SV Eintracht Hohkeppel is about to start its first season in the Regionalliga West. However, the home games will not take place in their own stadium.
Fans of the Regionalliga West will have to get used to a few new names in their league for the coming season. Of the five teams starting in the fourth tier in 2024/25, three have never competed in this league before.
The biggest name is probably MSV Duisburg. While the disappointment and sorrow at the Meiderich club’s relegation to the Regionalliga was immense, the other debutants were delighted.
Both Türkspor Dortmund and SV Eintracht Hohkeppel caused a sensation with their promotions. While the club from the west of the country has probably been known to some, Eintracht from the Middle Rhine still seems to be more of an unknown quantity. So what kind of club is it that Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, MSV or Wuppertaler SV will soon be facing?
It is a relatively young club by comparison. Founded in 1966, the club mainly played at district level until the early 2010s. In 2016, they were promoted to the district league. From then on, the trend was clearly upwards.
Promotion to the Landesliga Mittelrhein followed in 2019/20. After two seasons, they dropped down to the Verbandsliga. The next promotion was also secured after two years. Eintracht will play in the Regionalliga West from the coming season and left Bonner SC and SC Bergisch Gladbach, among others, behind in the battle for the Middle Rhine championship.
Renovation of the home ground
The club from the 20,000-strong community of Lindlar now faces completely different challenges. It’s not just the sporting side of the regional league that has to be right if they don’t want to degenerate into a flash in the pan. Hohkeppel has received the license. However, there will be no regional league soccer in Lindlar for the time being.
The home ground is not suitable for the regional league. It is to be rebuilt. The new pitch must then be able to accommodate at least 2,500 spectators, a covered stand for 150 spectators must be created, as well as a guest area for 800 spectators. A new artificial, hybrid or natural turf must also be laid. “We need 1.75 million euros for this – roughly estimated,” Hakan Ekmen, chairman of the club, told oberberg-aktuell.de. Further modernization and renovations will bring the total to 2.4 million euros.
The municipality is to support the process. “We see this as a joint project,” said Ekmen. Sporting success also benefits the community. “We are now talking about professional soccer.” The decision on funding will probably be made in August. The plan is to play on the club’s own pitch again in the summer of 2025. In the coming season in the Regionalliga West, the Westkampfbahn of 1. FC Düren is planned as an alternative home ground.
The team structure from the promotion year is to remain together in the coming season. After all, some of the players are already familiar with the fourth division. For example, Dino Bisanovic, who has already played 200 times in the regional league for TSV Steinbach, among others.
Hohkeppel also has players in the squad who have played at an even higher level. José Pierre Vunguidica, for example. Born in Angola, he once played for 1. FC Köln in the Bundesliga. He then left his mark in the 2nd Bundesliga with SV Sandhausen, or with Preußen Münster in the 3rd league.
Eintracht’s best-known name, however, is probably captain Nils Teixera. He played for FSV Frankfurt, Kickers Offenbach, Dynamo Dresden and Arminia Bielefeld in the 2nd and 3rd Bundesliga