The 3rd division schedule is causing frustration for Claus-Dieter Wollitz. The Energie Cottbus coach recognizes a pattern.

Five match days in two and a half weeks: September is a busy month in the 3rd division. Thanks to the recent international break, two midweek fixtures are necessary to accommodate this. Pure stress for the clubs, players, and fans.

Actually, all third division clubs are in the same boat. If it weren’t for the strain of traveling. Energie Cottbus seems to have been hit particularly hard here, at least in the coach’s opinion.

The FCE has to travel 635 kilometers to Waldhof Mannheim on Sunday. After a stopover at home in Lusatia, where Erzgebirge Aue will be welcomed, it’s 503 kilometers west to SC Verl. There are more challenges in November: for example, Sunday evening against Rot-Weiss Essen – also over 600 kilometers away. As one of three clubs from the east, the distances are long. “This could be better organized for the fans,” said Wollitz on Friday at the press conference ahead of the game in Mannheim, which he described as a “real challenge.” RWE fans were also irritated by the schedule for October. Wollitz does not expect any improvement. “They will always find reasons why they schedule it that way,” said the coach about the German Football Association (DFB), emphasizing: “Aue had to play seven away games on Sunday evenings last season. That’s far too many. If you take a closer look, it always affects the east. When they impose fines, they are always higher. It’s always worse, it’s always more negative. And it just doesn’t stop.”

However, a look at last season’s schedule shows that Aue did indeed play seven away games on Sundays, but only twice at 7:30 p.m. and only three times away. Incidentally, his club had every game at this time off. The second teams of VfB Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund were on the pitch most often at this time (six times). Wollitz also seems to have exaggerated when it comes to fines. As liga3-online calculated, SV Waldhof Mannheim topped the penalty table in the 2024/25 season. And it was also the upcoming opponent that had to pay the highest single fine (€159,800).