initially without the clubs from the region around Kassel, who moved across in 1906. In 1900, the Rheinisch-Westfälischen Spielverband was formed, which, in 1907, was renamed Westdeutscher Spielverband. Competition 1903 to 1914 The Western German football championship was first contested in 1903 and won by the Cölner FC 1899. It consisted of three clubs, one each from Essen, Cologne and Mönchengladbach, then spelled München-Gladbach, and was determined in a group stage with home-and-away games. The winner of this first competition did not take part in the first edition of the national German championship. To qualify for the Western German championship, a club had to take out the title in its regional competition or league. As more football clubs were formed in Germany, the number of leagues increased and thereby also the numbers of clubs taking part in the Western championship. The second edition was played out in the same modus and its champion was permitted to enter the national finals for the first time. A round of deciders was necessary to determine the Western champion as all three clubs sat on equal points. In 1906, the championship was expanded to four clubs with a decider once more being necessary to determine the champion. In 1907, the system to determine the Western champion was altered to a knockout modus with six clubs participating, increased to seven for the following year and eight in 1909. The championship continued to operate as a knockout competition in the following years, and, in 1913, Duisburger SV became the first club from the west to reach a national German final, losing 3–1 to VfB Leipzig, who thereby won a record third German championship. The Duisburger SV in turn was an early powerhouse of western football, continuing to win regional championships up until the late 1920s. The last pre-First World War season, 1914, saw a return to the finals being played as a league with home-and-away games. Five clubs were meant to compete but Düsseldorfer SV was deemed to have been determined to late as local champions and it was barred from participating. 1914 to 1919 In 1914–15, football in Germany had come to an almost complete halt. As it became clear, that the war would last longer than anticipated, local competitions restarted in 1915. In most regions of Germany, like the South, the championships were restarted from 1915 onwards but in the West, this was not