By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
It has been reported that SV Elversberg, a German association football club, located in Spiesen-Elversberg, Saarland, in south-west Germany, will be promoted, next season, to the Bundesliga, the German equivalent of the English Premier League.
As such, it will become one of the smallest clubs ever to play in the Bundesliga after securing promotion with a 3-0 win against relegated Preussen Munster.
With a population of around 13,000 people, the club, which was founded in 1907, plays in a stadium with a capacity of 10,000.
The stadium is undergoing renovations in order to satisfy Bundesliga requirements, and its capacity is expected to increase to 15,000 by the spring of next year.
There is certainly something to be said about the well-known adage that ‘small is beautiful’.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘