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 ...
Mittelrhein is the second highest amateur football league in the region of
Middle Rhine which is part of 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 ...
and since 2012 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 Football in Germany, association football in Germany that in the 2016–17 Season (sports), season consisted of 2,235 Sports_leag ...
. It operates in two groups which run parallel below the
Oberliga Mittelrhein
The Mittelrheinliga ( en, Middle Rhine League), sometimes also referred to as Oberliga Mittelrhein after its elevation to Oberliga status in 2012, is a German amateur football division administered by the Football association of the Middle Rhine, ...
. 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 sixth tier of the league system; until the introduction of the
Regionalligas in 1994 the fifth tier.
History
The league was founded in 1946 as the ''Rheinbezirksliga'' (Rhine District League), the highest division for the area covered by the Middle Rhine football association. A year later another division was added. In 1949 it became a second tier to the
2. Oberliga West
The (English: 2nd Premier League West) was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the west of Germany from 1949 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most popu ...
. In 1956 it was demoted to the third tier after
Verbandsliga Mittelrhein
The Mittelrheinliga ( en, Middle Rhine League), sometimes also referred to as Oberliga Mittelrhein after its elevation to Oberliga status in 2012, is a German amateur football division administered by the Football association of the Middle Rhine, ...
was founded. The league still remained as feeder to the Verbandsliga with the replacement of the 2. Oberliga West by
the old Regionalliga West in 1963. In turn the Regionalliga was replaced by 2. Bundesliga Nord in 1974. In 1978 it was slipped to the fourth tier under the
Oberliga Nordrhein
The Oberliga Nordrhein was the highest Football League in the region of Nordrhein which is part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 2008. In its last season, it was one of nine Oberligas in German football, the 4th tier of the Ge ...
, in 1994 it was the fifth under the current
Regionalliga West, and in 2008 it was the sixth under the
NRW-Liga
The Nordrhein-Westfalen-Liga (''North Rhine-Westphalia League''; NRW-Liga) was the highest football league in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) from 2008 to 2012. It was one of the eleven Oberliga groups in German football, the fifth tie ...
which took over after Oberliga was abolished.
In the German football league system, the Landesliga was first established as second-rate below the Oberliga West and was later slipped five times down to the seventh level by the introduction of the aforementioned higher leagues. Since the league structural reform of 2012 and the related dissolution of the NRW-Liga in favor of the Oberliga Mittelrhein, however, the league moved up from the seventh to the sixth level.
Modus
The Landesliga Mittelrhein consists of eastern and western groups of 16 clubs each. The exact number of teams is carried out every year on a geographical basis.
The champions of each group are promoted to the Oberliga Mittelrhein, provided they are not reserve teams of senior clubs or are financially sound. Should a winner or both winners be deemed ineligible or refuse promotion, the next best-placed teams in their groups will be promoted. The number of promotions to the Oberliga depend on the number of relegations and promotions in that league. Teams ranked 13th (or 14th) and below are relegated to their respective Bezirksliga and are replaced by the champions and runners-up from each Bezirksliga. A reserve team is also relegated if its senior team drops down to the Landesliga.
League champions
The top two in the inaugural season:
[Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv]
Historical German domestic league tables
The league champions of the two divisions since 1948:
*Note: No teams were promoted from 1951 to 1955.
References
External links
Official website of the Middle Rhine Football Association
{{Football in North Rhine-Westphalia
Landesliga
Football competitions in North Rhine-Westphalia
Sports leagues established in 1946
1946 establishments in Germany