Hannover 96

Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (IPA: [haˈnoːfɐ ˌzɛksʔʊntˈnɔʏntsɪç]), is a German professional sports club based in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony. Its senior men's football team competes in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football, after spending 30 seasons in the top-flight Bundesliga between 1964 and 2019. Founded on 12 April 1896, the multi-sport association has more than 22,000 members, making it the largest in Lower Saxony. Hannover 96 have won the German football championship twice (1938 and 1954) and lifted the DFB-Pokal in 1992, becoming the first second-division side to do so. The club also hold three 2. Bundesliga titles and have once reached the quarter-finals of European competition, in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League. Since 1959 Hannover have played at the 49,000-capacity Niedersachsenstadion, a venue for the 1974 and 2006 FIFA World Cups and UEFA Euro 1988. The club enjoys strong local support and contests the fiercely disputed Lower Saxony derby with regional rivals Eintracht Braunschweig.