Return to the 3rd league
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In the 3rd league, Antonio Foti (22) was one of the top performers in the BVB reserves in the 2024/25 relegation season. Now the former Hanoverian is leaving the Dortmund regional league team for his personal resurgence; Third division club SC Verl has signed the Cyprus national player, who was born in Bulgaria.
“With Toni we are gaining a versatile midfielder who has high potential,” explained Verls Zlatko Janjic. “He has already gained a lot of experience in his young years and will continue to heat up our competition within the team. He will complement our team perfectly in terms of character and athleticism.”
Foti played 38 third division games for BVB, having even gained experience in 96 in the 2nd Bundesliga. “I’m looking forward to the new challenge in Verl,” said Foti, who trained at Eintracht Frankfurt, about his move to the sports club. “The boys played a great first half of the season and I want to do my part to ensure that things go similarly in the second half of the season. I want to acclimatise quickly in the training camp and get to know the team.” Foti contributed five goals and three assists for Dortmund last season. In the regional league he had five assists in 15 games in the first half of the season.
Promotion aspirant Verl starts the second half of the 3rd league on Saturday, January 17th with a home game against Waldhof Mannheim. The East Westphalians surprisingly finished the first half of the season in second place in the table. According to squad value, the club started the season 15th. 19 match days with nine wins and only two defeats later, Verl is currently aiming for promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga with currently 35 points. For MSV Duisburg and Rot-Weiss Essen (one point behind) as well as Hansa Rostock and VfL Osnabrück (three points), the SC is within reach. Energie Cottbus leads the table with 36 points.
“Toni can now play in the 3rd league again. With SC Verl he has found a very good club that stands for the development of young players and offers him optimal conditions for the next step,” said Ingo Preuß, sporting director of the U23, at BVB.