The Darmstadt eFootballers narrowly missed reaching the final round in Köln in the playoffs. Nevertheless, the eLilien can look back on a historic and more than successful season. Furthermore, the inauguration of the main stand of the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor celebrated its two-year anniversary on Tuesday (March 18). You can read about this and much more about SV Darmstadt in our weekly column "Lilien Across the Board."
What a season it was for our eFootballers! This season, the eLilien reached the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) playoffs for the first time in the club’s history and fought for a place in the big VBL final. But their journey ended on Tuesday evening (March 18) against a strong VfL Bochum. It was clear from the start that it would be a very tough match against Bochum. Nassim and Kaan lost 1:3 in the doubles match. After that, all eyes were on Nassim, the brightest hope: Only he could save the eLilien from elimination with a win in the singles match. After an incredibly exciting duel that went to a penalty shootout, Nassim was the unfortunate loser. Despite the defeat, the boys on the controller played a season that far exceeded expectations. The Lilien fans can be very proud of the performance of their eSports players.
Midfielder Fabian Nürnberger is on international duty this week and you can read about his involvement in the playoffs here. To do so, the Bulgarians must prevail against Ireland in a two-legged tie. The first leg will take place on Thursday (March 20th, 8:45pm) in front of their home crowd in Plovdiv. The second leg will be played on Sunday (March 23rd, 8:45pm) in the Irish capital, Dublin. Both matches will be broadcast live on DAZN. We wish you the best of luck, Fabi!
International match at Bölle! The German U21 national team will kick off the European Championship year on Tuesday (March 25) against Spain – one of the top favourites for the U21 European Championship title in Slovakia next summer. Kick-off at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor is at 8:30pm. If you want to watch live, you can buy tickers here or secure tickets via the DFB ticket hotline (069 90 28 38 38). Standing tickets start at €9 (€7 concessions), and seats are sold out except for a few box seats (€178.50). Group tickets for ten or more people are available for just €6 per person in the standing area.
#OnThisDay. On March 18, 2023, the main stand of the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor was officially opened. On Tuesday (March 18), it celebrated its two-year anniversary. The ENTEGA VIP Lounge, consisting of the entire business and box sections, was used for the first time at the 2023 Saturday evening home game against 1. FC Kaiserlautern. This marked the completion of the renovation work on the new stadium, which had begun at the end of 2018 with the dismantling of the opposite stand. The debut was impressive: The result was a 2-0 home win for the Lilies. Since the renovation, the main stand has 2,982 seats, including 1,294 in the business section and boxes.
The SV Darmstadt 98 U17 team had to play two very difficult games last week. The B-Juniors played a 2-2 draw against SV Gonsenheim, the leaders of the DFB Youth League. The Lilies took the lead with an early goal in the 11th minute, but Gonsenheim countered shortly before halftime. Shortly before the end of the game, the Lilies scored what appeared to be the winner, making it 2-1, but the home team were awarded a penalty in stoppage time, which they converted. Meanwhile, a goalless draw at home against third-placed SpVgg Unterhaching secured another point. The two draws saw the Darmstadt U17 team slip to fifth place in the main round of the DFB Youth League. Darmstadt’s next match is on Saturday (March 22nd, 11:00am), away to second-placed SSV Ulm.
The U19 team was able to recover last week and will now play a test match against SG Bornheim/GW Ffm on Thursday (20.03/8pm) before returning to action at home against FC Augsburg in the DFB Youth League on Saturday (22.03/11am).
The SV 98 fan base is slowly getting into gear after the winter break: The Lilies‘ „second team“ won 2-1 away at FC Ober-Ramstadt II. The home team made it 1-0 in the 54th minute. Darmstadt, however, didn’t let this discourage them and promptly responded in the 58th minute: 1-1. It looked like the score would be shared, but our fan base didn’t give up and scored the late winner in the 90th minute to make it 2-1. With the win, the Lilies climbed to third place in the District League C. The next game is on Sunday (March 23rd, 3pm) at home against SV Weiterstadt II.
You can find an overview of the upcoming matches of the Lilien fan team here:
| Date | Kick Off | Match | Competition | Result |
| Sunday, 16.03.2025 | 1pm | FC Ober-Ramstadt II – SV 98 | Kreisliga C | 1 – 2 |
| Sunday 23.03.2025 | 3pm | SV 98 – SV Weiterstadt II | Kreisliga C | |
| Sunday 30.03.2025 | 3.30pm | DJK-SSG Darmstadt – SV 98 | Kreisliga C |
Our new winter signing Jean-Paul Boëtius celebrates his 31st birthday on Saturday (March 22). The Dutchman began his career at Feyenord Rotterdam. After loans to Genk and Basel, he eventually landed in Germany with Mainz 05 and later with Hertha BSC. He has a total of 143 Bundesliga appearances to his name, including twelve goals and 20 assists. Boëtius has already made six appearances in the 2. Bundesliga since signing with SV 98. We look forward to hopefully seeing many more games from you and wish you a happy birthday, Djanga!
Autographs, photos, and personal encounters with the Lilies: You'll have the opportunity to do so on Thursday (May 7th) from 5pm to 6pm. As part of an autograph session presented by Merck, Patric Pfeiffer, Kai Klefisch, and Fynn Lakenmacher will be at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor. You'll also receive a ten percent discount in the fan shop during this time.
Darmstadt's 2-1 defeat at Karlsruher SC also ended any remaining theoretical hopes the South Hessian club had of finishing the season in the top three. The loss at the Wildpark stadium served somewhat as a symbol for the past few weeks, during which SV 98 had only managed one point from five matches since the international break in March. Following the game on Sunday afternoon, the Darmstadt players addressed the assembled media representatives with mixed feelings.
Three points! SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team secured a victory in the Lotto Hessenliga on Saturday afternoon (May 2nd). In their match against Hünfelder SV, the young Lilies overcame an early deficit to clinch a convincing 3-1 win. This result puts the U21 team currently outside the relegation zone. "Our trend is clearly upward," said a delighted U21 coach Sebastian Schmitt.
The successful collaboration between the Hessian Disabled and Rehabilitation Sports Association (HBRS) and SV Darmstadt 98 will continue long-term: Both partners have extended their existing agreement to promote inclusive sports indefinitely. This sends a clear signal for the sustainable development of inclusion and disability sports in Hesse.
A bitter end in Karlsruhe: After 90 entertaining minutes in which both teams sought salvation in attack, Darmstadt suffered a narrow defeat. The final score was 2-1 after a late goal from the home side, following Isac Lidberg's earlier equaliser. After the match, the players were particularly frustrated with the missed opportunities in the first half.
The away form continues to be poor: SV 98 suffered a 2-1 (0-0) defeat against Karlsruher SC. Lidberg scored the equaliser for the team from southern Hesse in the 70th minute.
Darmstadt 98 visit Karlsruher SC on matchday 32 (May 3rd, 1:30 PM). Florian Kohfeldt has made five changes to his starting lineup. Killian Corredor replaces the injured Fraser Hornby, Aleksandar Vukotic comes in for the suspended Patric Pfeiffer, and Fabian Holland starts in place of Matej Maglica, who is sidelined with an ankle injury. Merveille Papela and Niklas Schmidt also join the team, replacing Sergio Lopez and Yosuke Furukawa. In addition to Hornby, Pfeiffer, and Maglica, Darmstadt will also be without the injured Matthias Bader, Fabian Nürnberger, and Luca Marseiler.
Finally, the weekend is here, finally Sunday! On Sunday afternoon (May 3rd, 1:30pm), SV Darmstadt 98 will face Karlsruher SC away. What do the two coaches have to say about the match, who will be refereeing, and where can you watch it if you're not at the stadium? All the important information about the Lilies' 32nd matchday is compiled for you here in "Matchday Guide".
Continuity in sporting management: SV Darmstadt 98 has extended Paul Fernie's contract early and for the long term. As part of the contract extension, the current sporting director will move into the club's management board and will now serve as managing director of sport.
Our head coach spoke at the press conference before the away game against Karlsruher SC (May 3rd/1:30pm) about the mental freshness of his team, the course of action for the remaining games and his coaching colleague, whose commitment to KSC will end after six years this season.
Left hook, 'One hundred and eightyyyyyyy', and hand over the baton. Doesn't sound like football – and that's true. KSC is often associated with professional football, but with the sheer number of titles the club has won, it's worth looking beyond the pitch. Titles from Baden-Württemberg to Rome.
In a rescheduled Lotto Hessenliga match, SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team hosted SV Hummetroth at their youth academy on Wednesday evening (April 29th) but unfortunately came away empty-handed. Despite a spirited performance and playing with one man less, the score after 90 minutes was 3-1 in favour of Hummetroth.