1. FC Gera 03

Geschichte

1. FC Gera 03 was a German association football club located in Gera, Thuringia. The club withdrew from the NOFV-Oberliga Süd during the 2011–12 season and became defunct.HistoryThe club was founded in 2003 through the merger of TSV 1880 Gera-Zwötzen and SV 1861 Liebschwitz. The club is made up largely of players who used to play in higher divisions wityh a large number coming from the two most successful Thuringian clubs, FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt and FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Gera won the Landesliga Thüringen (V) in 2006–07 and gained promotion to the Oberliga. It lasted for three seasons in the Oberliga, was relegated in 2010 and won immediate promotion back up in 2011. The club withdrew from the league during the 2011–12 season for financial reasons, became insolvent and eventually folded.Gera's most notable success to date was their advance to the final of the 2007 TFV-Pokal (Thuringer Cup) where they lost to FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Despite their losing appearance the team still qualified for the 2006–07 German Cup as Jena had already earned their place in that competition through their promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. Gera hosted 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the opening round and lost 0:2.1. FC Gera 03 play in the Stadion der Freundschaft which has a capacity of 16,800 spectators. They share the venue with 1. SV Gera.