Regionalliga

Regionalliga
Founded 1963
Country Germany
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Number of teams 93
Level on pyramid 4
Promotion to 3. Liga
Relegation to Oberliga
Current champions SC Weiche Flensburg 08 (Nord)
FC Energie Cottbus (Nordost)
KFC Uerdingen 05 (West)
1. FC Saarbrücken (Südwest)
TSV 1860 Munich (Bayern)
(2017–18)
2018–19 Regionalliga

The Regionalliga (German pronunciation: [ʁeɡi̯oˈnaːlˌliːɡa]) is the fourth tier of football in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier of the league system before being disbanded. The Regionalliga was then re-introduced as the third tier of the system in 1994. Upon introduction of a new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it was demoted to the fourth level of the pyramid but it remained a professional league.

History of the Regionalligas

1963–1974

From the introduction of the Bundesliga in 1963 until the formation of the 2. Bundesliga in 1974, there were five Regionalligas, forming the second tier of German Football:

The champions and runners-up of the respective divisions played out two promotion spots to the Bundesliga in two groups after the end of the season.

In 1974, the two 2. Bundesligas, Süd and Nord became the second tier of German Football and the Regionalligas ceased existing for the next 20 years.

1994–2000

In 1994, the Regionalligas were re-introduced, this time as the third tier of German Football. There were initially four Regionalligas:

  • Regionalliga Süd, (covering the states of Bavaria, Hesse and Baden-Württemberg)
  • Regionalliga West/Südwest, (covering the states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and North Rhine-Westphalia)
  • Regionalliga Nord, (covering the states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg)
  • Regionalliga Nordost, (covering the states of Brandenburg, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony; i.e. the former GDR and the city of Berlin)

Between 1994 and 2000, promotion to the 2. Bundesliga was regulated without much continuity. It was a problematic rule, as becoming champion of a division did not automatically mean promotion for that team. The champions of the South and West/Southwest divisions were automatically promoted, however, along with one of the two runners-up. The champions of the North and Northeast divisions had a play-off to decide who would get the fourth promotion spot. This rule was justified because there are more clubs in the southern part of Germany than the north.

In 1998, the promotion rule was changed again: the winner of the play-off between the North and Northeast division champions was promoted, while the loser faced the runners-up from the West/Southwest and South divisions in another play-off for the remaining promotion spot.

2000–2008

In 2000 the number of Regionalligas was reduced to two:

The new divisional alignment was not bound to certain states any more so teams were moved between the divisions in order to balance club numbers. This led to some clubs in the Southern division being geographically further north than some northern clubs, and vice versa.

The champions and the runners-up of both divisions were promoted to the 2. Bundesliga.

2008–2012

In 2008, the Regionalliga was demoted to become the fourth tier of football in Germany after the introduction of a new nationwide 3. Liga. However, there was an expansion to three divisions:[1]

  • Regionalliga Nord, (covering the states of Brandenburg, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Saxony, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg)
  • Regionalliga Süd, (covering the states of Bavaria, Hesse and Baden-Württemberg)
  • Regionalliga West, (covering the states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and North Rhine-Westphalia)

"Covering" meant that the single divisions were annually re-aligned to geographic location by a DFB committee in order to have 18 teams assigned to each division every year. This led to teams assigned to a division other than their geographical one. An example for this is BV Cloppenburg, who was assigned to the Western division for the 2008–09 season despite being located in Lower Saxony.

2012–present

In October 2010, yet another reform of the Regionalligas was decided upon. The number of leagues were now to be expanded to five, with the defunct Regionalliga Nordost to be reestablished and a Regionalliga Bayern to be established. Also, the Regionalliga West would lose the clubs from the south west to a new league, formed out of those clubs and the clubs from Regionalliga Süd without the Bavarian teams. The new system is due to come into operation in the 2012–13 season. It was also decided to limit the number of reserve teams per Regionalliga to seven.[2]

The five league champions and the runners-up of the Regionalliga Süd/Südwest will then play-off for the three promotion spots in a home-and-away series. The new leagues will consist of up to 22 clubs in their inaugural season but will then have to be reduced to between 16 and 18 clubs. The Regionalligas will not be administrated by the DFB but rather by the regional football associations. In regards to reserve teams, initially only seven are permitted per league, however, this rule may be subject to change under certain circumstances. Reserve sides of 3. Liga teams are not permitted in the Regionalliga.[3]

The reorganisation of the Regionalligas so soon after the last changes in 2008 became necessary because of a large number of insolvencies. These were caused by a lack of media interest in the leagues combined with large expenses and infrastructure demands. The five Regionalligas from 2012 are:[3]

Some regional football associations have also made changes to the league system below the Regionalliga in their area. From the 2012–13 season, the Bavarian Football Association split the Bayernliga into a northern and a southern division, and increased the number of Landesligas from three to five.[4]

Changes to promotion rules from 2018 and planned reforms for four regional leagues

At the 96th DFB-Bundestag in December 2017, delegates decided to change the promotion rules and reduce the number of leagues to four. To achieve this, a temporary solution has been put into place for the 2018–19 and 2019–20 seasons. Four teams will be promoted and there will be three guaranteed promotion places from the champions of the five regional leagues. The champion of the southwest league, which is giving up its second playoff place, will be promoted automatically in the next two seasons. Additionally there will be two teams promoted from the other four regional leagues. In the 2018–19 season, the champion of the northeast league will also be promoted directly. The winner of the third guaranteed promotion place will be decided by the drawing of lots. The remaining two regional league champions of the 2018–19 season will face off in a two-legged playoff determining the fourth promotion place. The two regional leagues whose teams took part in the playoff will automatically have promotion places for the 2019–20 season. As a result, the third division will have four relegation places.[5]

By the 97th DFB-Bundestag in 2019, a working group under DFB vice-president Peter Frymuth will have proposed a system involving four rather than five regional leagues.[5]

Maps

The history and development of the Regionalligas in maps:

League setup

Licensing

A club that wants to play in the Regionalliga must meet two conditions. First, the team must qualify for the league. Second, the club must obtain a license from the DFB. This license is granted if the club can prove that they are financially sound, that their stadium conforms to the security regulations, and that they have a working youth section.

Promotion

The champions of each division take part in the promotion round to the 3. Liga at the end of the season. Reserve teams will also be eligible for promotion unless the respective first team is playing in the 3. Liga.

Relegation

The bottom three teams of each division are demoted to their respective Oberliga. In the Regionalliga Nord, the fourth-to-last team will also be demoted.

As clubs in the Regionalliga must have their teams licensed by the DFB on a per-season basis, a team may also be relegated by having its license revoked or by going into administration. Reserve teams are also relegated when the respective first team is relegated to the 3. Liga.

Squad rules

Matchday squads in the Regionalliga must include at least six players of German nationality and under the age of 24, two under the age of 21, and a maximum of three non-EU players.

Champions

1963–1974

Season Regionalliga Nord Regionalliga West Regionalliga Berlin Regionalliga Südwest Regionalliga Süd
1963–64 FC St. Pauli Alemannia Aachen SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin Borussia Neunkirchen KSV Hessen Kassel
1964–65 Holstein Kiel Borussia Mönchengladbach Tennis Borussia Berlin 1. FC Saarbrücken Bayern Munich
1965–66 FC St. Pauli Fortuna Düsseldorf Hertha BSC FK Pirmasens 1. FC Schweinfurt 05
1966–67 Arminia Hannover Alemannia Aachen Hertha BSC Borussia Neunkirchen Kickers Offenbach
1967–68 Arminia Hannover Bayer Leverkusen Hertha BSC SV Alsenborn SpVgg Bayern Hof
1968–69 VfL Osnabrück Rot-Weiss Oberhausen Hertha Zehlendorf SV Alsenborn Karlsruher SC
1969–70 VfL Osnabrück VfL Bochum Hertha Zehlendorf SV Alsenborn Kickers Offenbach
1970–71 VfL Osnabrück VfL Bochum SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin Borussia Neunkirchen 1. FC Nürnberg
1971–72 FC St. Pauli Wuppertaler SV SC Wacker 04 Berlin Borussia Neunkirchen Kickers Offenbach
1972–73 FC St. Pauli Rot-Weiss Essen Blau-Weiß 1890 Berlin FSV Mainz 05 SV Darmstadt 98
1973–74 Eintracht Braunschweig SG Wattenscheid 09 Tennis Borussia Berlin Borussia Neunkirchen FC Augsburg

1994–2000

Season Regionalliga Nord Regionalliga Nordost Regionalliga West/Südwest Regionalliga Süd
1994–95 VfB Lübeck Carl Zeiss Jena Arminia Bielefeld SpVgg Unterhaching
1995–96 VfB Oldenburg Tennis Borussia Berlin FC Gütersloh Stuttgarter Kickers
1996–97 Hannover 96 FC Energie Cottbus SG Wattenscheid 09 1. FC Nürnberg
1997–98 Hannover 96 Tennis Borussia Berlin Rot-Weiß Oberhausen SSV Ulm 1846
1998–99 VfL Osnabrück Chemnitzer FC Alemannia Aachen SV Waldhof Mannheim
1999–2000 VfL Osnabrück 1. FC Union Berlin 1. FC Saarbrücken SSV Reutlingen 05

2000–2008

Season Regionalliga Nord Regionalliga Süd
2000–01 1. FC Union Berlin Karlsruher SC
2001–02 VfB Lübeck Wacker Burghausen
2002–03 Erzgebirge Aue SpVgg Unterhaching
2003–04 Rot-Weiss Essen Bayern Munich II
2004–05 Eintracht Braunschweig Kickers Offenbach
2005–06 Rot-Weiss Essen FC Augsburg
2006–07 FC St. Pauli SV Wehen
2007–08 Rot Weiss Ahlen FSV Frankfurt

2008–2012

Season Regionalliga Nord Regionalliga West Regionalliga Süd
2008–09 Holstein Kiel Borussia Dortmund II 1. FC Heidenheim
2009–10 SV Babelsberg 03 1. FC Saarbrücken VfR Aalen
2010–11 Chemnitzer FC Preußen Münster SV Darmstadt 98
2011–12 Hallescher FC Borussia Dortmund II Stuttgarter Kickers

2012–present

Season Regionalliga Nord Regionalliga Nordost Regionalliga West Regionalliga Südwest Regionalliga Bayern
2012–13 Holstein Kiel RB Leipzig Sportfreunde Lotte KSV Hessen Kassel TSV 1860 Munich II
2013–14 VfL Wolfsburg II TSG Neustrelitz SC Fortuna Köln SG Sonnenhof Großaspach Bayern Munich II
2014–15 Werder Bremen II 1. FC Magdeburg Borussia Mönchengladbach II Kickers Offenbach Würzburger Kickers
2015–16 VfL Wolfsburg II FSV Zwickau Sportfreunde Lotte SV Waldhof Mannheim SSV Jahn Regensburg
2016–17 SV Meppen Carl Zeiss Jena FC Viktoria Köln SV Elversberg SpVgg Unterhaching
2017–18 SC Weiche Flensburg 08 FC Energie Cottbus KFC Uerdingen 05 1. FC Saarbrücken TSV 1860 Munich

References

  1. ↑ "Official DFB article on the 3rd Bundesliga and Regionalliga" (in German). DFB. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 8 December 2007.
  2. ↑ "DFB-Bundestag beschließt Reform der Spielklassen" (in German). DFB. 22 October 2010. Archived from the original on 27 November 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  3. 1 2 "DFB weitet die Spielklassenreform aus" (in German). kicker.de. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "Die Ligenstruktur - Auf- und Abstieg" (in German). Bavarian Football Association (BFV). 12 February 2011. Archived from the original on 10 August 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Änderung der Aufstiegsregelung in der Regionalliga beschlossen". dfb.de (in German). DFB. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
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