SV Elversberg

SV Elversberg, officially Sportvereinigung 07 Elversberg e.V., is a German association football club from Spiesen-Elversberg, Saarland. Founded in 1907 as FC Germania Elversberg, the club spent most of its history in amateur regional leagues before embarking on a dramatic ascent through the German pyramid. As of the 2026–27 season, Elversberg competes in the Bundesliga, the top flight of German football, having secured promotion for the first time on 17 May 2026. The club plays its home matches at the Ursapharm-Arena an der Kaiserlinde, a stadium with a capacity of 14,221 that exceeds the population of its home town.

Elversberg’s nickname, Schwarz und Weiß (The Black and White), reflects its traditional colours. The club is also known simply as Die Elv. Its rise from the sixth tier to the Bundesliga in under two decades has drawn attention as a story of small-club ambition, sustained by local pharmaceutical company Ursapharm and a tightly knit fan base. The stadium, originally the Waldstadion an der Kaiserlinde, was renamed in 2022 after Ursapharm acquired naming rights; the “Kaiserlinde” refers to a nearly 100-year-old lime tree that stood at the ground until it fell in 2015. [edit]

SV Elversberg was founded in 1907 as FC Germania Elversberg, but the club folded during World War I and was re-established in 1918. For decades, it operated in amateur regional leagues, with a brief stint in the Amateurliga Saarland from 1951 to 1960. By the 1985–86 season, the club had fallen to the sixth-tier Landesliga. The turning point came in the 1990s, when local pharmaceutical company Ursapharm began its sponsorship, and the club climbed to the Regionalliga West/Südwest by 1998.

Elversberg reached the 3. Liga for the first time in 2013, alongside RB Leipzig, but was relegated immediately. Two playoff final losses in 2016 and 2017 delayed their return until 2022, when they won promotion back to the 3. Liga. Under coach Horst Steffen, who took over in 2018, the club achieved back-to-back promotions: to the 2. Bundesliga in 2023 and then to the Bundesliga in 2026. In their first 2. Bundesliga season (2023–24), they finished 11th. The following season they lost a dramatic promotion playoff to Heidenheim on the final minute of the second leg. In 2025–26, Elversberg finished second in the 2. Bundesliga, scoring 64 goals, and sealed automatic promotion on the final matchday with a 3–0 win over Preußen Münster. Three teams were level on points going into the last round, but Elversberg’s superior goal difference secured the title. The club became the 59th team to play in the Bundesliga and the first from a town of just 7,000 inhabitants. [edit]