Altonaer FC von 1893, commonly known as Altona 93 and abbreviated to AFC, is a German association football club based in the Altona district of the city of Hamburg. The football team is a department of a larger sports club which also offers handball, karate, table tennis, and volleyball.

History

Late in the nineteenth century, a number of sports having their origins in England – including cricket, rugby, and football – were introduced to continental Europe where they enjoyed considerable popularity. This club was founded on 29 July 1893 as Altonaer Cricketclub by a group of students who also demonstrated an early interest in football. In 1894, the club was renamed Altonaer Fussball und Cricket Club and then Altonaer Fussball Club in quick succession.

Altona is one of Germany's oldest football clubs: they were part of the Altona-Hamburg football league formed in 1894, as well as one of the founding clubs of the German Football Association (Deutscher Fussball Bund or German Football Association) at Leipzig in 1900. In 1903 at their home ground, they hosted the first-ever German national championship final played between VfB Leipzig and DFC Prague. The match was refereed by AFC player Franz Behr, who also served as the vice-chairman of the newly formed DFB until 1904. The club rescued the match by providing a new ball when the original one proved to be unsuitable for play. The hosts of the country's first title match never won or even played in a national final, being able to advance only as far as the semi-finals in 1903 and 1909, and the quarter-finals in 1914.

In 1919, the club merged with Altonaer TS 1880 in a union that lasted until 1922, during which time they were known as VfL Altona. After the break-up the team played as Altonaer FC 1893 VfL. Another merger in 1938 with Borussia 03 Bahrenfeld created Altonaer FC 93 Borussia. Between the end of World War I and the end of World War II the team played continuously in the country's top-flight leagues. Under the Third Reich German football was re-organized into sixteen Gauliga and AFC played first in the Gauliga Nordmark, and later in the Gauliga Hamburg.

After the war the club picked up play in the Stadtliga Hamburg before earning promotion to the first tier Oberliga Nord. Their best results were a pair of third-place finishes in 1954 and 1958, and semi-final appearances in the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) in 1955 and 1964. After the formation of the Bundesliga – Germany's new professional league – in 1963, Altona found itself in the second-tier Regionalliga Nord where they played until 1968. Between 1969 and 1981 Altona played third and fourth division ball before slipping to Landesliga Hamburg-Hammonia (V). They returned to using their old name, Altona FC, in 1979.

The club has moved up and down between the third and fifth tiers since the mid-1980s. In 1997, they found they were unable to sustain themselves financially in the Regionalliga Nord (IV) and after a single season at the professional level voluntarily withdrew to lower league play. The club is currently again playing in the Regionalliga Nord after promotion in 2019.

Recent seasons

Historical chart of Altonaer FC league performance
YearDivisionPosition
1999–2000Verbandsliga Hamburg (VI)2nd
2000–01Verbandsliga Hamburg3rd
2001–02Verbandsliga Hamburg2nd ↑
2002–03Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein (V)8th
2003–04Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein2nd ↑
2004–05Oberliga Nord (IV)12th
2005–06Oberliga Nord7th
2006–07Oberliga Nord5th
2007–08Oberliga Nord2nd
2008–09Regionalliga Nord (IV)16th ↓
2009–10Oberliga Hamburg (V)3rd
2010–11Oberliga Hamburg5th
2011–12Oberliga Hamburg9th
2012–13Oberliga Hamburg2nd
2013–14Oberliga Hamburg3rd
2014–15Oberliga Hamburg7th
2015–16Oberliga Hamburg6th
2016–17Oberliga Hamburg3rd ↑
2017–18Regionalliga Nord18th ↓
2018–19Oberliga Hamburg1st ↑
2019–20Regionalliga Nord16th
2020-21Regionalliga Nord11th
2021-22Regionalliga Nord19th ↓
2022-23Oberliga Hamburg4th
2023-24Oberliga Hamburg1st

Key

↑ Promoted↓ Relegated

Current squad

As of 5 February 2026

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK GER Dennis Lohmann 2 DF GER Deniz Hasan Yilmaz 3 DF GER Abdul Saibou 4 DF GER Emmanuel Ntsiakoh 5 DF USA Josh Redfield 6 MF GER Elmin Mekic 7 MF GER Pascal El-Nemr 8 MF GER Minou Tsimba-Eggers 9 FW GER Moritz Göttel 10 MF GER Gianluca Przondziono 11 DF GER Moritz Grosche 12 GK GER Nikolas Wulff 13 DF GER Marcell Sobotta 14 FW GER Nils BrüningNo. Pos. Nation Player 15 GK GER Michel Dorow 16 DF GER Stephan Wemakor 17 DF GER Rasmus Tobinski 18 MF GER Niklas Jovanovic 19 FW GER Lesley Karschau 20 MF GER Bendix Gelzer 21 FW GER Keenon Erfurth 22 DF GER Michael Ambrosius 23 DF GER Gideon Baur 24 MF GER Philip Stefaniuk 25 FW ALB Veli Sulejmani 27 FW GER Emmanuel Appiah 61 MF GER Tayfun Can
1GKGERDennis Lohmann
2DFGERDeniz Hasan Yilmaz
3DFGERAbdul Saibou
4DFGEREmmanuel Ntsiakoh
5DFUSAJosh Redfield
6MFGERElmin Mekic
7MFGERPascal El-Nemr
8MFGERMinou Tsimba-Eggers
9FWGERMoritz Göttel
10MFGERGianluca Przondziono
11DFGERMoritz Grosche
12GKGERNikolas Wulff
13DFGERMarcell Sobotta
14FWGERNils Brüning
No.Pos.NationPlayer
15GKGERMichel Dorow
16DFGERStephan Wemakor
17DFGERRasmus Tobinski
18MFGERNiklas Jovanovic
19FWGERLesley Karschau
20MFGERBendix Gelzer
21FWGERKeenon Erfurth
22DFGERMichael Ambrosius
23DFGERGideon Baur
24MFGERPhilip Stefaniuk
25FWALBVeli Sulejmani
27FWGEREmmanuel Appiah
61MFGERTayfun Can

Honours

The club's honours:

Stadium

Since 1909 the team has played in the AFC-Kampfbahn, renamed the Adolf-Jäger-Kampfbahn (AJK) in 1944. Jäger was killed trying to defuse an Allied bomb in Altona while working as a volunteer in a bomb squad, within weeks of the stadium-naming ceremony honouring him. The facility has a capacity of 8,000 spectators (1,500 seats). Germany's first national championship was played at the club's original grounds, Exerzierweide, in Altona's Bahrenfeld quarter (known today as Schnackenburgallee) on 31 May 1903.

The stadium was featured as a stop during the German leg of The Amazing Race 16, an American television program, in which participants had to kick footballs through targets.

  • Main entrance
  • Main bridge
  • back straight

Notes

External links