Amateurliga Bayern
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The Bayernliga (English: Bavarian league) is the highest amateur football league and the second highest football league (under the
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 ...
) in the state of
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
(german: Bayern) and the
Bavarian football league system The Bavarian football league system of the Bavarian Football Association ranks within the German football league system. Its highest division, the Regionalliga Bayern, is currently the fourth tier of German football. The lowest league in Bavaria is ...
. It is one of fourteen Oberligas in German football, the fifth tier 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 ...
. Until the introduction of the
3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...
in 2008 it was the fourth tier of the league system, until the introduction 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 ...
s in 1994 the third tier. From the 2012–13 season onwards, the league has been divided once more into a northern and a southern division, having previously placed in single division format since 1963. The league sits directly under the
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 ...
and above the Landesligas, which were expanded in number from three to five at the end of the 2011–12 season.


Overview


Landesliga Bayern: 1945–1950

The league was formed in 1945 from nine clubs as the Landesliga Bayern, being then the second tier of the German football league system, right below the
Oberliga Süd 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 ...
in the re-formed state of Bavaria, then part of the US occupation zone in Germany. The league run then in parallel with the
Landesliga The Landesliga ( en, Football State League) is a tier of football in some states of the German football league system. In Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, Bremen, Lower Saxony and Hamburg, the Landesligas are set right below the Oberliga and therefore ...
s of
Hessen Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Darm ...
,
Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...
and Nordbaden. The league expanded in its second season to two divisions of eleven teams each, the Staffel Nordbayern and Staffel Südbayern with the league champions playing each other for the Bavarian championship and promotion. The year after, the leagues went to thirteen teams each. In 1948, the league was reunited in one group of sixteen teams with the top-two clubs gaining promotion. The 1949–50 season was run on fourteen clubs with the top-five clubs gaining promotion to the new
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 ...
.


Amateurliga Bayern: 1950–1953

The league was renamed Amateurliga Bayern, a name it would carry until 1978, and was now the third tier of the league system, below the 2nd Oberliga. It consisted of sixteen clubs in its first season, then went to eighteen and later nineteen.


Amateurliga Nordbayern and Südbayern: 1953–1963

In 1953, the league split into a northern and a southern group again, each with fifteen clubs. The main reasons for this was to reduce travel-costs and time, but also to create two regional champions in Bavaria which both could take part in the promotion rounds to the 2nd Oberliga instead of only one. Being the largest of the southern German federations, Bavaria felt disadvantaged by the fact that only its champion was permitted to take part in the promotion rounds. The number of teams in the two leagues kept fluctuating and sometimes clubs from central Bavaria were moved between divisions to balance out the strength. In those years up to 1963, the leagues below the Bayernliga were the 2. Amateurligas, which there was supposed to be seven of, according to the number of
Bezirke The German term ''Bezirk'' (plural ''Bezirke'', derived from la, circulus, "circle") translated as "district" can refer to the following types of administrative divisions: * '' Stadtbezirk'', a subdivision of a city in the sense of a borough (e ...
in Bavaria. However, some, like
Oberbayern Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...
, split their 2nd Amateurliga in more than one division.


Amateurliga Bayern: 1963–1978

In 1963, with the
introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...
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 ...
, the Oberliga Süd and 2nd Oberliga Süd were disbanded. The Amateurliga Bayern was reunited and now came under the Regionalliga Süd, the new second tier of the league system in the south. The Amateurliga retained its status as a tier three league. Seven clubs from the northern and southern division each plus four from the 2nd Oberliga made up the newly reunited league in 1963. The league champion still had to compete for promotion with the winners of the other southern German amateur leagues while the bottom three teams were relegated. Below the Bayernliga, three Landesligas were established and remain there to this date, with their champions directly promoted: *
Landesliga Bayern-Nord The Landesliga Bayern-Nord ( en, State league Bavaria-North) was the sixth tier of the German football league system in northern Bavaria. Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 it was the fifth tier of the league system, until the introdu ...
, ''covering
Unterfranken Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. History After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally r ...
and
Oberfranken Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) is a ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle F ...
'' *
Landesliga Bayern-Mitte The Landesliga Bayern-Mitte ( en, State league Bavaria-Central) was the sixth tier of the German football league system in southern Bavaria. Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008, it was the fifth tier of the league system, until the int ...
, ''covering
Mittelfranken Middle Franconia (german: Mittelfranken, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the west of Bavaria and borders the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; however, ...
,
Oberpfalz The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...
and
Niederbayern Lower Bavaria (german: Niederbayern, Bavarian: ''Niedabayern'') is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. Geography Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions () – Landshut and Donau-W ...
'' *
Landesliga Bayern-Süd The Landesliga Bayern-Süd ( en, State League Bavaria-South) was the sixth tier of the German football league system in southern Bavaria. Until the introduction of the 3. Liga (Third League) in 2008, it was the fifth tier of the league system, un ...
, ''covering
Schwaben Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
and
Oberbayern Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...
'' The league remained unchanged throughout the coming years, until 1974, when the Regionalliga was replaced by the 2. Bundesliga Süd. For the Bayernliga, this still meant little change, the winner still had to play-off for promotion to the new league.


Amateur-Oberliga Bayern: 1978–1994

The year 1978 saw a reformation of the highest Amateurligas in Germany, their number was halved from sixteen to eight, making direct promotion for the southern champions possible for the first time. The Amateurligas were also renamed Amateur-Oberligas, which was generally shortened to ''AOL'' or, more commonly, just Oberliga. In the south, this meant the Bayernliga now run parallel to the Amateur-Oberligas of
Hessen Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Darm ...
,
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
and Südwest. Direct promotion for the southern champions only lasted two seasons however, 1978–79 and 1979–80. In 1981, the
2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...
was united to one single division, making it necessary for the Oberliga champions to have a promotion round again. In this season, the Bavarian FA (German: ''Bayrischer Fußball Verband'') also introduced a promotion round for the Landesligas, meaning the three second placed teams in those leagues played the fourth-last Bayernliga team for one more spot in the league. In some seasons, additional promotion spots were available, for example when the Bayernliga champion managed to move up to the 2nd Bundesliga.


Oberliga Bayern: 1994–2012

After having been a tier three league for 44 seasons, the re-introduction 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 ...
s, now at this level, made the Bayernliga slip to tier four. It also adopted a new, shorter name, being simply called Oberliga Bayern now, because the highest (German: ''Oberste'') amateur league was now the Regionalliga. The six teams with the best overall record over the last three seasons in the Bayernliga, or above, gained entry to the new Regionalliga Süd, these being: *
FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg () or Augsburg, is a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. The team was founded as ...
*
SV Lohhof SV Lohhof is a German association football club from the Lohhof district of Unterschleißheim, Bavaria, north of Munich. The footballers are part of a sports club that includes departments for athletics, badminton, gymnastics, martial arts, swi ...
*
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 ...
*
FC 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 qualified ...
* SpVgg Fürth *
TSV Vestenbergsgreuth The TSV Vestenbergsgreuth is a German association football club from the village of Vestenbergsgreuth, Franconia. From 1996 to 2007, the club did not field a team due to a merger with SpVgg Fürth, but has since returned to competitive footbal ...
This fact also allowed a greater number of clubs then usually to move up from the ''Landesliga''. But above all, for the first time since 1980, the Bavarian champion was directly promoted again, now to the Regionalliga. The one exception for this was the year 2000, when the number of Regionalligas was reduced from four to two. The year 2008 saw another league system change. The
3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...
was introduced to slide between 2nd Bundesliga and Regionalligas. For the Bayernliga this meant a further fall, to tier five now. However, its best four teams of this season gained entry to the Regionalliga, providing their finances complied with the leagues regulations, those clubs being: * SpVgg Greuther Fürth II * 1. FC Nuremberg II *
TSV Großbardorf TSV Großbardorf is a German association football club from the city of Großbardorf, Bavaria. The footballers are part of a 602 member sports club that also has departments for bowling and table tennis. History The club made its first appear ...
*
1. FC Eintracht Bamberg FC Eintracht Bamberg is a German association football club from the city of Bamberg, Bavaria. The footballers are part of a sports club formed on 1 April 2006 out of the union of ''1. FC Bamberg'' and ''TSV Eintracht Bamberg''. With over 1,500 ...
*
SpVgg Unterhaching II The SpVgg Unterhaching II was the reserve team of German football club SpVgg Unterhaching, from the Unterhaching suburb of the city of Munich, Bavaria. At times, the team played under the name of SpVgg Unterhaching Amateure but since 2005, it car ...
The Bayernliga champion,
SpVgg Bayreuth SpVgg Bayreuth is a German football club based in Bayreuth, Bavaria. Apart from coming within two games of earning promotion to the Bundesliga in 1979, the club also reached the quarter finals of the DFB-Pokal twice, in 1977 and 1980. History ...
, was refused a Regionalliga licence, Bamberg took its spot instead. Due to the
Sportfreunde Siegen Sportfreunde Siegen is a German association football club based in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia. After going through insolvency in 2008, the first team was forcibly relegated to the fifth-tier NRW-Liga. Promotion to fourth division Regionallig ...
also being denied a licence, another Bavarian team was promoted to the Regionalliga, this being the reserve team of Unterhaching.


Bayernliga Nord and Süd: from 2012

In October 2010, another reform of the Regionalligas was decided upon. The number of leagues were now to be expanded to five, with the defunct Regionalliga Nordost to be reestablished and a Regionalliga Bayern to be established. Also, the Regionalliga West would lose the clubs from the south west to a new league, formed out of those clubs and the clubs from Regionalliga Süd without the Bavarian teams. The new system came into operation in the 2012–13 season. It was also decided to limit the number of reserve teams per Regionalliga to seven. The Bavarian football federation carried out drastic changes to the league system from 2012 onwards. With the already decided introduction of the Regionalliga Bayern from 2012 to 2013, it placed two Bayernligas below the new league as the new fifth tier of the German league system. Below those, five Landesligas instead of the existing three were set which are geographically divided to limit travel and increase the number of local derbies. This model was adopted in late April 2011. With the league reform at the end of the 2011–12 season, the Bezirksoberligas were also disbanded. Instead, the Bezirksligas took the place of the Bezirksoberligas once more below the Landesligas, a system already in place from 1963 to 1988. While it was originally thought that the Regionalliga Bayern would carry the name Bayernliga, it was later revealed that the current Bayernliga would have that honour, making the Bayernliga a divided league as it had been from 1953 to 1963. The new qualification mode would see all current Bavarian Regionalliga teams qualify for the new league as well as the top nine of the Bayernliga. Additionally, the teams placed 10th to 15th entered a promotion round with, nominally the six Landesliga champions and runners-up for three more spots in the new league, but dependent on licensing for the new league. Fluctuations of this formula were however also possible if a Bavarian club was promoted to or relegated from the 3rd Liga. The losers of the Regionalliga qualification round, nine clubs, and the Landesliga clubs placed third to eighth, 18 clubs, all entered the new Bayernligas, as did the winners of the Bayernliga promotion round between the Landesliga clubs placed eleventh to 15th and the Bezirksoberliga champions. The Landesliga clubs that failed to qualify for the Bayernligas remained in one of the five new Landesligas; there was no relegation to the Bezirksligas.


League timeline

The league went through the following timeline of name changes, format and position in the league system:


Champions of the Bayernliga


1945–1953

In 1945–46, the ''Landesliga Bayern'' was played as a single division, in 1946–47 and 1947–48 it was played in two regional divisions with a home-and-away final to determine the Bavarian champion. From 1948 to 1953, it was played as a single division again: *


1953–1963

From 1953 to 1963, the ''Bayernliga'' was divided into a northern and a southern group again. From 1956 onwards, a Bavarian final was held again: *


1963–2012

From 1963 onwards, the ''Bayernliga'' was always held as a single division. From 1963 to 1980 and from 1995 onwards, the league champion had the right to direct promotion. In 1974 and 1981, no promotion was available and from 1982 to 1994, the league champion had to participate in the promotion round. When the league champion declined, as has happened twice, the runners-up was promoted/qualified for the promotion round:


2012–present

Since 2012 the ''Bayernliga'' has once more been divided into a northern and a southern group: * * 1 FC Wacker München declined promotion,
Würzburger FV FV 04 Würzburg is a German association football club from the city of Würzburg, Bavaria founded in 1904 as ''1. Würzburger FV 04''. The club emerged as ''WFV'' in 1923 after leaving a short-lived union formed with a gymnastics club. __TOC__ ...
promoted as runners-up. * 2 1. FC Haßfurt declined promotion,
MTV Ingolstadt The Männer-Turn-Verein von 1881 Ingolstadt or ''Men's Gymnastics Club of 1881 Ingolstadt'' is a general sports club in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. It was founded on 18 July 1881. Until 2004, the club operated a football department but after a merger ...
promoted as runners-up. * 3 SpVgg Bayreuth was refused a Regionalliga licence. * 4 FC Ismaning declined promotion, runners-up FC Ingolstadt II promoted instead. * 5 BC Aichach declined promotion and withdrew from the Bayernliga,
VfR Garching The VfR Garching is a German association football club from the city of Garching, Bavaria. The club's greatest success has been promotion to the Regionalliga Bayern in 2014, the fourth tier of the German football league system. History For most ...
promoted instead. * 6 SV Pullach declined promotion, runners-up
FC Unterföhring The FC Unterföhring is a German association football club from the town of Unterföhring, Bavaria. The club's greatest success came in 2017 when it qualified for the Regionalliga Bayern, the fourth tier of the German football league system. His ...
promoted instead. * 7 The 2019–20 season was interrupted by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Germany that was declared in March 2020. It was later suspended until 31 August, forcing a cancellation of the 2020–21 season as the BFV approved a resumption of the preceding one, which was curtailed in May 2021.


Recent top scorers

The top scorers in the league since 2005:


Bayernliga until 2012


Bayernliga North


Bayernliga South

* 1 Peter Heyer scored 19 goals in the 2007–08 season but since ''Bambergs 1–0 win against ''Memmingen'', where he scored, was later changed to a 0-x loss due to ''Bamberg'' using two non-eligible players, only 18 of his goals were officially recognised.


League placings since 2012

The complete list of clubs and placings in the Bayernliga since the league was sub-divided into two divisions:


Bayernliga Nord 2012–present

The complete list of clubs and placings in the Bayernliga Nord since the league was sub-divided into two divisions:


Bayernliga Süd 2012–present

The complete list of clubs and placings in the Bayernliga Süd since the league was sub-divided into two divisions: *Placings for 2020 were based on the tables at the point of suspension during the coronavirus pandemic. Final placings were determined on a points per game basis at the curtailment of the resumed 2019–20 season in 2021.


Key


League records 1963–2012

The league records in regards to points, wins, losses and goals for the clubs in the league are:


References


Sources

* ''Die Bayernliga 1945–1997'', published by the DSFS, 1998 * ''Deutschlands Fußball in Zahlen'', An annual publication with tables and results from the Bundesliga to Verbandsliga/Landesliga, DSFS * ''Kicker Almanach'', The yearbook on German football from Bundesliga to Oberliga, since 1937, published by the Kicker Sports Magazine * ''Süddeutschlands Fußballgeschichte in Tabellenform 1897–1988'' History of Southern German football in tables, publisher & author: Ludolf Hyll * ''50 Jahre Bayrischer Fußball-Verband'' 50-year-anniversary book of the Bavarian FA. Vindelica Verlag. 1996. * ''Die Deutsche Liga-Chronik 1945–2005'' History of German football from 1945 to 2005 in tables. DSFS. 2006.


External links


Bayrischer Fußball Verband (Bavarian FA)

Das deutsche Fußball Archiv
Historic German league tables
Bavarian League tables and results

Website with tables and results from the Bavarian Oberliga to Bezirksliga

Weltfussball.de
Round-by-round results and tables of the ''Bayernliga'' from 1994 onwards {{UEFA fifth level leagues Oberliga (football) 1945 establishments in Germany 2