Bayernliga facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Bayernliga

Organising body	Bavarian Football Association
Founded	1945
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Divisions	2
Number of teams	36 (18 teams of each division)
Level on pyramid	Level 5
Promotion to	Regionalliga Bayern
Relegation to	Landesliga Nordost Landesliga Nordwest Landesliga Mitte Landesliga Südost Landesliga Südwest
Domestic cup(s)	Bavarian Cup
Current champions	North: DJK Vilzing South: SpVgg Hankofen-Hailing (2021–22)

The Bayernliga is a really important football league in Bavaria, a state in Germany. It's the top amateur football league there. Think of it as the second-highest league overall in Bavaria, just below the Regionalliga Bayern.

This league is one of fourteen "Oberligas" in German football. It's currently the fifth level in the whole German football system. This means there are four leagues above it. The Bayernliga has changed its level over the years. Before 2008, it was the fourth level. And before 1994, it was even the third level!

Since the 2012–13 season, the Bayernliga has been split into two parts: a northern division and a southern division. Before that, it was just one big league since 1963. The league is right below the Regionalliga Bayern. Below the Bayernliga are the Landesligas, which grew from three leagues to five in 2012.

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What is the Bayernliga?

The Bayernliga is a key part of German football. It helps teams move up or down in the league system. Teams that do well can get promoted to a higher league. Teams that don't do so well might get relegated to a lower league.

How the League Started: 1945–1950

The league began in 1945. It was called the Landesliga Bayern back then. It started with nine clubs. At that time, it was the second-highest league in Germany. It was just below the Oberliga Süd. This was after World War II, when Bavaria was part of the US occupation zone.

In its second season, the league grew. It split into two groups: North Bavaria and South Bavaria. Each group had eleven teams. The champions of these two groups played each other. The winner became the Bavarian champion and could move up. A year later, each group had thirteen teams.

In 1948, the league became one group again. It had sixteen teams. The top two teams could move up. For the 1949–50 season, there were fourteen clubs. The top five teams were promoted to a new league called the 2. Oberliga Süd.

Renamed Amateurliga Bayern: 1950–1953

In 1950, the league changed its name. It became the Amateurliga Bayern. This name stayed until 1978. It was now the third level of the German league system. It was below the 2nd Oberliga. In its first year, it had sixteen clubs. Then it grew to eighteen, and later to nineteen teams.

Split Again: 1953–1963

In 1953, the league split into two groups again. There was a northern group and a southern group. Each had fifteen clubs. This happened for a few reasons. It helped teams save money on travel. It also meant Bavaria could have two regional champions. Both champions could try to get promoted to the 2nd Oberliga. Bavaria is a very large state. It felt it was unfair that only one of its champions could try to move up.

The number of teams in these two leagues changed often. Sometimes, teams from central Bavaria moved between divisions. This helped keep the leagues balanced. Below the Bayernliga, there were "2. Amateurligas." There were supposed to be seven of these. But some areas, like Oberbayern, had even more divisions.

Back to One League: 1963–1978

In 1963, a big change happened in German football. The Bundesliga was created. This new league became the top league in Germany. Because of this, the Oberliga Süd and 2nd Oberliga Süd leagues were closed. The Amateurliga Bayern became one league again. It was now under the Regionalliga Süd, which was the new second level. The Amateurliga Bayern stayed as a third-level league.

Seven clubs from the northern division and seven from the southern division joined the new league. Four teams from the 2nd Oberliga also joined. The league champion still had to compete to move up. They played against winners from other southern German amateur leagues. The bottom three teams in the Bayernliga were moved down. Below the Bayernliga, three Landesligas were created. Their champions could move up directly:

• Landesliga Bayern-Nord, for northern Bavaria.
• Landesliga Bayern-Mitte, for central Bavaria.
• Landesliga Bayern-Süd, for southern Bavaria.

The league stayed mostly the same until 1974. Then, the Regionalliga was replaced by the 2. Bundesliga Süd. For the Bayernliga, not much changed. The winner still had to play-off to get promoted to the new league.

Amateur-Oberliga Bayern: 1978–1994

In 1978, the top amateur leagues in Germany changed. Their number was cut in half. This meant that for the first time, champions from the southern leagues could get promoted directly. The Amateurligas were also renamed Amateur-Oberligas. People often just called them "Oberliga." In the south, the Bayernliga was now similar to other Oberligas.

Direct promotion for southern champions only lasted two seasons (1978–79 and 1979–80). In 1981, the 2. Bundesliga became one single division. This meant Oberliga champions had to play promotion rounds again. The Bavarian Football Association also started a promotion round for the Landesligas. The three second-placed teams in those leagues played against the fourth-last Bayernliga team. They played for one more spot in the Bayernliga. Sometimes, more promotion spots were open. This happened if the Bayernliga champion moved up to the 2nd Bundesliga.

Oberliga Bayern: 1994–2012

The Bayernliga had been a third-level league for 44 seasons. But in 1994, the Regionalligas were brought back. They were now at the third level. This made the Bayernliga drop to the fourth level. It also got a shorter name: Oberliga Bayern. This was because the "highest" amateur league was now the Regionalliga.

Six teams with the best results over the last three seasons joined the new Regionalliga Süd. These included well-known clubs like FC Augsburg and SpVgg Unterhaching. This also meant more clubs than usual could move up from the Landesliga.

For the first time since 1980, the Bavarian champion was directly promoted again. They moved up to the Regionalliga. The only exception was in 2000. That year, the number of Regionalligas was cut from four to two.

In 2008, the league system changed again. The 3. Liga was created. It fit between the 2nd Bundesliga and the Regionalligas. This made the Bayernliga drop even further, to the fifth level. However, the top four teams from the Bayernliga that season could join the Regionalliga. This was if they met the financial rules. The Bayernliga champion, SpVgg Bayreuth, was not allowed to join. So, 1. FC Eintracht Bamberg took their place. Another Bavarian team, SpVgg Unterhaching II, also got promoted.

Bayernliga Nord and Süd: From 2012 Onwards

In 2010, a new plan for the Regionalligas was made. The number of leagues would grow to five. A new Regionalliga Bayern would be created. This new system started in the 2012–13 season. It was also decided that each Regionalliga could only have seven reserve teams.

The Bavarian football federation made big changes from 2012. With the new Regionalliga Bayern, they put two Bayernligas below it. These became the new fifth level. Below those, five Landesligas were created instead of three. These new leagues were set up by area. This helped reduce travel and create more local rivalries. This plan was approved in April 2011. The Bezirksoberligas were also closed. The Bezirksligas took their place below the Landesligas. This system was actually used before, from 1963 to 1988.

At first, people thought the new Regionalliga Bayern would be called Bayernliga. But it was decided that the current Bayernliga would keep that name. This meant the Bayernliga would be split again, just like it was from 1953 to 1963. The new rules meant that all current Bavarian Regionalliga teams could join the new league. Also, the top nine teams from the Bayernliga could join. Teams from 10th to 15th place played in a promotion round. They played against Landesliga champions and runners-up for more spots.

Teams that lost the Regionalliga qualification round (nine clubs) joined the new Bayernligas. Landesliga clubs that finished third to eighth (18 clubs) also joined. Winners of the Bayernliga promotion round also joined. Landesliga clubs that didn't qualify stayed in one of the five new Landesligas. No teams were moved down to the Bezirksligas.

League Timeline

Here's how the league's name, format, and level have changed over time:

Champions of the Bayernliga

1945–1953 Champions

From 1945–46, the Landesliga Bayern was one division. In 1946–47 and 1947–48, it had two regional divisions. The winners played a final to decide the Bavarian champion. From 1948 to 1953, it was one division again.

• Bavarian champions in this era are shown in bold.

1953–1963 Champions

From 1953 to 1963, the Bayernliga was split into a northern and a southern group again. From 1956 onwards, a Bavarian final was held once more.

• Bavarian champions in this era are shown in bold

1963–2012 Champions

From 1963 onwards, the Bayernliga was always a single division. From 1963 to 1980 and from 1995 onwards, the league champion could move up directly. In 1974 and 1981, no promotion was possible. From 1982 to 1994, the champion had to play in a promotion round. If the champion didn't want to move up, the second-placed team could take their spot.

2012–Present Champions

Since 2012, the Bayernliga has been split into a northern and a southern group again.

• Promoted teams are shown in bold.
• ¹ FC Wacker München didn't want to be promoted. Würzburger FV was promoted instead as the second-placed team.
• ² 1. FC Haßfurt didn't want to be promoted. MTV Ingolstadt was promoted instead as the second-placed team.
• ³ SpVgg Bayreuth was not allowed to join the Regionalliga.
• ⁴ FC Ismaning didn't want to be promoted. The second-placed team, FC Ingolstadt II, was promoted instead.
• ⁵ BC Aichach didn't want to be promoted and left the Bayernliga. VfR Garching was promoted instead.
• ⁶ SV Pullach didn't want to be promoted. The second-placed team, FC Unterföhring, was promoted instead.
• ⁷ The 2019–20 season was stopped because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was later extended to 2021. The 2020–21 season was cancelled.

Recent Top Scorers

Here are the players who scored the most goals in the league since 2005:

Bayernliga Top Scorers (until 2012)

• ¹ Peter Heyer scored 19 goals in 2007–08. But one goal was removed because his team used players who weren't allowed to play. So, only 18 goals were officially counted.

League Records (1963–2012)

Here are some interesting records for clubs in the Bayernliga from 1963 to 2012:

See also

In Spanish: Bayernliga para niños