Clubs from fully professional leagues are not permitted to enter the competition, meaning, no teams from the Fußball-Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga can compete [REF].
All clubs from the Lower Rhine playing in the 3. Liga (III), Regionalliga West (IV) and Oberliga Niederrhein (V) are directly qualified for the first round, the remaining places in the first round are filled with the teams who qualified from local cup competitions, the Kreispokale [REF].