (IV) and Oberliga Niederrhein (V) are directly qualified for the first round, the remaining places in the first round are filled with the teams who qualified from local cup competitions, the Kreispokale.
Since the establishment of the 3. Liga in 2008, reserve teams can not take part in the German Cup or the Lower Rhine Cup anymore.
Winners The past winners of the competition:Endspiele und Titelgewinner im Niederrheinpokal FVN website – Finals and winners of the Lower Rhine Cup. Retrieved 9 July 2012
ClubWinsYears Rot-Weiss Essen 12 1995, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2023, 2024, 2025 Wuppertaler SV 7 1981, 1985, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2021 MSV Duisburg 4 1989, 2014, 2017, 2026 FC Remscheid 3 1990, 1991, 1994 Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 3 1996, 1998, 2018 Schwarz-Weiß Essen 2 1987, 2010 SSVg. Velbert 2 2003, 2006 KFC Uerdingen 05 2 2001, 2019 Sportfreunde Baumberg 1 2013 VfB Speldorf 1 2009 Borussia Mönchengladbach Amateure 1 1997 SV Viktoria Goch 1 1986 1. FC Bocholt 1 1983 Bayer 05 Uerdingen Amateure 1 1982 SV Straelen 1 2022 No cup held or winner known for 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1993. In 1992 Wuppertaler SV und Fortuna Düsseldorf Amateure both qualified for the first round of the German Cup through the Lower Rhine Cup.
References
Deutschlands Fußball in Zahlen, An annual publication with tables and results from the Bundesliga to Verbandsliga/Landesliga, publisher: DSFS
External links Fussball.de: Lower Rhine Cup Diebels Niederrheinpokal FVN website