TSV Steinbach Haiger

Sponsorship built this club as much as any founder did. Sibre, a local firm run by Roland Kring, poured money into a village side from Steinbach and, between 2009 and 2015, pushed it from the ninth tier all the way to the Regionalliga Südwest, starting with the Kreisliga B Dillenburg-Nord and finishing with the Hessenliga title. The renamed club, now TSV Steinbach Haiger since 2018, still plays for the village of Steinbach within Haiger, though it took the larger town's name to match its new standing.

The ground, the SIBRE-Sportzentrum Haarwasen, holds 4,970 and was rebuilt on the same sponsor's money. It held 4,204 for the 2018 DFB-Pokal tie against FC Augsburg — still the club record.

Two Hessian Cup wins, in 2018 and 2020, followed the climb up the league ladder. Locally the fixture that matters is against TSV Eintracht Stadtallendorf, the Mittelhessen-Derby.

The nickname predates all of it: Der Steinbacher Gickel, the Steinbach rooster, taken from the bird on the village's coat of arms. A supporters' group calls itself Red Gickel, and a costumed rooster named STEINI works the touchline on matchdays.

Few names from the academy ever reached the Bundesliga, but the club has drawn players who had already been there. Ole Käuper, who came through at Werder Bremen, is a notable example.