The Oberliga Schleswig-Holstein, formerly referred to as ''Schleswig-Holstein-Liga'', is 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 ...
and the highest league in the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
. It is one of fourteen
Oberligas in German football.
Overview
1945–1963
The league was formed in 1947 as Schleswig-Holstein-Liga by thirty clubs in three divisions of ten, in the newly created state of Schleswig-Holstein which was then part of the
British occupation zone
The British occupation zone in Germany (German: ''Britische Besatzungszone Deutschlands'') was one of the Allied-occupied areas in Germany after World War II. The United Kingdom along with her Commonwealth were one of the three major Allied pow ...
in Germany. On 30 August 1947, the ''Schleswig-Holstein FA'' (SHFV) was formed.
From the start, the league was a feeder league to the
Oberliga Nord
The Oberliga Nord was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany. It covered the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. With the introduction of the 3. Liga, the league ceased to exist f ...
which its champion had the option of promotion to. Promotion had to be achieved through a play-off with teams from the ''Amateurligen'' of
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
,
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
and
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
. As such, the league was now the second tier of the northern German league system. The league was renamed Landesliga Schleswig-Holstein (English:''Schleswig-Holstein State League'') in 1948 and united in one division of twelve teams, with the bottom two teams relegated to one of the four ''Bezirksklassen''.
In 1951, the league was expanded to sixteen teams. The number of clubs in the league fluctuated to eighteen in 1954-55, seventeen in 1955–56 and then returned to sixteen again.
From 1954, the league was renamed Amateurliga Schleswig-Holstein.
1963–1974
In 1963, with the introduction 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 disbanding of the ''Oberliga Nord'' and the formation of 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 ...
, the league fell to tier three, but remained unchanged otherwise, with sixteen clubs as its strength. The champion of Schleswig-Holstein continued to have to play-off for promotion, now to the ''Regionalliga''.
From 1968, the ''Amateurliga'' reverted to the name Landesliga Schleswig-Holstein. Below the ''Landesliga'', the number of leagues was reduced from four to two, the new ''Verbandsligen'' of ''Schleswig-Holstein-Nord'' and ''-Süd''.
1974-1994
After the 1973-74 season, the ''Regionalliga Nord'' was disbanded in favor of the
2nd Bundesliga Nord. The new
Oberliga Nord
The Oberliga Nord was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany. It covered the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. With the introduction of the 3. Liga, the league ceased to exist f ...
was now introduced in northern Germany, as the third tier of the league system, below the ''2nd Bundesliga''. This meant for the ''Landesliga'' a slip to tier four. The top two team of the league was however promoted to the new ''Oberliga''. The system for promotion from the ''Landesliga'' remained mostly unchanged.
In 1978, the league was finally renamed Verbandsliga Schleswig-Holstein, the name it carried until 2008. It took ten seasons for a club of the league under the new name to gain promotion again, a long stretch of nine seasons without success. Below the ''Verbandsliga'' the two leagues were now renamed ''Landesligen'' instead.
1994–2008
In 1994, 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 ...
was re-established, now as the third tier of the league system. The ''Oberliga Nord'' was in turn replaced by two parallel
Oberligen,
Niedersachsen/Bremen and
Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein. For the ''Verbandsliga Schleswig-Holstein'', this meant a further slip, now to tier five, but also, for the first time in its history, direct promotion for the league champion and, in some seasons, even the runners-up. In 1994, the league saw its top eight clubs elevated to the new ''Oberliga''.
From 1999, the number of leagues below the ''Verbandsliga'' was extended from two to four and the leagues renamed ''Bezirksoberliga''.
The 1999-2000 season saw another league system change with the reduction of numbers of ''Regionalligen'', this however had no effect on the ''Verbandsliga''.
In 2004, it was decided to restore the ''Oberliga Nord'' in favor of the two separate ''Oberligen''.
The league was expanded, for the first time, to eighteen teams, for the next three seasons. In 2007-08, the number increased to nineteen. The 2006-07 league winner, TSV Kropp, did not apply for an ''Oberliga'' licence and was not promoted. Fifth placed
FC Kilia Kiel applied but was refused a licence.
2008 onwards
At the end of the 2007–08 season, the new
3rd Liga was established and the ''Oberliga Nord'' disbanded, again. The four northern German states were then the only regions without an ''Oberliga'' and the five ''Verbandsligen'' sit right below the ''Regionalliga Nord'', parallel to the two
NOFV-Oberligen. At the end of the 2007-08 season, the five winners of the northern ''Verbandsligen'' played with the sixth placed team from the ''Oberliga Nord'' for one last spot in the ''Regionalliga''. In the future seasons, promotion for the Schleswig-Holstein champion will only be available through a set of play-off matches with the league winners from Hamburg and Bremen. These three teams will compete for one promotion spot to the ''Regionalliga''.
The ''Schleswig-Holstein-Liga'' however maintained its status as a tier five league. This fact means the league is now on the same level as other ''
Oberligas'' in Germany. Accordingly, the league dropped the name ''Verbandsliga'' and simply called itself Schleswig-Holstein-Liga. The leagues below it then adopted the name ''Verbandsliga''. Since the 2017-18 season, the league is known as ''Oberliga Schleswig-Holstein'' and relegates to the newly created ''Landesliga Schleswig-Holstein'' in the sixth tier.
In April 2020, the SHFV curtailed the remainder of the 2019–20 season during the
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Germany and determined the final standings using points-per-game averages. It was decided in May to suspended relegation for one season to expand the league. The Oberliga was split into two 9-team groups for the 2020–21 season that was later abandoned because of the pandemic, with no promotions or relegations.
Position of the Oberliga Schleswig-Holstein in the league system
Winners of the Oberliga Schleswig-Holstein
The league champions:
* bold denotes club gained promotion.
* In 1957, the runner-up ''Phönix Lübeck'' was also promoted
* In 1959, the runner-up ''VfB Lübeck'' was promoted instead
* In 1962, the runner-up ''VfB Lübeck'' was promoted instead
* In 1963, the runner-up ''SV Friedrichsort'' was promoted instead
* In 1968 and 1970, the runner-up ''Heider SV'' was promoted instead
* In 1990, the runner-up ''Eutin 08'' was promoted instead
* In 1994, the top eight clubs were promoted to the new Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein
* In 1995, the runner-up ''VfR Neumünster'' was also promoted
* In 1998, the runner-up ''Phönix Lübeck'' was also promoted
* In 1999, the runner-up ''TSV Lägerdorf'' was also promoted
* In 2001, the second- and third-placed teams, ''SpVgg Flensburg 08'' and ''FC Kilia Kiel'' were also promoted
* In 2002, the runner-up ''TSB Flensburg'' was also promoted
* In 2003, the runner-up ''TSV Kropp'' was also promoted
* In 2005, the runner-up ''TSV Kropp'' was promoted instead
* In 2012, the runner-up ''
ETSV Weiche
SC Weiche Flensburg 08 is a Football in Germany, German Association football, association football club from the Weiche suburb of Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein. Apart from football the club also offers other sports like volleyball and table tennis ...
'' was also promoted
* In 2018, the third-placed ''Holstein Kiel II'' was promoted instead
* In 2019, the fourth-placed ''Heider SV'' was promoted instead
* In 2020, the runner-up ''Phönix Lübeck'' was promoted instead
* In 2021, no club was promoted due to the curtailment and annulment of the paused season during the COVID-19 pandemic; ''Husumer SV'' later resigned from the Oberliga
Founding members of the Oberiga Schleswig-Holstein
Northern Group
* Eckernförder SV, ''qualified for the new Landesliga''
* SpVgg Flensburg 08, ''qualified for the new Landesliga''
* Husumer SV, ''qualified for the new Landesliga''
* ATSV Flensburg, ''qualified for the new Landesliga''
* Schleswig 06
* VfB Kiel
* VfR Laboe
* Rot-Weiß Niebüll
* Schwarz-Weiß Elmschenhagen
* SC Comet Kiel
Eastern Group
*
FC Kilia Kiel, ''qualified for the new Landesliga''
*
Phönix Lübeck, ''qualified for the new Landesliga''
* Eutin 08, ''qualified for the new Landesliga''
* Polizei SV Kiel, ''qualified for the new Landesliga''
* TSV Schlutup
* TSV Kücknitz
* TSV Mölln
* VfL Oldesloe
* Preetzer TSV
* Oldenburger SV
Western Group
*
Itzehoer SV
Itzehoer SV was a German association football club from the town of Itzehoe, Schleswig-Holstein. The club's greatest success was promotion to the tier-one Oberliga Nord, where it spent a single season in 1950–51. It also played in the then-se ...
, 'qualified for the new Landesliga''
* Fortuna Glückstadt, ''qualified for the new Landesliga''
* Union Neumünster, ''qualified for the new Landesliga''
* TSV Brunsbüttelkoog, ''qualified for the new Landesliga''
* Gut-Heil Neumünster
* Heider SV
* Rendsburger TSV
*
VfR Neumünster
VfR Neumünster is a German association football club based in Neumünster, Schleswig-Holstein. The club was established on 3 March 1910 as FV Neumünster by members of FC Germania 1907 Neumünster and FC Viktoria 1909 Neumünster. In 1924, FV w ...
* TuS Nortorf
* VfL Kellinghusen
League placings
The complete list of clubs and placings in the league since elevation to Oberliga status (2008–present):
Key
References
Sources
* ''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.
''Kicker'' Sports Magazine.
* ''Die Deutsche Liga-Chronik 1945-2005'' History of German football from 1945 to 2005 in tables.
DSFS. 2006.
External links
Das deutsche Fussball Archiv Historic German league tables
The Schleswig-Holstein-Liga at Fussball.de
The ''Schleswig-Holstein Football Association'' (SHFV)
{{UEFA fifth level leagues
Oberliga (football)
Football competitions in Schleswig-Holstein
1947 establishments in Germany