“FiR” will be available from 20.01.2023. As usual, we report on all teams from the West in our special issue.

From the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga, the 3rd Liga, the Regionalliga West to women’s football and the juniors. Here, for 5.50 euros on 140 pages, you will find everything from BVB to VfL Bochum, Schalke 04, MSV Duisburg or RWE to the regional leagues: Background information, figures, surveys, interviews, personnel stories and the match schedules.

Schalke is back in the Bundesliga and now wants to stay there, but with a five-point gap to the relegation zone, that will not be an easy task.

VfL Bochum will be looking to stay in the league for the second time, but will have to improve on their performance in the first half of the season. RWE have made the leap into the 3rd division and now want to establish themselves one league higher. The motto is not to slip into the relegation battle – also for MSV Duisburg, who can even look slightly upwards after the opening victory in the rest of the season at 1. FC Saarbrücken.

Three major topics in this special issue. Just like the situation of the amateurs. Last year, the mode in the top leagues was changed. This season, the promotion and relegation rounds have been abolished again. A normal first and second round series will be played.

Different from the juniors, where there is again only a single round. Many clubs don’t like that because the talents don’t get the playing practice that would be important for their personal development. While Schalke and BVB are at the top, RWE and RWO are threatened with relegation.

We talked to the clubs about the rest of the season and their expectations.