A cool morning settles over the slopes of the Saar Valley as the first rays of sunlight touch the Kaiserlinde tree. Nestled among half-timbered houses and narrow streets, a place awakens that barely registers on maps – yet it now plays a lively role in professional football. And the club almost qualified for the top flight, narrowly losing out to 1. FC Heidenheim in the summer's relegation play-offs. But this season, too, demonstrates that in Elversberg, the smallest town in the entire 2. Bundesliga, the tranquility of everyday life blends seamlessly with footballing excellence.
Today, when people think of SV Elversberg, they picture the surprise promotion winner – but the club’s roots stretch far back, to a time when football was still played on open fields. Founded in 1907 as „FC Germania Elversberg,“ the club experienced its early years as a rollercoaster of euphoria and turmoil: World War I led to its dissolution in 1914, but the club was re-established in 1918 – this time as „Sportvereinigung Elversberg VfB.“
With the construction of the sports field at the Kaiserlinde in the 1920s, the team finally found a permanent home. On the field, they fluctuated between the A-Class, the District League, and the Regional League. After World War II, the occupying powers reorganised the club system, and in 1945, all the local sports clubs merged to form the „Sportgemeinde Elversberg.“
After several years in the district and regional leagues, the club achieved promotion to the Landesliga, the highest amateur league in Saarland, in 1951. In 1952, the club reverted to its original name, „Sportvereinigung Elversberg VfB 07,“ which later became „SV 07 Elversberg e.V.“
What hardly anyone could have foreseen at the time: decades later, this Saarland community would become a professional club, poised to establish itself in the 2. Bundesliga. The Saarlanders were already competing in the second division for the third consecutive season.
| Top Scorers | Top Assists |
| Younes Ebnoutalib – 10 Goals | Bambasé Conté – 5 Assists |
| Bambasé Conté – 3 Goals | Lukas Petkov – 2 Assists |
| Lukas Petkov – 2 Goals | Nicholas Mickelson – 2 Assists |
| Frederik Schmahl – 2 Goals | Lukasz Poreba – 2 Assist |
| Felix Keidel – 2 Goals | Felix Keidel – 2 Assist |
Vincent Wagner
Head coach at SV 07 ElversbergSV Elversberg currently dominates the offensive statistics. With 210 shots on goal, the team leads the league. They not only regularly put opposing goalkeepers under pressure, but also frequently find the back of the net: 27 goals is also a league-leading figure. Arminia Bielefeld follows in second place with 25 goals.
The hall smells of sweat and rubber, the sound of feet striking the mats echoes off the walls. A young Younes Ebnoutalib stands barefoot in the centre, his gaze fixed on his father. Faissal Ebnoutalib, Olympic silver medalist in taekwondo, corrects his son’s posture, gently rotating his hips. The boy nods—and the next moment, his foot shoots upward with lightning speed, clean, precise, powerful. No one in the hall at that time suspected that these movements would one day form the basis for a completely different career.
Today, you can recognise it in every sprint he makes, in every physical contact, in every turn in tight spaces. Younes Ebnoutalib possesses a sporting foundation that is rare in professional football: a black belt. Ebnoutalib’s football career began at the age of 14 in the youth academy of SV 07 Heddernheim, and he later moved to Rot-Weiss Frankfurt before joining the youth team of SV Wehen Wiesbaden in 2019. After another stint at Rot-Weiss Frankfurt, he moved to Italy in 2022, where he played for the U19 team of AC Perugia. His contract was later terminated due to a broken foot, leaving him without a club for six months. In January 2025, he returned to Germany and signed with FC Gießen in the Regionalliga Südwest (fourth tier) – there, he scored six goals and provided several assists in 19 appearances.
… Later that same year, he made the jump to the 2nd Bundesliga: SV 07 Elversberg signed him on January 1, 2025, with a long-term contract until 2028. And Ebnoutalib is delivering: This season he has made 13 appearances and scored ten goals.
The Bundesliga finalised the match schedules for matchdays three through six on Wednesday (July 15th): Darmstadt's home game against Hannover 96 on matchday three will take place on Sunday. This will be followed by their away game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday at 1pm. The home game against Arminia Bielefeld on Friday evening and the away game in Wolfsburg, also on Friday evening, have also been confirmed.
The Lilies can welcome another new arrival at the Böllenfalltor: Florian Kleinhansl will now wear the SV 98 jersey. The 25-year-old joins on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with 1. FC Kaiserslautern on June 30th.
Third test, third clear victory. SV 98 won the match against FC 08 Homburg 5-1 (3-0).
SV Darmstadt 98 and the fusion energy company Focused Energy are entering into an official partnership. The aim of the collaboration is to more closely link top-level football and high technology from the Darmstadt region and to jointly generate momentum for innovation and future societal issues.
Killian Corredor will be playing in his home country again in the future. SV 98 has reached an agreement with FC Nantes on the transfer of the Frenchman.
On Tuesday (July 14, 6pm), SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Regionalliga side FC Homburg and asks fans to take note of the following information.
A home game against KSV! SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Holstein Kiel for the opening matchday of the 2. Bundesliga season this Saturday (August 8 at 1pm). Here’s how you can be there: the member pre-sale for the new season's first home game begins this coming Wednesday (July 15) at 12pm —available online and at the ticket shop at the Merck-Stadion, as usual. You can find all further details in this announcement.
For every home goal scored by the "Lilies," SV Darmstadt 98 fans were doubly rewarded during the recent 2025/26 second-division season. Beyond the joy and excitement, supporters received 98 litres of Krombacher Pils for every goal Darmstadt scored at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
In recent days, various media outlets have published reports and graphics regarding the distribution of TV revenue for the 2026/27 season. Some of these reports included not only specific figures but also a comparison to the previous season. This comparison indicates a supposed revenue increase of €1.4 million for SV 98 compared to the 2025/26 season.
SV Darmstadt 98 successfully completed their second pre-season friendly, defeating Verbandsliga side VfR Fehlheim 8-0 (4-0).
