Football league system in Germany
The football league system in Germany describes the division of German football - leagues . This is a hierarchical system interlocked through promotion and relegation of 2235 leagues on up to 13 levels, in which 31,645 teams participate (as of the 2016/17 season). The resulting league pyramid gives every member club of the German Football Association (DFB) the opportunity to one day advance to the top division in German football , the Bundesliga , in which the German football champions are determined.
Current league pyramid
The league pyramid has existed in this form since the 2012/13 season (with slight changes since 2015/16), with the beginning of which the regional league, which was previously run in three parallel seasons by the DFB, is now played in five separate divisions, organized by the regional associations North and Northeast , West , South and the Southwest Football Regional Association .
The team strengths given for the respective divisions apply to the 2016/17 season. If the rules of play for the respective league generally show a different target number of teams, this is also indicated in brackets. A deviation from the target number usually arises if more teams were relegated from the superordinate league in the previous season than were promoted from this league to the superordinate league and the organizing association in its rules of play does not have increased relegation from the current league Season, but this should take place in the following season.
The number of promoted and relegated players in each division only affects the athletic promotion and relegation after the 2016/17 season, as determined in accordance with the applicable promotion and relegation regulations. If a division is played in several relays, the information on promoters and relegators applies to each relay. If a team that is athletically qualified for this does not want to be promoted or is denied promotion for economic reasons, the next team placed in the higher division moves up in its place. If a team that is athletically qualified for this is denied membership of a league for the coming season for economic reasons or if it waives its right to start, the relegated team usually receives the right to start the coming season.
| level | Division | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Bundesliga 18 teams 1st place: German champions + UEFA Champions League 2nd–4th: UEFA Champions League 5th place: UEFA Europa League 6th place: UEFA Europa League qualification 7th place: UEFA Europa League qualification , if the DFB Cup winner a placement in the top six receives 16th place: Relegation 17th–18th place: relegated |
|||||||||||
| 2 |
2nd Bundesliga 18 teams 1st–2th place: promoted 3rd place: Relegation 16th place: Relegation 17th-18th place: relegated |
|||||||||||
| 3 |
3rd league 20 teams Place 1–2: Promoted place 3: Relegation Place 17–20: Relegated place |
|||||||||||
| 4th |
Regional North 18 teams No. 1: Rise Place 16: possible relegated 17-18: Relegated |
Regional Northeast 18 teams 1st place: promotion round place 14-17: possible relegation place 18: Relegated |
Regional West 18 teams 1st place: promotion round place 15-18: possible relegated |
Regional Southwest 18 (19) teams No. 1: Rise 14-16: possible relegation place 17-19: Relegated |
Regional Bavaria 18 teams No. 1: Rise place 15-16: Relegation 17-18: Relegated |
|||||||
| 5 |
Oberliga Schleswig-Holstein 16 teams 1st place: promotion round ↓ 4 relegated |
Oberliga Hamburg 18 teams 1st place: promotion round ↓ 3-6 relegated |
Bremen-Liga 16 teams 1st place: promotion round ↓ 2 relegated |
Oberliga Niedersachsen 16 teams 1st place: Promoted place 2: promotion round ↓ 2-4 relegated |
Two seasons of the league Northeast (north, south) 32 teams 1st place: Promoted ↓ 5-11 relegated |
Oberliga Niederrhein 18 teams 1st place: Promoted ↓ 4 relegated |
Middle Rhine league 16 teams 1st place: Promoted ↓ 3 relegated |
Oberliga Westfalen 18 teams Place 1-2: Promoted ↓ 2-5 relegated |
Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz / Saar 18 teams 1st place: Promoted place 2: promotion round ↓ 3-6 relegated |
Hessenliga 17 teams 1st place: Promoted place 2: promotion round ↓ 3-5 relegated |
Oberliga Baden-Wuerttemberg 18 teams 1st place: Promoted place 2: promotion round ↓ 2-5 relegated |
Two seasons of the Bavarian League (north, south) 35 Teams Place 1: Rising Place 2 and 14-17: Relegation Place 18-19: Relegated |
| 6th | 2 relays of the Landesliga Schleswig-Holstein (Schleswig, Holstein) 32 teams ↑ 2 climbers each |
2 relays of the Landesliga Hamburg (Hammonia, Hansa) 32 teams ↑ 1–2 promoted teams each |
Landesliga Bremen 16 teams ↑ 2 improving |
4 seasons of the division Lower Saxony (Braunschweig, Hannover Luneburg, Weser-Ems) 64 teams ↑ each riser 1-2 |
Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 16 teams ↑ 1 Movers Brandenburg league ↓ 3 relegated |
2 seasons of the division Lower Rhine (Group 1, Group 2) 36 teams ↑ 1 each climber |
2 seasons of the division means Rhein (relay 1, relay 2) 32 teams ↑ 1 each climber |
2 seasons of the Westfalenliga (season 1, season 2) 32 teams ↑ 1 climber each |
Rhineland league 18 teams ↑ 1 Movers Verbandsliga |
3 seasons of the Association League Hessen (center, north, south) 52 teams ↑ 1–2 promoted teams each |
Association League Baden 16 teams ↑ 1–2 promoted teams Verbandsliga |
5 relays of the Bavarian State League (center, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest) 90 teams ↑ 1–2 promoted teams each |
| 7+ | Game operations of the regional associations | |||||||||||
|
SHFV (Schleswig-Holstein) |
HFV (Hamburg) |
BFV (Bremen) |
NFV (Lower Saxony) |
LFVMV (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) FLB (Brandenburg) |
FVN (Lower Rhine) |
FVM (Middle Rhine) |
FLVW (Westphalia) |
FVR (Rhineland) |
HFV (Hesse) |
bfv (Baden) |
BFV (Bavaria) |
|
Game operation
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga , in which 18 professional teams take part, is the top division in German football. On 34 match days, the teams determine the German football champions every season. Each team has 17 home and 17 away games in one season, one at home and one away against each opponent. At the end of the season, the two last-placed teams will be relegated directly and will be replaced in the following season by the two first-placed teams in the 2nd Bundesliga. In addition, the third from bottom of the Bundesliga and the third placed in the 2nd Bundesliga determine another participant for the following season in two relegation games .
For the Bundesliga, the German Football League (DFL) awards the professional license required to participate to the sportily and economically qualified clubs according to a licensing procedure and organizes the operation of this nationwide league.
2nd Bundesliga
The 2nd Bundesliga , in which 18 professional teams also take part, is the second highest division in German football. The first two finishers will go straight to the Bundesliga. The third-placed player plays relegation games with the third from bottom of the Bundesliga. The loser of the relegation matches takes part in the Bundesliga 2 game operations in the following season. At the end of the season, the two last-placed teams will be relegated directly and will be replaced in the following season by the two first-placed teams in the 3rd division. In addition, the third from bottom of the 2nd Bundesliga and the third placed in the 3rd division determine a further participant for the following season in two relegation games.
For the 2nd Bundesliga, the DFL again awards the professional license required to participate to the sportily and economically qualified clubs according to a licensing process and organizes the operation of this nationwide league.
3rd league
The 3rd league , in which 20 professional teams take part, is the third highest division in German football and at the same time the lowest fully professional league. The two first placed go straight to the 2nd Bundesliga. The third-placed player plays relegation games with the third from bottom of the 2nd Bundesliga. The loser of the relegation matches will take part in the third division in the following season. The four last-placed teams, depending on their membership of one of the 21 regional associations of the DFB, are relegated to the regional league that is superordinate to the game operations of the respective regional association. The increase from three to four relegated teams has been in effect since the 2018/19 season.
The 3rd league is a professional league, but not a DFL licensing league like the two national leagues (therefore the 3rd league is not called "3rd Bundesliga"). The DFB is responsible for the organization of the 3rd division. The DFB grants the clubs permission to participate in the third division, but this is also commonly referred to as a “third division license”.
The 3rd division is the highest division in which second teams from DFL licensing clubs are permitted. Therefore, if one or more second teams occupy the promotion places at the end of the season, a corresponding number of first teams next in the table moves up.
Regional league
structure
The Regionalliga is the fourth highest division in German football and formally at the same time the highest German amateur division. In fact, semi-professional structures predominate in almost all participating teams, for example in terms of the infrastructure available, the extent of the supervisory staff employed by the club or the payment of contract players . In contrast to the three professional leagues , the regional league is not organized uniformly nationwide, but rather takes place in the five independent leagues of Bavaria , North , Northeast , Southwest and West with a target strength of between 16 and 18 teams, which are divided according to regional aspects . The target strength is exceeded in various seasons.
The North, Northeast and West squadrons are organized directly by the regional association that gives them their name . The regional leagues Southwest and Bavaria are each organized by the participating state associations. A licensing or Admission procedures as in the professional leagues no longer take place from this league level downwards, however, as a rule, certain financial and infrastructural minimum requirements must be met by the clubs for admission to participation in the upper amateur game classes.
Teams descending from the 3rd league into the regional league are integrated into the regional associations that encompass the respective regional leagues. Exceptions are only possible for the second teams of the professional clubs after consultation with the associations involved, if otherwise more than seven second teams would play simultaneously in a relay of the regional league.
In the regional league, second teams from professional clubs are only allowed to take part in matches if the club's professional division plays at least in the 2nd Bundesliga.
New promotion rules from 2019
From the 2018/19 season there will be four promoted players, with the champions of the Regionalliga Südwest always rising. It is no longer intended that the table runner-up in this league has a chance of promotion. In addition, there are two fixed promoters from the other leagues. The stipulations change between the leagues. The two respective champions of the leagues, who do not have a steady promoted team in the respective season, play the fourth promoted player in the first and second leg. By the DFB Bundestag 2019, a working group headed by DFB Vice President Peter Frymuth is to develop a proposal on how a model with four instead of the previous five regional leagues could look. In the 2018/19 season, the champions of the Southwest, Northeast and West regional leagues will receive a direct promotion place. The latter resulted in a draw. A relegation for the last remaining promotion place will be played between the remaining 2 regional league champions. In the 2019/2020 season, the champions from the south-west will be promoted directly again, but now the west and north-east have to play a relegation, while the champions from Bavaria and the north can be promoted directly.
Oberliga
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Below the regional league, the league system no longer follows a uniform designation scheme and no uniform pyramid structure, as the specific design of the game operation is the sole responsibility of the respective regional and state associations : Each state association has its own league system, so there is no nationwide uniformity of the division of the game in amateur football. Accordingly, there are currently eleven major leagues and one association league at the fifth division level.
Of the 21 regional associations of the DFB, the eight regional associations of Bremen , Hamburg , Hesse , Middle Rhine , Lower Rhine , Lower Saxony , Schleswig-Holstein and Westphalia organize their own league. A joint league of several regional associations is carried out on the one hand by the regional association Southwest , which represents the regional associations Rhineland , Saarland and Southwest . On the other hand, these are the regional associations of Baden , South Baden and Württemberg . A joint upper league in two seasons is organized by the northeast German regional association, which heads the state associations of Berlin , Brandenburg , Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia . Since the 2012/13 season, the regional association of Bavaria has not played a major league, but has been replaced by the Bavarian League, which is held in two seasons as an association league .
The champions of the twelve major league squadrons and the champions of the two association league squadrons mostly rise directly to the higher regional league. The only exceptions to this are the champions of the Hamburg Oberliga , the Bremen League and the Schleswig-Holstein Oberliga , who, together with the runner-up in the Lower Saxony Oberliga, are playing a promotion round for two more places in the Regional League. In addition, the runner-up in the Oberliga Westfalen will be promoted directly to the regional league.
Association league / regional league
The sixth division level is organized by all 21 national associations of the DFB without exception. Depending on the regional association, there is either the association league or the regional league in this division . In contrast to this, some state associations have switched over to giving the divisions a name that emphasizes the association's territory in the last few years, for example the Association League Westphalia was renamed the Westphalia League.
Below the sixth league level
Depending on the league system of the respective state association, there is, for example, the association league (state associations Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein), state league (state associations Baden, Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt, South Baden, South West, Westphalia and Württemberg) at the seventh highest division level, Regional class (regional associations Thuringia and Saxony), group league (regional association Hesse), district league (regional associations Bavaria, Bremen, Hamburg, Middle Rhine, Lower Saxony, Lower Rhine and Rhineland) or district league (regional association Schleswig-Holstein).
Below the responsibilities of the state associations, the responsibility of the district or district associations belonging to a state association, whose association area often corresponds to the political boundaries of independent cities, districts or administrative districts, then regularly follows. These district or district associations organize game operations down to the lowest game level.
In most regional associations, the district leagues or district classes form the lowest game level. The division into division of the leagues in the individual districts or district areas can vary downwards and essentially depends on how many teams are registered for the game there.
An example: While the 1st district class in the football districts in the area of the Lower Saxony Football Association corresponds to the 9th division level from the point of view of the overall German league system, the 1st district class in the football districts in the area of the state association Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania represents the 11th level from the overall German point of view While in the football circles in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania this is the lowest league and thus also the lowest division level, in some football circles in Lower Saxony it goes down to the 5th district class, which then corresponds to the 13th level seen across Germany (status: season 2016/17).
Structural reforms
Even before the last structural reform in 2012, there were repeated changes to the league system. The most important of these changes are listed in chronological order below:
- 1963: The newly created Bundesliga replaces the final round of the German soccer championship . The up to then highest divisions (the upper leagues north, west, southwest and south as well as the contract league Berlin ) will be dissolved as well as the second upper leagues played in some regional associations . It will be replaced by five newly created regional leagues below the Bundesliga (North, West, Southwest, South and Berlin).
- 1974: The 2nd Bundesliga , played in two seasons (north, south), is introduced as the foundation of the Bundesliga. The regional leagues are dissolved. In the area of the North German Football Association, the Oberliga will be reintroduced as the third division level. In the other regional associations, the 1st amateur league and the association league remain the third division level.
- 1978: In the other regional associations, the upper league is now reintroduced as the third highest division and the previously third class 1st amateur leagues are continued in fourth class as an association league (with the exception of Bavaria: there the 1st amateur league gets the status of the upper league). Overall, the Oberliga will be played in eight seasons (North, Berlin, Westphalia, North Rhine, Southwest, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria).
- 1981: The 2nd Bundesliga, which had previously been played in two seasons, becomes a single track.
- 1991: The teams of the former German Democratic Republic are incorporated into the league system. To this end, the 2nd Bundesliga will be expanded to two seasons once for the 1991/92 season. In the area of the former GDR and the former West Berlin, the Oberliga Nordost is emerging as the third highest division. The previous Oberliga Berlin will be dissolved.
- 1994: The Regionalliga is reintroduced as the third highest division in three seasons (North / Northeast, West / Southwest, South). The up until then third class league is now only fourth class.
- 2000: The regional league is continued in just two seasons (north, south).
- 2008: The 3rd division is introduced. The regional league is again divided into three seasons (north, west, south) and is only fourth class.
- 2012: The regional league is continued in five separate game classes (North, Northeast, West, Southwest, Bavaria).
League system of the GDR
After the Second World War , the league system in Germany initially only developed within the respective occupation zones. While the thus initially regionally separated league systems in the Federal Republic of Germany then merged again under the direction of the DFB to form a uniformly structured league pyramid, an independent league pyramid was established in the German Democratic Republic under the direction of the German Football Association of the GDR .
- 1949: The newly introduced Oberliga replaces the previously held Eastern Zone Championship , in which the champions of the five state associations (Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony) competed against each other. The regional league as the top division level of the five regional associations is thus second class.
- 1950: The two-track league is introduced as the new substructure of the upper league and moves the regional league to the third division level. The East Berlin teams previously assigned to the Berlin City League have to leave and will be integrated into the Oberliga.
- 1952: Due to an administrative reform in the GDR, the previous states are abolished and replaced by 15 districts (including East Berlin). Accordingly, the district league , which will be held in 15 seasons, will be established, which will now form the new third division.
- 1954: The league is expanded to three seasons.
- 1955: The three-pronged league is merged into a season. The second division will be created in two seasons. This means that the district league is only fourth class.
- 1958: The second league is expanded to five seasons.
- 1962: The league is again divided into two seasons.
- 1963: The II. League is abolished again, so that the district league again moves up to the third highest division level.
- 1971: The league is expanded from two to five seasons.
- 1984: The league is reduced to two seasons again.
- 1991: The six best teams in the Oberliga are accepted into the Bundesliga or 2nd Bundesliga. The league is integrated on the third division level of the league pyramid of the DFB. The league and the district league will be dissolved and the former regional league will be created in their place.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Change of promotion rules in the regional league decided. dfb.de, December 8, 2017, accessed December 8, 2017 .
- ^ Statute of the 3rd division. (pdf, 330 kB) German Football Association , accessed on February 19, 2016 .
- ↑ Mode: This is how the ascent works. In: kicker.de. Kicker-Sportmagazin , May 25, 2013, accessed on May 1, 2014 .
- ↑ Change of promotion rules in the regional league decided. dfb.de, December 8, 2017, accessed December 8, 2017 .
Bundesliga | 2. Bundesliga | 3rd league
4. Division level ( regional leagues ): Bavaria | North (north and south) | Northeast | Southwest | west
5th league level ( major leagues ): Baden-Württemberg | Bavaria (north and south) | Bremen | Hamburg | Hessen | Middle Rhine | Lower Rhine | Lower Saxony (2 seasons) | Northeast (North and South) | Rhineland-Palatinate / Saar (north and south) | Schleswig-Holstein (north and south) | Westphalia
6. Division level ( national or association leagues ): Baden | Bavaria (northeast, northwest, center, southeast and southwest) | Berlin | Brandenburg | Bremen | Hamburg (Hansa and Hammonia) | Hesse (north, center and south) | Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | Middle Rhine (2 seasons) | Lower Rhine (3 seasons) | Lower Saxony (Weser-Ems, Hanover, Lüneburg and Braunschweig) | Rhineland | Saarland | Saxony | Saxony-Anhalt | Schleswig-Holstein (Schleswig, Central and Holstein) | South Baden | Southwest | Thuringia | Westphalia (2 seasons) | Württemberg
Status: 2020/21 season. Including follow depending on the state association , the national leagues , district leagues , county leagues , as well as the A, B, C and D classes, if necessary