The Landesliga Bayern-Mitte ( en, State league Bavaria-Central) is currently the sixth tier of the

German football league system The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for association football in Germany that in the 2016–17 season consisted of 2,235 leagues in up to 13 levels having 31,645 teams ...

in central and eastern

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 ...

and the third tier of the Bavarian football league system. It is one of five Landesligas in Bavaria, the other four being the Landesliga Südwest, Landesliga Nordost, Landesliga Nordwest and Landesliga Südost. The league champion automatically qualifies for the

Bayernliga The Bayernliga (English: Bavarian league) is the highest amateur football league and the second highest football league (under the Regionalliga Bayern) in the state of Bavaria (german: Bayern) and the Bavarian football league system. It is one o ...

, the runners-up needs to compete with the runners-up of the other four Landesligas and a number of Bayernliga teams for another promotion spot. The league replaced the

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 ...

and the

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 intr ...

at this level, both formed in 1963 and disbanded in 2012. The new Landesliga Mitte covers predominately the

Upper Palatinate 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 ...

but clubs from

Middle Franconia 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 ...

Upper Franconia 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 ...

and

Lower Bavaria 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- ...

based in the border region to Upper Palatinate also compete. However, the league boundaries can be slightly adjusted season-by-season by the

Bavarian Football Association The Bavarian Football Association (german: Bayerischer Fussball-Verband), the ''BFV'', is one of 21 regional organisations of the German Football Association, the ''DFB'', and covers the state of Bavaria.Auf- und Abstiegsregelung der Bayernliga und der Landesligen für das Qualifikationsspieljahr 2011/2012
Bavarian FA website - Regulations for promotion and relegation in 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2011. It differs in that the old league of the same name (which existed until 2012) completely covered the regions of Upper Palatinate, Middle Franconia and Lower Bavaria.

History

Formation

The Bavarian Football Association carried out drastic changes to the league system at the end of the 2011–12 season. With the already decided introduction of 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 ...

from 2012–13, it also placed two Bayernligas below the new league as the new fifth tier of the German league system, splitting the previously single division league into a northern and a southern group. Below those, five Landesligas instead of the existing three were set, which were geographically divided to limit travel and increase the number of local derbies. Clubs from three different league tiers were able to qualify for the new league. From the Landesliga level, the clubs placed ninth to 15th had the opportunity to qualify for the Bayernliga through play-offs. Those clubs who failed to qualify for the Bayernliga were grouped in the Landesliga. The Landesliga clubs placed 16th, 17th and 18th automatically went to the Landesliga. The Bezirksoberliga (BOL) champions also had the chance to qualify for the Bayernliga. Those clubs who failed went to the Landesliga, alongside the BOL teams placed second to sixth. The teams placed seventh in Upper Palatinate, seventh to twelfth in Lower Franconia and seventh to tenths in Lower Bavaria entered a play-off with the Bezirksliga champions for the remaining Landesliga spots. The league, in its inaugural season, played with 18 clubs. The league started out with 18 clubs in its inaugural season, the clubs coming from the following leagues: * From the

(VI):

ASV Cham The ASV Cham is a Football in Germany, German association football club from the city of Cham, Germany, Cham, Bavaria. The club's most notable achievement was playing in the 2. Oberliga Süd, second division from 1950 to 1962. History The ''ASV ...

, TSV Bad Abbach,

SpVgg Ansbach SpVgg Ansbach is a German football club from the city of Ansbach, Bavaria. The club's greatest league success came in 2001, when it earned promotion to the tier-three Regionalliga Süd, where it lasted for only one season. They returned to th ...

, Freier TuS Regensburg,

1. FC Bad Kötzting 1. FC Bad Kötzting is a German association football club from the city of Bad Kötzting, Bavaria. History Founded on 5 May 1921 as ''1. FC Kötzting'', the club spent most of its existence as a lower-tier side until earning promotion to the La ...

* From the

Bezirksoberliga Mittelfranken The Bezirksoberliga Mittelfranken was the seventh tier of the German football league system in the Bavarian ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Middle Franconia (german: Mittelfranken). Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 it was the sixth tier of th ...

(VII):

1. SC Feucht 1. SC Feucht is a German association football club from Feucht, a market town close to the city of Nuremberg, Bavaria. The club's greatest success has been promotion to the tier-three Regionalliga Süd in 2003, where it played for two season ...

, SC 04 Schwabach, TSG 08 Roth, SV Seligenporten II * From the

Bezirksoberliga Oberpfalz The Bezirksoberliga Oberpfalz was the seventh tier of the German football league system in the Bavarian ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Upper Palatinate (German: ''Oberpfalz''). Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 it was the sixth tier of the lea ...

(VII):

FC Tegernheim FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

, DJK Vilzing, TSV Kareth-Lappersdorf, VfB Bach, Fortuna Regensburg * From the

Bezirksoberliga Niederbayern The Bezirksoberliga Niederbayern was the seventh tier of the German football league system in the Bavarian ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Bavaria (German: ''Niederbayern''). Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 it was the sixth tier of the ...

(VII): SpVgg Ruhmannsfelden, TV Schierling, TSV Bogen * From the Bezirksliga Oberpfalz Nord (VIII): 1. FC Schwarzenfeld

Seasons

The opening game of the new league took place on 20 July 2012 when FC Tegernheim hosted VfB Bach and won 4-0. At the end of the 2012–13 season, league champions TSV Bogen were directly promoted while runners-up DJK Vilzing failed to earn promotion via the promotion round. At the other end of the table, SV Seligenporten II, 1. FC Schwarzenfeld and SC 04 Schwabach were directly relegated, while Freier TuS Regensburg and TSG 08 Roth had to enter the promotion/relegation round with the Bezirksliga runners-up where both lost to ASV Burglengenfeld. For the 2013–14 season four clubs were promoted to the league, SpVgg Lam, ASV Burglengenfeld, SC Ettmannsdorf, and SV Burgweinting. Apart from these four sides the league also received SV Mitterteich who moved to the ''Mitte'' division from the ''Nordost'' after the 2012–13 season while, in turn,

was moved from ''Mitte'' to the ''Nordwest'' division. The 2019–20 season was interrupted by the coronavirus disease pandemic in Germany that began 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.

Modus

The league is played in a home-and-away format with the league champion being directly promoted to the Bayernliga. The runners-up enters a promotion round with the other four Landesliga runners-up and the Bayernliga teams placed just above the direct relegation ranks, 15th and 16th in the south and 15th in the north, for additional spots in this league. The bottom three teams from the Landesliga are directly relegated to the Bezirksligas. The teams placed 15th, 16th and 17th have to play-off with the Bezirksliga runners-up for their place in the Landesliga.Spielordnung
BFV website. Retrieved 20 July 2012.

Top-three of the Landesliga

The following teams have finished in the top-three in the league: * Promoted teams in bold. * The 2019–20 season was suspended and later extended to 2021, when the top three were ranked on a points per game basis.

League placings

The complete list of clubs and placings in the league since its inception in 2012:Landesliga Bayern-Mitte table & results
on kicker.de. *Placings for 2020 were based on the table at the point of suspension during the coronavirus pandemic. Final placings were after the curtailment of the resumed 2019–20 season in 2021.

Key

References

External links

Bayerischer Fußball-Verband (Bavarian FA)

Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv
Historic German league tables

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landesliga Bayern-Mitte Mitte 2012 establishments in Germany Sports leagues established in 2012