Stuttgarter Kickers is a German association football club that plays in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, founded on 21 September 1899 as FC Stuttgarter Cickers. The club currently plays in the Regionalliga Südwest, the fourth tier of German football.
Contents
History
In its early years the club had a decent local squad that played in the Südkreis-Liga, Kreisliga Württemberg and then in the Bezirksliga Württemberg. With the reorganization of German football during the Third Reich in 1933, the team – now known as SV Stuttgarter Kickers – found itself in the Gauliga Württemberg, one of sixteen top tier regional leagues established in the country during that time. It continued to have good results locally, but was unable to impress beyond its own area. In the final year of World War II, the Kickers fielded a combined wartime squad with Sportfreunde Stuttgart.
After the war the club resumed play in the Oberliga Süd and performed as a mid-table team early on. By 1950 it had slipped to the lower half of the table with a seemingly solid grip in 14th place, constantly struggling to avoid relegation throughout the decade. Kickers spent the early 60s in tier II football, but after the formation of the Bundesliga, Germany's new professional league, in 1963, the club was moved to the Regionalliga Süd. In 1974, that league went professional and became the 2. Bundesliga. Between 1963 and the late 1980s, the team had varying results, but finally stabilized in the upper half of the standings toward the end of that period. It has one losing appearance to its credit in the DFB-Pokal in 1987, and in 1988–89 it made it to the Bundesliga for the first time. It ended a run of 28 years as a second division outfit. The team was immediately relegated after a 17th-place finish, but continued to deliver some of its best performances. Die Blauen advanced to the semi-finals of the 2000 DFB-Pokal and then had a second turn in the Bundesliga in 1991–92, but with the same result as its earlier time up. Over the next decade, the club played largely in the second division, before slipping to the Regionalliga Süd (III) in 2001, where they remained until 2008, when a tenth-place finish narrowly qualified them for the new 3. Liga. They finished last (20th) in the 3. Liga in 2008–09 and were relegated to the Regionalliga Süd. After three seasons at Regionalliga level, the Kickers returned to the 3. Liga in 2012, where it played for four seasons until relegation at the end of 2015–16, now dropping down to the Regionalliga Südwest. In 2018, they were relegated once more to the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg. It spent five seasons in the Oberliga before being promoted back into the Regionalliga with a first-place finish in 2023. In its first season back in the Regionalliga, the Kickers narrowly missed back-to-back promotions after finishing in second place, just two points off the lead.
Other departments
The Stuttgarter Kickers also have handball, athletics, table tennis, cheerleading, and lacrosse departments. The association is also recognized for its training of football referees and other game officials. They had a field hockey department too, which in 1957 became independent under the name of HTC Stuttgarter Kickers.
Players
Current squad
As of 5 February 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Reserve team
The Stuttgarter Kickers II, historically also known as Stuttgarter Kickers Amateure, have been playing in the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg since 2000. Previously, the team fluctuated between the Landesliga and Verbandsliga Württemberg.
Honours
The club's honours:
Recent seasons
The recent season-by-season performance of the club:
With the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 and the 3. Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier.
Presidential history
The club's presidents:
1900–1900 Hans Schröder
1900–1900 Hans Spandau
1900–1901 Gustav Dreher
1901–1902 Richard Dürr
1902–1904 Viktor Mäulen
1904–1905 Gustav Dreher
1905–1908 Alfred Hezel
1908–1911 Hans Trapp
1911–1912 Anton Salg
1912–1919 Hans Trapp
1919–1921 Albert Mann
1921–1926 Friedrich Häussermann
1927–1929 Max Maurer
1929–1934 Gotthilf Waizenegger
1934–1937 Karl Umgelter
1937–1945 Hermann Kurz
1945–1948 Eugen Grau
1948–1950 Richard "Molly" Schauffele
1950–1951 Max Maurer
1951–1952 Wilhelm Reuter
1952–1955 Dr. Erich Häussermann
1955–1957 Erich Scriba
1957–1957 Philipp Metzler
1957–1958 Hermann Ulrich
Coaching history
The club's coaches:
7 January 1945 – 30 June 1946 Ossi Müller
7 January 1946 – 30 June 1947 Albert Cozza
7 January 1947 – 30 June 1948 Albert Cozza, Josef "Seppl" Müller and Lory Polster
7 January 1948 – 30 June 1950 Emil Melcher
7 January 1950 – 30 June 1951 Kuno Krügel
7 January 1951 – 30 June 1952 Fritz Kerr
7 January 1952 – 30 June 1953 Kuno Krügel
7 January 1953 – 30 June 1954 Eduard Havlicek
7 January 1954 – 30 June 1956 Georg Bayerer
7 January 1956 – 30 June 1958 Oswald Pfau
7 January 1958 – 30 June 1960 Benda Hügel
7 January 1960 – 30 June 1962 Karl-Heinz Grindler
7 January 1961 – 30 April 1962 Jenö Csaknady
5 January 1962 – 30 June 1962 Albert Sing
7 January 1962 – 30 June 1966 Hans Eberle
7 January 1966 – 30 June 1969 Georg Wurzer
7 January 1969 – 30 November 1969 Gerd Menne
12 January 1969 – 30 June 1971 Georg Wurzer