Elversberg ready for Bundesliga bow, nothing to lose | OneFootball

Elversberg, a Saarland town of 7,900 close to the French border, will play the first Bundesliga match in their history against Leverkusen on Saturday at 15:30.

L'Équipe notes Elversberg run on a €31.2 million budget, the smallest among the 18 in 2026-2027. Only Hoffenheim have gone up with fewer inhabitants, 3,200.

There is no railway station and the stadium surrounds still resemble a building site. The administrative HQ and training base are currently in nearby Saint-Ingbert.

When Bayern visit in two weeks, Harry Kane, Michael Olise and team-mates will find dressing rooms housed in containers while work continues.

Promotion in May was not a major shock, a year earlier Elversberg had lost in the play-offs. Professional since 2022, they spent one season in the third tier before a swift rise to the second.

The club is driven by Frank Holzer, a former professional who chairs the supervisory board and whose company Ursapharm is the main sponsor. His son Dominik serves as president.

Head coach Vincent Wagner compared the leap to a trip to the Moon, said focusing on football shows they can hold their own, and that they will attack the challenge with nothing to lose.

In the market they broke their record to sign Cole Campbell from Borussia Dortmund for €6 million, otherwise they kept last season’s core together.

By 2027 the stadium capacity is due to rise from 10,000 to 15,000, a figure approaching twice the town’s population.

Source: L'Équipe

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”