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The 3. Liga is a professional
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
league and the third division in Germany. In 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 ...
, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier
Regionalliga The Regionalliga () is the fourth tier in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier in Germany. In 1994, it was introduced as the third tier. Upon the creation of the new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it became the four ...
. The modern 3. Liga was formed for the 2008–09 season, replacing the Regionalliga, which had previously served as the third-tier in the country. In Germany, the 3. Liga is also the highest division that a club's
reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...
can play in.


History

In January 2006, the discussion was made about a reorganization of the amateur leagues and the establishment of a single-track "3. Bundesliga". The aim of the reform was to create a great performance density for the substructure of the 2. Bundesliga with better support and development opportunities for talented players. In addition, better marketing of the third division should be achieved. A violent dispute broke out in the run-up to the decision scheduled for September 2006 at the
DFB-Bundestag The DFB-Bundestag (National Conference) is the highest body of the German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fussball-Bund, DFB). As football parliament it is the legislative assembly of the DFB. Structure The DFB-Bundestag convenes regularly ...
about the participation of second teams in the first and second division. After the U23 teams of the professional clubs were initially not supposed to take part in the newly created league for reasons of distortion of competition and low attendance, several Bundesliga clubs demanded, an unrestricted right to participate. Ultimately, a compromise was worked out that initially only allowed four-second substitutes to play in the premier season of the third division. On 8 September 2006, the introduction of the single-track 3. Liga was finally decided at an extraordinary DFB Bundestag. Half of the clubs from the existing
Regionalliga The Regionalliga () is the fourth tier in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier in Germany. In 1994, it was introduced as the third tier. Upon the creation of the new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it became the four ...
North and South were able to qualify for the premiere season, plus four relegated teams from the 2. Bundesliga. The
German Football Association The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of t ...
, the ''DFB'', announced the formation of the 3. Liga. It was originally anticipated that the league's name would be 3. Bundesliga, but the ''DFB'' chose ''3. Liga'' instead, as the league will be directly administered by the ''DFB'', not by the German Football League ''DFL'' (
Deutsche Fußball Liga The DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH, or simply Deutsche Fußball Liga ("German Football League"), and often shortened to DFL, is a wholly owned subsidiary of ''Die Liga – Fußballverband''. The DFL is responsible for entire operating business o ...
) who runs both
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 ...
and 2. Bundesliga. On 10 April 2008, the
DFB DFB may refer to: * Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city * Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas * Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia * Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate * Distributed-feedback ...
presented the logo for the new division to the public. In contrast to the introduction of the 2. Liga in 1974 or the merging of the north and south seasons to form the single-track 2. Bundesliga for the 1981–82 season, there was no multi-year rating when determining the participants for the first season of the new 3. Liga. It was only the performance of the teams in the qualifying period of the Regionalliga relays were athletically qualified for the 3. Liga. In addition, there were four 2. Liga relegated teams in the 2007–08 season. The Regionalliga players who were not qualified for the new division after completing the admission process competed in the new three-pronged fourth division Regionalliga, provided they were granted a license for this. The first match of the 3. Liga was played on 25 July 2008 between Rot-Weiß Erfurt and
Dynamo Dresden Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, are a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Kasse ...
at the
Steigerwaldstadion Steigerwaldstadion is a multi-purpose stadium in Erfurt, Germany. The stadium is able to hold 18,611 people and was built in 1931. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt. From 1948 to 19 ...
in
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
. Dynamo Dresden won the match 1–0, with
Halil Savran Halil Savran (born 20 June 1985) is a Turkish-German footballer who plays as a striker. Career Savran, who was born in Wiesbaden, has played for Reinickendorfer Füchse, SV Lichtenberg 47 and Tennis Borussia Berlin. In his last season at TeBe h ...
scoring the only goal in the closing stages of the first half. The first goal scorer in the 3. Liga was
Halil Savran Halil Savran (born 20 June 1985) is a Turkish-German footballer who plays as a striker. Career Savran, who was born in Wiesbaden, has played for Reinickendorfer Füchse, SV Lichtenberg 47 and Tennis Borussia Berlin. In his last season at TeBe h ...
and the first table leader was
SC Paderborn 07 Sport-Club Paderborn 07 e.V., commonly known as simply SC Paderborn 07 () or SC Paderborn, is a German association football club based in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has enjoyed its greatest successes since the turn of the mille ...
. The first champions of the 3. Liga were 1. FC Union Berlin on 9 May 2009, who received the eight-and-a-half-kilogram silver championship trophy. In the 2018–19 season, four relegated teams were determined for the first time in the history of the 3. Liga, and for the first-time regular Monday games took place. Furthermore, for the first time no U23 team from a higher-class club was able to qualify for the league. With the relegation of the last founding member of the 3. Liga, FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt, in the preseason, for the first time, no team that been part of the league without interruption took part in the game. In addition, at the beginning of the 2018–19 season, the DFB and
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
signed a partner contract that would run until the end of the 2021–22 season, according to which the company provides a uniform match ball; in all previous seasons each club had its own ball sponsor. The first ball provided by Adidas for all the clubs was the
Telstar 18 Telstar 18 is a communication satellite in the Telstar series of the Canadian satellite communications company A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of ...
, which was also used at the
2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
. For the 2019–20 season, as in the two national leagues, warnings for club officials were introduced in the form of cards. On the 13th match day, the DFB expanded the regulation by an addition – as with players, club officials are threatened with suspension of more than one game and yellow card suspensions after being sent off after being checked by the competent authority. In view of the global
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, gaming operations had to be temporarily suspended after 27 match days on 11 March 2020 and finally completely ceased on 16 March; the measure was initially valid until 30 April 2020. On 3 April, the DFB announced extensive changes to the game rules as a result. Among other things, it was possible to carry out seasonal operations beyond 30 June 2020, so the following season was opened later than the planned time. Ultimately, the final game day took place on 4 July 2020. In addition, a possible application to open insolvency proceedings within the 2019–20 season would no longer have resulted in a point deduction, in the following season only three points would be deducted instead of the usual nine; from the 2021–22 season onwards, the usual regulation should apply again. On 21 May, it was decided to resume game operations on 30 May, and the DFB and DFL had worked out a hygiene concept for all three leagues with the help of the "Task Force Sports Medicine/Special Game Operations". In parallel to the two national leagues, the DFB increased the substitutions quota per team from three to five player for the 3. Liga until the end of the season, and the third-highest German division was not allowed be played in front of spectators. While small numbers of spectators are allowed from the start of the 2020–21 season under certain conditions, it was decided in an internal league survey to limit the substitution contingent to three players again.


Financial situation

From its foundation in 2008 to 2013, the league operated at a financial loss, with a record deficit of €20.9 million in 2012–13. The 2013–14 season saw the league make a profit for the first time, of €4.9 million. The league earned €164.5 million, well behind the two Bundesligas above it, but also well ahead of other professional sports leagues in Germany. The
Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...
followed with €106.1 million and the
Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...
and
Handball-Bundesliga The Handball-Bundesliga (HBL) is the top German professional handball league. From 2007 onwards, the league was sponsored by Toyota and has officially been called the ''Toyota Handball-Bundesliga''. This lasted until 2012 when the Deutsche K ...
were each around the €90 million mark. This makes it the third-most economically successful professional league in all German sports.


Clubs

Since the establishment of the 3. Liga in 2008, a total of 63 clubs have played in this division. In the 2021–22 season,
SC Freiburg II SC Freiburg II is the reserve team of German association football club SC Freiburg, based in Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg. The team played as SC Freiburg Amateure until 2005. The team has reached the first round of the DFB-Pokal, the German Cup ...
, Viktoria Berlin and
TSV Havelse TSV Havelse is a German association football club based in Garbsen, Lower Saxony, near Hanover. History The club was founded in 1912 as ''FC Pelikan-Havelse'' by a group of thirteen young men from the small village of Havelse. They took their ...
were represented in the league for the first time. The last club that has been in the 3. Liga without interruption since it was founded in 2008 is
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt is a German association football club based in Erfurt, Thuringia. History Foundation to World War II The club has roots that go back to a cricket club founded in 1895. As they broadened their interests they came to be calle ...
, which was relegated in 2018. The longest uninterrupted club playing in the league is
SV Wehen Wiesbaden SV Wehen Wiesbaden is a German association football club based in Wiesbaden, Hesse. Since the beginning of the 2007–08 season the club no longer plays its home games in Taunusstein, where they were originally located. In the summer of 2007 ''W ...
, which from 2009 until its promotion to the 2. Liga in 2019, played in the 3. Liga for 10 years and also leads the all-time table. The club that has remained the longest at the moment is
Hallescher FC Hallescher FC, sometimes still called by its former popular name Chemie Halle, is a German association football club based in Halle an der Saale, Saxony-Anhalt. The club currently plays in the 3. Liga, the third highest level in the German footb ...
, which has remained in the division since 2012. The clubs with the currently most – 12 – seasons in the 2. Liga is also SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Members of and stadiums in the
2022–23 3. Liga The 2022–23 3. Liga is the 15th season of the 3. Liga. It started on 22 July 2022 and will conclude on 27 May 2023. The fixtures were released on 24 June 2022. Teams Team changes Stadiums and locations 1 SpVgg Bayreuth will initially play ...


Structure

Since the first season in 2008–09, 20 teams have been playing for promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. The first two teams are promoted directly, the third in the table has to play for promotion in two playoffs in the
relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
against the third from the bottom of the 2. Bundesliga. The three (from the 2018–19 season four) last-placed teams will be relegated to the fourth-class
Regionalliga The Regionalliga () is the fourth tier in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier in Germany. In 1994, it was introduced as the third tier. Upon the creation of the new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it became the four ...
and will be replaced by four (until 2018–19 three) promoted teams from the Regionalligas. The four best teams in the league qualify for the
DFB-Pokal 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 ...
. The teams which are not reserve teams of Bundesliga teams among the 20 teams in the league compete for promotion to the 2. Bundesliga, while the four bottom teams are relegated to one of the five Regionalligen:
Regionalliga Nord The Regionalliga Nord ( en, Regional League North) is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with the Regional ...
,
Regionalliga Nordost The Regionalliga Nordost is the fourth tier of German football in the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. These comprise the states of former East Germany as well as West Berlin. It i ...
,
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 ...
,
Regionalliga Südwest The Regionalliga Südwest ( en, Regional League Southwest) is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. It is one of five leagues at this level, together wit ...
, and
Regionalliga Bayern The Regionalliga Bayern, ( en, Regional league Bavaria), is the highest association football league in the state of Bavaria (german: Bayern) and the Bavarian football league system. It is one of five Regionalligas in German football, the fourth tie ...
. Until 2018, three were relegated. If, however, a reserve team is playing in the 3. Liga and the respective first team is relegated to the 3. Liga, the reserve team will be demoted to the fifth-level Oberliga regardless of its league position, because reserve teams of 3. Liga clubs are ineligible to play in the Regionalliga.


Qualifying for the 3. Liga

At the end of the 2007–08 season, the two best non-
reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...
s from each of the two divisions of the
Regionalliga The Regionalliga () is the fourth tier in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier in Germany. In 1994, it was introduced as the third tier. Upon the creation of the new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it became the four ...
were promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. The teams ranked third to tenth in both Regionalliga entered the new 3. Liga, joining the four teams relegated from the 2. Bundesliga to form the new 20-team league. Teams finishing 11th or lower in their Regionalliga remained where they were. On 18 May 2008, at the end of the 2007–08 2. Bundesliga season, four clubs were relegated from the 2. Bundesliga and became charter members of the 3. Liga:
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 ...
,
Erzgebirge Aue Fußball Club Erzgebirge Aue e.V., commonly known as simply FC Erzgebirge Aue or Erzgebirge Aue (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Aue-Bad Schlema, Saxony. The former East German side was a founding member of the 3.  ...
,
SC Paderborn Sport-Club Paderborn 07 e.V., commonly known as simply SC Paderborn 07 () or SC Paderborn, is a German association football club based in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has enjoyed its greatest successes since the turn of the mille ...
and
FC Carl Zeiss Jena FC Carl Zeiss Jena is a German football club based in Jena, Thuringia. Formed in 1903 and initially associated with the Carl Zeiss AG factory, they were one of the strongest clubs in East Germany from the 1960s to the 1980s, winning the DDR-Obe ...
. On 31 May 2008, at the end of the 2007–08 Regionalliga seasons, clubs placing third through tenth in the Regionalliga Nord and the Regionalliga Süd also qualified for the new 3. Liga.


U23 Regulation

The teams of the 3. Liga are obliged to list at least 4 players in the match report sheet (game day squad) for each game who are eligible to play for a DFB selection team and who are not older than 23 years for the entire season (1 July to 30 June), i.e. were born on or after 1 July 1998 (U23 players) for the 2021–22 season. Eligibility to play in the second teams of licensed clubs (Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga) is based on the regulation that applies from the Regionalliga downwards. According to this, only U23 players (see above) may be used, with 3 older players being allowed to be in the game at the same time. From the
Regionalliga Nord The Regionalliga Nord ( en, Regional League North) is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with the Regional ...
: *
Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...
*
Union Berlin 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as 1. FC Union Berlin () or Union Berlin, is a professional German football club in Köpenick, Berlin. The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweid ...
*
Werder Bremen II SV Werder Bremen II is the reserve team of SV Werder Bremen. It plays in Regionalliga, the fourth level of the German football league system, and has qualified for the first round of the DFB-Pokal on nineteen occasions. It also has won the Germ ...
* Borussia Wuppertal * Rot-Weiß Erfurt *
Dynamo Dresden Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, are a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Kasse ...
*
Kickers Emden BSV Kickers Emden is a Football in Germany, German association football club, located in Emden, Lower Saxony. History The club first began playing in 1928 as a section of the gymnastics club Emder Turnverein, which was founded in 1861. An inde ...
*
Eintracht Braunschweig Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 e.V., commonly known as Eintracht Braunschweig () or BTSV (), is a German association football, football and sports club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. The club was one of the founding ...
From the Regionalliga Süd: *
VfB Stuttgart II VfB Stuttgart II is a German Association football, football team located in Stuttgart, currently playing in the Regionalliga Südwest. From 2008 to 2016 the team played in the 3. Liga. They are the German reserve football teams, reserve team of V ...
*
VfR Aalen Verein für Rasenspiele 1921 Aalen e.V., known simply as VfR Aalen, is a German football club based in Aalen, Baden-Württemberg. The football team is part of a larger sports club which also offers its members gymnastics, table tennis, and cheer ...
*
SV Sandhausen Sportverein Sandhausen 1916 e.V., commonly known as simply SV Sandhausen or Sandhausen, is a German association football club that plays in Sandhausen, immediately to the south of Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. The club's greatest success ...
*
SpVgg Unterhaching Spielvereinigung Unterhaching () is a German sports club in Unterhaching, a semi-rural municipality on the southern outskirts of the Bavarian capital Munich. The club is widely known for playing in the first-division association football league B ...
*
Wacker Burghausen SV Wacker Burghausen is a German football club based in Burghausen, Bavaria and is part of one of the nation's largest sports clubs with some 6,000 members participating in two dozen different sports. History The club was founded on 13 Novemb ...
*
Bayern Munich II FC Bayern Munich II (''FC Bayern Munich Amateure'' until 2005) are the reserve team of German association football club FC Bayern Munich, they currently play in the Regionalliga Bayern. In 2010–11 they played in the 3. Liga, having qualifie ...
*
Jahn Regensburg Sport- und Schwimmverein Jahn Regensburg e. V., commonly known as SSV Jahn Regensburg, Jahn Regensburg, SSV Jahn or simply Jahn is a German football club based in Regensburg, Bavaria. The club is based on a gymnastics club founded in 1886 a ...
*
Stuttgarter Kickers Stuttgarter Kickers is a German association football club that plays in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, founded on 21 September 1899 as FC Stuttgarter Cickers. History In its early years the club had a decent local squad that played in the Südk ...


Promotion and relegation

The winner and runner-up in a given season are automatically promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. The third place team enters a home/away playoff against the 16th placed team of the 2. Bundesliga for the right to enter/stay in the 2. Bundesliga. Teams placing in the bottom four (three prior to 2019) are automatically sent to the Regionalliga. * Bold denotes team earned promotion.


Economy

With an annual turnover of €186 million (as of 2017–18), the 3. Liga was ahead of the
Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...
, the
Handball-Bundesliga The Handball-Bundesliga (HBL) is the top German professional handball league. From 2007 onwards, the league was sponsored by Toyota and has officially been called the ''Toyota Handball-Bundesliga''. This lasted until 2012 when the Deutsche K ...
and
Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...
(see:
List of professional sports leagues by revenue In this table, the "Season" column refers to the league season for which financial data is able and referenced, which is usually not the most recently completed season of competition. Revenue are listed in millions of euros. The "Level on pyramid" ...
).


License terms

In addition to sporting qualifications, the clubs concerned must also meet the economic and technical- organizational requirements that are mandatory by the DFB Presidium. These include that the capacity the stadiums in the 3. Liga must be more than 10,000 seats (of which 2000 seats); in turn, at least one third of these spaces must be covered. A stadium capacity of 5000 seats is sufficient for second teams. The coaches must have completed the football teacher training. In particular, the conditions relating to the arcade infrastructure repeatedly prompt potential climbers from the subordinate regional leagues not to submit any licensing documents; for example
SV Rödinghausen SV Rödinghausen is a German association football club from the town of Rödinghausen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club's greatest success has been to earn promotion to the tier four Regionalliga West in 2014. History For most of its history ...
or
Berliner AK 07 Berliner AK 07 is a German football club based in the locality of Moabit of the borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The team competes in the fourth tier Regionalliga Nordost. History The association was established on 15 December 1907 in t ...
, both of which play in stadiums that are clearly too small. On the other hand, cases such as that of
KFC Uerdingen 05 KFC Uerdingen 05 is a German football club in the Uerdingen district of the city of Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. The former Bundesliga side enjoyed its greatest successes in the 1980s but now plays in the fifth-level Oberliga. History The ...
, 1. FC Saarbrücken or
Türkgücü München Türkgücü München is a German association football club from the city of Munich, Bavaria. The club, which is based in the Turkish community of Munich, was formed in 2009 in a merger of Türkischer SV 1975 München and ATA Spor München. Tür ...
show that even a temporary game operation in alternative venues is just as problematic as the search for one.


Broadcast rights

The media rights contract with
SportA SportA is the sports rights agency of Germany's two main public TV stations, ARD and ZDF. It is located in Maxvorstadt, Munich, Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. ...
, the sports rights agency of the German public broadcasters ARD and
ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
, ran until the end of the 2017–18 season. Under this contract, the ARD and its third programs broadcast at least 100, a maximum of 120 games as well as the promotion games to the 3. Liga live. The third programs broadcast further games via
live stream Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...
on the internet. This reached an average of around four million viewers. in addition, the ARD
Sportschau ''Sportschau'' is a German sports magazine on broadcaster ARD, produced by WDR in Cologne. The magazine started in 1961. In its Saturday' edition, the ''Sportschau'' shows a summary of the Bundesliga, whereas the Sunday edition reports on the la ...
showed summaries of selected games on Saturday from 6 pm to 6:30 pm. Since the start of the 2017–18 season,
Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (; short form often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a German telecommunications company that is headquartered in Bonn and is the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. Deutsche Telekom was ...
has been broadcasting all games for customers and subscribers as internet live streams. From the 2018–19 season to the 2020–21 season, a new contract came into force, with which SportA and Telekom jointly held the media rights to the 3. Liga. The ARD and its state broadcasters will then show 86 games from the 3. Liga as well as the promotion games to the 3. Liga live. The clubs in the 3. Liga have each received well over a million
euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s for television rights since the 2018–19 season, around 40 percent more than before. When the 3. Liga was introduced, the clubs received a total of €10 million. Since the 2009–10 season, the annual payout has been €12,8 million. The second teams of the professional clubs do not participate in the television money. Approximately 1–2 matches per week are broadcast with English commentary on the
German Football Association The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of t ...
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel.


Spectators

The number of spectators in the 3. Liga varies greatly. Big city traditional clubs like
Dynamo Dresden Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, are a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Kasse ...
, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, 1. FC Magdeburg,
FC Hansa Rostock FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from the forme ...
,
MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jers ...
,
Arminia Bielefeld DSC Arminia Bielefeld (; full name: ; commonly known as Arminia Bielefeld (), also known as ''Die Arminen'' or ''Die Blauen'' ), or just Arminia (), is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia offers the sports of ...
,
Karlsruher SC Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. Domestically, the club was crowned German champion in 1909, and won the D ...
,
Alemannia Aachen Alemannia Aachen () or ATSV Alemannia 1900 is a football in Germany, German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long term fixture of the country's 2. Bundesliga, second division, ''Alemannia'' enjoyed a three- ...
,
Eintracht Braunschweig Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 e.V., commonly known as Eintracht Braunschweig () or BTSV (), is a German association football, football and sports club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. The club was one of the founding ...
,
TSV 1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team currently plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football. 1860 Munich was one of the founding members o ...
and
Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...
, but also the ambitious newcomer
RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig, and colloquially referred to as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bu ...
often had an average attendance of well over 10,000 viewers per game. Dynamo Dresden achieved the highest amount with an average of 27,500 spectators in the 2015–16 season. For the 2. Bundesliga teams, the average attendance is often less than 1,500 spectators per game.
Werder Bremen II SV Werder Bremen II is the reserve team of SV Werder Bremen. It plays in Regionalliga, the fourth level of the German football league system, and has qualified for the first round of the DFB-Pokal on nineteen occasions. It also has won the Germ ...
had the lowest value in the 2011–12 season with an average of 626. In the 2018–19 season, more than 3 million spectators were registered for the first time with an average of over 8,000, and six clubs achieved a five-digit average attendance. Overall the 3. Liga has audience numbers that are comparable to the second soccer leagues in Italy (
Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
), France (
Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...
) and Spain (
Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...
). Only the third-rate English football league One has similarly high or higher attendance numbers. (1) Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, spectators were no longer allowed in the stadiums from the 28th matchday onwards, which resulted in reduced attendances. In addition, the values are based on data from the
DFB DFB may refer to: * Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city * Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas * Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia * Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate * Distributed-feedback ...
.

(2) Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, spectators were not allowed in the stadiums for the majority of the season.
(3) Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, not all spectators were not allowed in the stadiums for the first half of the season.


Economic situation of the clubs

Since its first season, the 3. Liga has had a higher turnover than the first-class German Leagues in all other sports. For a number of clubs their participation in the 3. Liga ended with major financial problems. In
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, the
Stuttgarter Kickers Stuttgarter Kickers is a German association football club that plays in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, founded on 21 September 1899 as FC Stuttgarter Cickers. History In its early years the club had a decent local squad that played in the Südk ...
got down after the DFB had imposed a three-point deduction for a loan that was not repaid on time. In addition,
Kickers Emden BSV Kickers Emden is a Football in Germany, German association football club, located in Emden, Lower Saxony. History The club first began playing in 1928 as a section of the gymnastics club Emder Turnverein, which was founded in 1861. An inde ...
had to withdraw its application for a license for the 3. Liga for economic reasons. In
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, the opening of
insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...
proceeding resulted in the forced regulation of
Rot Weiss Ahlen Rot Weiss Ahlen is a German football club based in Ahlen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 2006 the club was known as ''LR Ahlen'' for its major sponsor, but underwent a name change when the sponsor withdrew its support after the team was relegated ...
. In the same season,
TuS Koblenz TuS Koblenz is a German association football club, located in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Fussball Club Deutschland Neuendorf, which was formed in 1911, is viewed as the foundation of the modern club. History Nazi era (1933–1945) The or ...
waived their right to start the following third division season due to financial bottlenecks. In
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, after the opening of insolvency proceedings,
Alemannia Aachen Alemannia Aachen () or ATSV Alemannia 1900 is a football in Germany, German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long term fixture of the country's 2. Bundesliga, second division, ''Alemannia'' enjoyed a three- ...
was determined to be relegated early on and
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 ...
's third division license was revoked. In 2016–17,
VfR Aalen Verein für Rasenspiele 1921 Aalen e.V., known simply as VfR Aalen, is a German football club based in Aalen, Baden-Württemberg. The football team is part of a larger sports club which also offers its members gymnastics, table tennis, and cheer ...
and
FSV Frankfurt Fußballsportverein Frankfurt 1899 e.V., commonly known as simply FSV Frankfurt, is a German association football club based in the Bornheim district of Frankfurt am Main, Hesse and founded in 1899. FSV Frankfurt also fielded a rather successfu ...
. In March 2018,
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt is a German association football club based in Erfurt, Thuringia. History Foundation to World War II The club has roots that go back to a cricket club founded in 1895. As they broadened their interests they came to be calle ...
filed for bankruptcy, followed by
Chemnitzer FC Chemnitzer Fußballclub e.V. is a German association football club based in Chemnitz, Saxony. The club competes in Regionalliga Nordost, the fourth tier of German football. The roots of the club go back to its establishment as Chemnitzer BC 193 ...
in April. Both clubs were relegated after deducting ten or nine points. Several other clubs are constantly threatened with bankruptcy. At a press conference in mid-October 2019, the DFB published the balance sheet report for the 2018–19 season. A record turnover of €185 million was offset by an average loss of €1.5 million, which meant a new negative record. It was also the ninth of eleven years in which the clubs showed a total deficit, while seven clubs were still able to generate a profit. One of the main drivers of this situation, according to the report, was increased spending on human resources, particularly on player transfers and salaries. The average earnings of a 3. Liga player for 2018–19 was given as around €7,000 per month. In addition, the number of spectators in the stadiums continued to rise, but in return it fell significantly on television.


Financial fair play and the promotion of young talent

In order to counteract the problem, the DFB decided in September 2018 to introduce so-called financial fair play in the 3. Liga as well as a youth development fund to improve the economic situation of the clubs and strengthen their talent development. A total of around €3.5 million is to be distributed to the clubs. Up to €550,000 is to be distributed equally among clubs with a "positive seasonal result" and clubs that "have achieved or even exceeded their target season goal". A further €2.95 million is to flow into the youth development of the participants, whereby the use of U21 players with German nationality should have a positive effect on the distribution rate per club. The pots are distributed in September at the end of a season. With the first distribution, Hansa Rostock received the highest amount for the top position in the categories "positive annual result" and "planned quiality" after a record turnover of €19 million in the 2018–19 season.


League statistics

Up to and including the 2021–22 season the top goal scorers, attendance statistics and records for the league are:


Attendance


Top scorers


Records

''As of 22 May 2021''


Placings in the 3. Liga

The following clubs have played in the league and achieved the following final positions:


Notes

* 1 Kickers Offenbach were refused a 3. Liga licence at the end of the 2012–13 season and relegated to the Regionalliga. SV Darmstadt 98, placed 18th originally, were instead placed in 17th position and were not relegated. * 2 TSV 1860 Munich were unable to obtain a 3. Liga licence at the end of the 2016–17 season and relegated to the Regionalliga. SC Paderborn 07, placed 18th originally and who submitted a 3. Liga licence application, remained in the league for the 2017–18 season. * 3 TuS Koblenz withdrew from the league after the 2011–12 season; Bremen II, placed 18th originally, were instead placed in 17th position and were not relegated. * 4 RW Ahlen did not receive a licence for the 2011–12 season, originally finishing 17th after 2010–11. The club was placed in 20th position and relegated. Burghausen, placed 18th originally, were instead placed in 17th position and were not relegated. Ahlen did not request a licence in the Regionalliga and started the new season in the Oberliga. * 5 Kickers Emden withdrew from the league after the 2008–09 season; Burghausen, placed 18th originally, were instead placed in 17th position and were not relegated. Emden became insolvent in 2012.


Promotion rounds


To the 2. Bundesliga

At the end of the regular season the third placed team in the 3. Liga play the 16th placed team in the 2. Bundesliga over two matches. The overall winner plays in the 2. Bundesliga in the following season, and the loser in the 3. Liga. ; 2008–09 ; 2009–10 ; 2010–11 ; 2011–12 ; 2012–13 ; 2013–14 ; 2014–15 ; 2015–16 ; 2016–17 ; 2017–18 ; 2018–19 ; 2019–20 ;2020–21 ;2021–22


To the 3. Liga

From the 2012–13 to 2017–18 seasons, the champions of the five
Regionalliga The Regionalliga () is the fourth tier in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier in Germany. In 1994, it was introduced as the third tier. Upon the creation of the new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it became the four ...
s and the runners-up of the
Regionalliga Südwest The Regionalliga Südwest ( en, Regional League Southwest) is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. It is one of five leagues at this level, together wit ...
entered an end-of-the season play-off to determine the three teams promoted to the 3. Liga. From the 2018–19 season, three out of those five champions take direct promotion, leaving the remaining two to contest the play-off for the fourth promotion.


Key

* Winner in bold.


Notes


References


External links


Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB)

kicker.de

3. Liga at Weltfussball.de

German 3.Liga (www.3-liga.com)

3. Liga at Soccerway.com


– German football league tables, records & statistics database {{UEFA third leagues 3 2008 establishments in Germany 3
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 ...
Professional sports leagues in Germany