History of the German football league system facts for kids

The German football league system is like a big pyramid of connected football leagues for clubs in Germany. All these leagues are linked by a system called promotion and relegation. This means that good teams move up to higher leagues, and teams that don't do so well move down to lower leagues. In 2015, this system had up to 14 different levels and more than 2,300 divisions! It all started around 1900 with smaller local leagues and grew over many decades. The first nationwide league in Germany only began in 1963.

Early Days: Until 1933

Before the German Football Association (DFB) was even created, there were many different regional and district championships. It wasn't until 1906 that there was a clear way to decide which teams would play in the German championship. This championship was a special tournament played at the end of the season.

Germany was split into seven main regions, and each region had its own championship. Only the winners of these regional championships, and the team that won the German championship the year before, could play in the big tournament. In 1924, they increased the number of teams in the final tournament to 16.

There wasn't one big top league for the whole country back then. Instead, there were many smaller leagues running at the same time until the 1933–34 season. Some people wanted to create a professional nationwide league in the late 1920s. However, many officials were against professional football, so these plans didn't happen.

Changes from 1933 to 1944

When a new government took power in Germany in January 1933, it also changed football. The idea of a professional nationwide league was stopped. However, the football leaders did make the system more organized. In 1933, they started the Gauliga system. This was a new setup with 16 top-level leagues that were all similar in strength. These new leagues replaced the more than thirty older top divisions.

The champion of each Gauliga could play in the German championship tournament. Each Gauliga had about 10 teams, meaning there were 160 top-flight teams in total. This was a big reduction from the 400 to 500 teams before. By 1944, the number of Gauligas grew to 31. This happened because of the war, which made travel difficult, and because new areas were added to Germany.

After World War II: 1947–1963

After World War II, a new system called the Oberliga developed. This came from the championships that were played in the different areas occupied by the Allied forces. The best teams from the five top-level leagues in West Germany could play in the German championship tournament. It's important to know that from 1949 until 1991, East Germany had its own separate football league system.

The Bundesliga Era: 1963–1974

For a long time, people had wanted to create a nationwide professional top league. But these plans always failed because many people were against professional football, and the regional football groups were very strong.

However, after Germany's football team lost in the quarter-finals of the 1962 FIFA World Cup, the German Football Association decided to create the Bundesliga. This was a new, professional football league for the whole country.

The old Oberliga divisions became the second level of German football, now called the Regionalliga. There were five of these Regionalliga divisions, just like the old Oberliga divisions.

In its first two years, the Bundesliga had 16 teams. This number increased to 18 in 1965. Two teams from the Bundesliga would move down to the Regionalliga. The top two teams from each Regionalliga division, plus the champion of West Berlin, would play in a special tournament. The winners of this tournament would then move up to the Bundesliga.

Adding the 2. Bundesliga: 1974–1981

Soon, it became clear that there was a huge financial difference between the fully professional Bundesliga and the five Regionalliga divisions. Many teams in the Regionalliga were only semi-professional or even amateur. Teams that moved down from the Bundesliga often had big money problems. Some clubs even tried to cheat, which led to the 1971 Bundesliga scandal.

To fix this problem and make the gap smaller, a second professional league was introduced in 1974. This new league was called the 2. Bundesliga. It had two divisions, North and South, usually with 20 clubs in each. For the first time, the champions of these second-level divisions moved directly up to the Bundesliga. The old promotion tournament was stopped. Even the winner of a special playoff between the two second-place teams also got promoted. This meant that three clubs from the Bundesliga would now move down.

Because the Regionalligas were closed down in 1974, many of their clubs moved down to amateur state leagues. Between 1974 and 1978, several new amateur top leagues, called Amateur-Oberliga, were created in each region. This was another step to help bridge the gap between professional and amateur football.

A Single 2. Bundesliga: 1981–1991

In 1981, the two divisions of the 2. Bundesliga (North and South) were combined into one single nationwide league with 20 teams.

German Reunification: 1991–1994

When East and West Germany reunited in 1991, their football league systems also combined. This meant that the Bundesliga temporarily increased to 20 teams. To make space for 24 teams in the second level, the 2. Bundesliga was split again into a North and a South division, each with 12 teams.

In 1992, the Bundesliga went back to 18 teams. Four teams moved down, and only two moved up from the second level. The 2. Bundesliga played one more season with 24 teams in one division before its size was reduced to 20 teams in 1993 and then 18 teams in 1994.

Regionalliga Returns: 1994–2000

In 1994, the Regionalliga was brought back as the third level of the German football league system. It was split into four divisions: Nord (North), Nordost (Northeast), West/Südwest (West/Southwest), and Süd (South).

Four teams from the Regionalliga were promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. At first, these were the four division champions. Later, the champions of the Nord and Nordost divisions had to play in a special promotion playoff, while one second-place team from the South or West division was also promoted.

Two Regionalliga Divisions: 2000–2008

From 2000 to 2008, there were only two Regionalliga divisions: Nord (North) and Süd (South). The champions and the second-place teams from each of these divisions were promoted to the 2. Bundesliga.

Introducing the 3. Liga: 2008–2012

In 2006, the German Football Association decided to create another nationwide league at the third level. This new league, called the 3. Liga, started in the 2008–09 season and has 20 teams.

The 3. Liga was formed by the four lowest-ranked teams from the 2. Bundesliga in the 2007–08 season. It also included teams that finished from 3rd to 10th place in both the Regionalliga Nord and Regionalliga Süd in 2007–08.

The champions and second-place teams of the 3. Liga are promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. The team that finishes third plays a special home-and-away playoff against the third-to-last team from the 2. Bundesliga. The teams that finish 18th to 20th in the 3. Liga move down to the Regionalliga.

The Regionalliga continued as the fourth level, but with an extra division (West). There were now 54 teams in three regional divisions: North, West, and South. These teams included those from the old Regionalliga that didn't qualify for the 3. Liga, plus new teams from the Oberliga. Starting in 2008–09, the winner of each Regionalliga division moved up to the 3. Liga.

Five Regionalliga Divisions: 2012–2017

From the 2012–13 season, the Regionalliga was expanded to five regional divisions. The Northern Division was split into a Northern Division and a North-Eastern Division. The Western and Southern Divisions were divided into a Western Division, a South/South-Western Division, and a Bavarian Division.

The winners of these five divisions, along with the second-place team from the South-Western Division, compete in a playoff round. They are all trying to win one of the three spots to be promoted to the 3. Liga.

The System from 2017 Onwards

Since the 2017–18 season, the Schleswig-Holstein-Liga is now called Oberliga Schleswig-Holstein. The overall structure of the top levels remains the same.

How the Leagues Connect

The way the German football leagues are structured has changed often over time. These changes usually reflect how many people play the sport in different parts of the country. In the early 1990s, big changes happened because of German reunification, when the leagues of East and West Germany joined together.

All these different levels of leagues are connected by promotion and relegation. This means teams can move up or down between them. The diagram below shows how this works for the first five levels. Keep in mind that the exact number of clubs that get promoted or relegated below the Regionalliga level can often change, as decided by the German Football Association.

¹ in some areas called Landesliga, in others Verbandsliga.

² in some areas called Kreisliga A, Kreisliga B, Kreisliga C and Kreisliga D or 1. Kreisklasse, 2. Kreisklasse and 3. Kreisklasse.