1963 German football championship
| Deutsche Fußballmeisterschaft | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country | West Germany |
| Dates | 18 May – 29 June |
| Teams | 9 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Borussia Dortmund 3rd German title |
| Runners-up | 1. FC Köln |
| European Cup | Borussia Dortmund |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 26 |
| Goals scored | 110 (4.23 per match) |
| Top goal scorer | Christian Müller (9 goals) |
The 1963 German football championship was the culmination of the football season in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1962–63. Borussia Dortmund were crowned champions for the third time after a group stage and a final, having previously won the championship in 1956 and 1957.
Defending champions 1. FC Köln made its third appearance in the final, having won the previous year's championship and lost in 1960, but lost 3-1 to Borussia Dortmund.
On the strength of this title, Borussia Dortmund participated in the 1963–64 European Cup, where the team lost to Inter Milan in the semi-finals.
The format used to determine the German champion was similar to the one used in the 1962 season. Nine clubs qualified for the tournament, with the runners-up of the South and the North having to play a qualifying match. The remaining eight clubs then played a home-and-away round in two groups of four, with the two group winners entering the final. In the previous year, a single round had been played in the group stages because of the 1962 FIFA World Cup, in order to reduce the schedule and not hinder West Germany at the tournament in Chile, where West Germany was knocked out by Yugoslavia in the quarterfinals.
The 1963 edition was the last edition before the introduction of the Bundesliga, and the last one to have a championship final match. From 1963-64 onwards, the German championship would have a consistent format with 18 teams and 34 matches, in a double round-robin tournament (except in 1991-92, when due to German reunification the league had 20 teams and 38 matches).