Duisburg was founded in 1902. It was originally named Meidericher SV as a motorcade representing the area, and three years later it merged with SC Viktoria Meiderich in the same area. It was not until 1967 that the current name was used, which proved that Duisburg is the most popular and successful local team.

Duisburg won many regional championships in its early history, and remained unbeaten in one season, scoring 1 13 goals and only losing 12 goals. In the early 1930 s, the team was in chaos, and it was not until the 1950 s that it recovered and could send a strong team to play. When 1963 Bundesliga was founded, Duisburg was one of the founding teams of 16. The first year of Bundesliga was also the best year in Duisburg, ranking second only to Cologne. Duisburg spent 20 years in the top league, and was relegated to Bundesliga in 1982-83 season. Since then, Duisburg has experienced ups and downs between Group A and Group B, becoming the elevator team of German football. Nevertheless, Duisburg played in the Bundesliga for eight seasons in the next 25 years.