the dfb-pokal begins with a round of 64 teams. the 36 teams of the bundesliga and 2. bundesliga, along with the top four finishers of the 3. liga are automatically qualified for the tournament. of the remaining slots 21 are given to the cup winners of the regional football associations, the "verbandspokale". the three remaining slots are given to the three regional associations with the most men's teams. they may assign the slot as they see fit but usually give it to the runner-up in the association cup. as every team taking part in the german football league system is entitled to participate in local tournaments which qualify for the association cups, every team can in principle compete in the dfb-pokal. reserve teams like borussia dortmund ii are not permitted to enter.