DGF Flensborg
The DGF Flensborg is a German association football club from the city of Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein. DGF is the largest of the clubs of the Danish minority in northern Germany. Apart from offering association football, it also has well as boxing, baseball, badminton, handball and inline hockey departments. DGF no longer has an American football department. History Danish minority The Danish minority in Schleswig-Holstein is currently (2008) considered to consist of about 50,000 people. The Danish government supports the minority financially, (400,000,000 Danish krone in 2004). Since the Bonn-Kopenhagener-Declarations in 1955, the Danish minority enjoys special rights equivalent to the special rights the German minority in Denmark enjoys. Club The club was formed in 1923 as a gymnastics association by the city's Danish minority, as indicated by its Danish language name and the use of the Danish Flensborg rather than the German Flensburg. In 1926, DGF took up football, playing games at the Tivoliplatz. In the following years, the club expanded its number of departments but from 1933, with the rise of the Nazis to power, found itself more and more restricted. From 1937, the club's activities almost ceased altogether due to attempts by Nazis to Germanise the Danish minority. Upon the return of its members following the Second World War, DFG resumed its activities in 1947. In 1948, some club members left DGF to form another ethnically-Danish club, the IF Stjernen Flensborg. DGF was granted the use of Frueskovens Idrætspark as its home ground by the city of Flensburg. In 1951, an agreement was reached with the German football federation of Schleswig-Holstein and its clubs, granting Danish minority clubs the same rights and duties as their German counterparts, the Sportfrieden von Malente (English: Sports peace of Malente). Through the support of Danish Football Association, part of the gate receipts from a Denmark national football team versus Norway national football team international were made available to the club and DGF was able to buy Frueskovens Idrætspark. The club had to use old military tents as its change rooms. By joining the Schleswig-Holstein Football Federation they were finally permitted to take part in competitive football. In 1957, DGF built its own club house and in 1967 the facility was expanded through the addition of change rooms and showers. However, in 1974, the club had to transfer Frueskovens Idrætspark back to the city of Flensburg as they were unable to afford necessary major upgrades. For its 75th anniversary in 1998, the club attracted Brøndby IF for a friendly. In 2001, Frueskovens Idrætspark once more changed ownership when it was acquired by the Sydslesvigs danske Ungdomsforeninger, a community based Danish organization. On the field DGF entered the Bezirksklasse Nord Schleswig-Holstein (III) in 1951 but could not hold their place. They returned to the Bezirksliga in 1959, and then in 1964 earned promotion to the Amateurliga Schleswig-Holstein, the local third division. They played two season there before being relegated to the 2nd Amateurliga Schleswig-Holstein Nord (IV) in 1966. While winning its league in 1966–67, they