of those being the Verband Leipziger Ballspielvereine in Leipzig. In late 1900, the Verband Mitteldeutscher Ballspiel Vereine followed, three month later, the Verband Dresdner Ballspiel-Vereine was formed in Dresden. In August 1903, the Verband Chemnitzer Ballspielvereine was formed in Chemnitz and, last, the Verband Plauener Ballspielvereine came into existence in Plauen. In 1933, all of those were disbanded by the Nazis. Competition 1902 to 1919 The Central German football championship was first played in 1902, but little is known about the first year other than the final. The championship was staged as a knockout competition with a one-leg final at the end. Regional champions were determined to establish who the qualified clubs for the Central German championship were. In 1903, in the second year of the competition, a German football championship was established, for which the Central champion was qualified. The team, VfB Leipzig achieved distinction by becoming the first German champions, defeating DFC Prag 7-2 in the final and establishing Central Germany as an early power house of German football. VfB became the dominant side in the pre-First World War era of the competition, also winning another German title in 1906 and 1913 and making a losing appearance in the 1911 and 1914 final. No other club from Central Germany enjoyed a similar form of success and not until the Dresdner SC in 1943 and 1944 did another club from the region win the national title. From 1903, three teams took part in the championship, the champions of the Leipzig, Dresden and Magdeburg region. This was expanded to four teams when the champion of the Chemnitz area joined the Central German championship. From 1908, seven teams competed in the annual finals, making it necessary to establish a quarter-final round. In 1910, the competition was expanded to nine teams, the year after to twelve and in 1912 to fifteen. In its last pre-war season, 1914, 21 clubs participated, making a qualifying round necessary. In 1913, a different system was used, splitting the region in two groups according to their playing strength. The winners of the two then met in a final, which was predictably won by the team from the stronger group. In 1914-15, competitive football was only played regionally and no German or Central German championship was carried out, the war having its effect on the game. During the war years, until 1919, eleven clubs played each season for