After almost 50 years of comparably insignificant existence, SC Verl advanced to the Landesliga Westfalen (IV) in 1970. Since then, SC Verl have been relegated only once (in 2003), qualified for newly introduced higher-class leagues three times out of four, won their league twice, and played the promotion round for
2. Bundesliga once (in 1991). Had they advanced, SC Verl would have been the smallest town ever to field a German pro football team. Their second bid for advancing to professional football was the 1994–95 season, when they finished second in the newly formed Regionalliga Nord (III), six points behind
Arminia Bielefeld.
German Cup appearances SC Verl have appeared in the
DFB-Pokal (German Cup) tournament six times. In 1979, they defeated
VfB Oldenburg (III) and
Spvgg Elversberg (IV) before going out to
Stuttgarter Kickers (II). In 1992, they lost an all-amateur match in the first round. In 1999, they eliminated the
Bundesliga club
Borussia Mönchengladbach 6–5 on penalties, with
Arne Friedrich scoring the decisive penalty. They were defeated by the Bundesliga side
Eintracht Frankfurt in the second round. In both their fourth (2007) and fifth (2010) appearances, they lost their first round matches against
TSV 1860 Munich (II) – in the 2010 match by 2–1 after they led 1–0 at half-time. In the
2019–20 season Verl caused a major upset by beating the Bundesliga club
Augsburg 2–1 in the first round and 2. Bundesliga
Holstein Kiel on penalties in the second round before losing 1–0 to
Union Berlin.
Relegation and non-qualification In 2003, a 15th-place finish in the Regionalliga Nord (III) saw the team relegated for the first time in over thirty years. Some dispute surrounds Verl having to play the last game of the season in Paderborn during torrential rain, while
Hamburger SV II were able to claim unplayable conditions and played the next day, securing a victory against
KFC Uerdingen to remain in the league. SC Verl had to play the
Oberliga Westfalen (IV) for four years before winning the championship and advancing to Regionalliga again in 2007. One season later, the
3. Liga was introduced between the
2. Bundesliga and the Regionalliga, which in turn was split up from two into three divisions. SC Verl suffered through a poor 2007–08 campaign, finishing 18th and failing to qualify for the 3. Liga.
2009 European football betting scandal Two SC Verl games from the 2008–09 season – among over two hundred games by other clubs – were suspected of having been rigged by players, leading to significant attention by the press as, for several days, SC Verl was the only club actually named. The two players accused were summarily suspended, and their contracts were eventually terminated.
Amateur success Having played at least fourth tier level since 1970, with 17 consecutive seasons in the third tier, makes SC Verl one of the most consistent top teams of Germany's amateur football. One of the smallest cities to field a fourth-tier football team, and together with neighbouring club
SC Wiedenbrück one of only two clubs in the
Regionalliga West working under amateur conditions (both players and coaches have day-time jobs), the club is without any liabilities – a direct result of a continued policy of "no credit financing". The club achieved mid-table finishes for their first eleven seasons in the Regionalliga West after 2008.
Into 3. Liga In the truncated
2019–20 season, the club finished second on the points-per-game rule, but advanced to the promotion play-offs after first-placed
SV Rödinghausen declined to apply for a licence to play in the
3. Liga. Verl then beat
Lokomotive Leipzig on away goals to win promotion to the 3. Liga for the first time. In their first professional season, SC Verl performed strongly and finished 7th. Their second season went less smoothly, and they secured a third season only in their last match when they drew 1−1 against
MSV Duisburg. ImageSize = width:850 height:165 PlotArea = width:700 height:40 left:130 bottom:65 AlignBars = justify Period = from:1970 till:2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:4 start:1970 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1970 Colors = id:gruen value:rgb(0.7,1,0.7) id:blau value:rgb(0.7,0.7,1) id:rot value:rgb(1,0.7,0.7) id:blau value:rgb(0.5,0.5,1) id:gelb value:rgb(1,1,0.7) id:grau value:gray(0.8) BarData = bar:3rdtier text:"3rd Tier" bar:4thtier text:"4th Tier" PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:8 mark:(line,grau) width:20 shift:(1,-5) bar:3rdtier color:gruen from:1986 till:1987 text:9 from:1987 till:1988 text:13 from:1988 till:1989 text:7 from:1989 till:1990 text:6 from:1990 till:1991 text:1 from:1991 till:1992 text:3 from:1992 till:1993 text:2 from:1993 till:1994 text:5 from:1994 till:1995 text:2 from:1995 till:1996 text:10 from:1996 till:1997 text:7 from:1997 till:1998 text:10 from:1998 till:1999 text:10 from:1999 till:2000 text:9 from:2000 till:2001 text:6 from:2001 till:2002 text:11 from:2002 till:2003 text:15 from:2007 till:2008 text:18 from:2020 till:2021 text:7 from:2021 till:2022 text:16 from:2022 till:2023 text:10 from:2023 till:2024 text:12 from:2024 till:2025 text:7 from:2025 till:2026 text: bar:4thtier color:gelb from:1970 till:1971 text:3 from:1971 till:1972 text:6 from:1972 till:1973 text:3 from:1973 till:1974 text:3 from:1974 till:1975 text:7 from:1975 till:1976 text:7 from:1976 till:1977 text:7 from:1977 till:1978 text:2 from:1978 till:1979 text:4 from:1979 till:1980 text:5 from:1980 till:1981 text:2 from:1981 till:1982 text:8 from:1982 till:1983 text:4 from:1983 till:1984 text:4 from:1984 till:1985 text:2 from:1985 till:1986 text:1 from:2003 till:2004 text:2 from:2004 till:2005 text:5 from:2005 till:2006 text:2 from:2006 till:2007 text:2 from:2008 till:2009 text:8 from:2009 till:2010 text:9 from:2010 till:2011 text:9 from:2011 till:2012 text:10 from:2012 till:2013 text:10 from:2013 till:2014 text:11 from:2014 till:2015 text:7 from:2015 till:2016 text:10 from:2016 till:2017 text:13 from:2017 till:2018 text:8 from:2018 till:2019 text:7 from:2019 till:2020 text:2 LineData= layer:front at:1978 width:0.5 color:black at:1994 width:0.5 color:black at:2008 width:0.5 color:black TextData= pos:(15,18) fontsize:8 text:"The third and fourth tier at their time were, respectively:" pos:(15,3) fontsize:8 text:"Until 1978 Verbands-/Landesliga, until 1994 Ober-/Verbandsliga, until 2008 Regional-/Oberliga, and 3. Liga/Regionalliga since 2008." ==Honours==