 Following the war, the Saarland was occupied by France and administered as the Saar protectorate.Although still considered part of Germany, the state was subject attempts to make it part of France or to create a separate country there until it was re-united with Germany following a 1955 plebiscite.This was manifested in football through the establishment of a league structure separate from the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball Bund), the appearance of the region's top sides in French competition, and the formation of a national side that took part in qualification play for the 1954 FIFA World Cup.