The (English: 2nd Premier League West) was the second-highest level of the
German football league system
The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for Football in Germany, association football in Germany that in the 2016–17 Season (sports), season consisted of 2,235 Sports_leag ...
in the west of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
from 1949 until the
formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
of the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
in 1963. It covered the state of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
, the most populous state of Germany.
Overview
The 2. Oberliga West was formed in 1949 with two groups of sixteen teams each, as a feeder league to
Oberliga West Oberliga ( en, Premier league) may refer to:
Association football
* Oberliga (football), currently the fifth tier of the German football league system, formerly the first
* DDR-Oberliga, the first tier of football in East Germany until 1990, re ...
. It was the first of the three 2nd Oberligas, the other two being
2. Oberliga Süd
The 2. Oberliga Süd was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the south of Germany from 1950 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the three states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse.
Overvi ...
(formed in 1950) and
2. Oberliga Südwest
The (English: 2nd Premier league Southwest) was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the southwest of Germany from 1951 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the two states of Rhineland-Palatinate a ...
(in 1951). The league adopted a single group format starting from 1952: The top two teams of the 2. Oberliga gained promotion to the
Oberliga while the bottom two teams were relegated to the ''
Verbandsliga
The Verbandsliga ( en, Football Association League) is usually a tier-six football league in the German football league system, covering the area of a '' Bundesland'' or a regional part of such Bundesland.[Westdeutscher Fußballverband'' decided to disband the league from 1956, but the German federation ''DFB'' outlawed this decision and the league continued its existence.
Below the 2. Oberliga West ranked the ''Amateurligas, varying in numbers (and names) but split into three zones, '' Niederrhein'', '' Mittelrhein'', and '']Westfalen
Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the regio ...
'' :
*Niederrhein: ''Landesliga Niederrhein'' in two groups until 1952, then three groups. From 1956 single-group Verbandsliga Niederrhein.
*Mittelrhein: ''Landesliga Mittelrhein'' in a single group in 1950, two groups from 1951. From 1956 single-group Verbandsliga Mittelrhein.
*Westfalen: ''Landesliga Westfalen'' in two groups in 1950, single group in 1951 and 1952, five groups from 1953. From 1956 two groups, Verbandsliga Westfalen 1 and Verbandsliga Westfalen 2.
The 2. Oberliga West existed until 1963, when it was replaced by the ''Regionalliga West
The Regionalliga West is a German semi-professional football division administered by the Western German Football Association based in Duisburg. It is one of the five German regional football associations. Being the single flight of the Western ...
'' as the second division for North Rhine-Westphalia.
SpVgg Herten is the only team to have played in the league for all 14 seasons.
Schwarz-Weiß Essen
Schwarz-Weiß Essen is a German association football club based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The side has its origins in the gymnastics club ''Essener Turnerbund'' founded in 1881. A football department was formed in January 1900 and this b ...
became the first second-division side to win the German Cup
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
when they did so in 1959, an achievement later repeated by Kickers Offenbach
Offenbacher Kickers, also known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left established local clubs in ...
and Hannover 96 in the history of German football.
Disbanding of the 2. Oberliga
In 1963, the league was disbanded in favor of the new Regionalliga. The first eight teams from this season went to the Regionalliga West. The clubs placed from ninth to sixteenth were relegated to the Verbandsligas.
*