The 2020–21 DFB-Pokal was the 41st season of the annual German football cup competition. Several teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Frauen-Bundesliga and the 2. Frauen-Bundesliga, excluding second teams. The competition began on 19 September 2020 with the first of six rounds and ended on 30 May 2021 with the final at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, a nominally neutral venue, which has hosted the final since 2010.[1] The DFB-Pokal is considered the second-most important club title in German women's football after the Bundesliga championship. The DFB-Pokal is run by the German Football Association (DFB).
Wolfsburg went on to win the title for the seventh consecutive time, after defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 1–0 in the final.[3]
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
On 31 August 2020, the DFB Executive Committee decided to extend the use of five substitutions in matches (with a sixth allowed in extra time) to the 2020–21 season, which was implemented at the end of the previous season to lessen the impact of fixture congestion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] The use of five substitutes, based on the decision of competition organisers, had been extended by IFAB until 2021.[5]
Participating clubs
The following 52 clubs qualified for the competition:
^The second teams of Eintracht Frankfurt (as FFC Frankfurt), 1899 Hoffenheim, Bayern Munich, Turbine Potsdam and VfL Wolfsburg were not eligible.
^Grün-Weiss Neukölln qualified regardless of the outcome of the Berlin Cup final, as Viktoria Berlin, the other finalists, already qualified for the DFB-Pokal through their Regionalliga position.
^Opel Rüsselsheim qualified regardless of the outcome of the Hessian Cup final, as Eintracht Frankfurt, the other finalists, already qualified for the DFB-Pokal as the club's first team in the Bundesliga after acquiring 1. FFC Frankfurt. Eintracht's third team (previously the first) won the cup but, being the club's second reserve team, is not eligible.
^SV Büdberg qualified regardless of the outcome of the Rhineland Cup final, as Borussia Bocholt, the other finalists, already qualified for the DFB-Pokal through their Regionalliga position.
^Phoenix Leipzig qualified regardless of the outcome of the Saxony Cup final, as RB Leipzig, the other finalists, already qualified through their Regionalliga position.
Format
Clubs from lower leagues will host against clubs from higher leagues until the quarter-finals. Should both clubs play below the 2. Bundesliga, there will be no host club change anymore. In the first round, the matches are split into a "North" and "South" zone.
Schedule
The rounds of the 2020–21 competition are scheduled as follows:[1]
^The Bavarian Cup was abandoned before the quarter-finals. The Bavarian Football Association decided to hold a draw to determine its DFB-Pokal representative. SV 67 Weinberg won this draw and qualified.[7]
^The Brandenburg Cup was abandoned before the semi-finals. The Brandenburg Football Association and the remaining participants agreed to enter FSV Babelsberg 74 in the DFB-Pokal.
^The Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Cup was abandoned before the semi-finals. The Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Football Association and the remaining participants agreed to enter Rostocker FC in the DFB-Pokal.
^The SHFV Cup was abandoned before the final. The Schleswig-Holstein Football Association and the remaining participants agreed to enter Holstein Kiel in the DFB-Pokal.
^The Southwestern Cup was abandoned after the first round. The Southwest German Football Association decided to hold a draw to determine its DFB-Pokal representative. TuS Wörrstadt won this draw and qualified.[8]
^The match, originally scheduled for 31 October 2020, was postponed after a positive COVID-19 test by a Göttelborn player.[13]
^The match, originally scheduled for 1 November 2020, was postponed after several positive COVID-19 tests by Walddörfer SV players.[14]
^The match, originally scheduled for 5 December 2020, was postponed after two positive COVID-19 tests by Werder Bremen players.[17]
^Each team will only be given three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.
^"Und schon wieder im DFB-Pokal – Frauen-Regionalligist TuS Wörrstadt zieht per Los in die Hauptrunde ein / Gegner noch offen". Allgemeine Zeitung (in German) (Alzey ed.). 28 July 2020. p. 25.
