Rheinlandliga

The Rheinlandliga is a German amateur football division administered by the Rhineland Football Association.

Overview

The Amateurliga Rheinland was formed in 1952 in the northern half of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Before its inception, three separate leagues operated in the area as the highest level of play. The league was a feeder league to the 2nd Oberliga Südwest. From 1952 until the establishment of the Oberliga Südwest in 1978, it was the third tier of the football league system.

The winner of the ''Amateurliga Rheinland'' was not automatically promoted to its superior league but rather had to take part in a promotion play-off. The champion would have to compete with the winners of the Amateurligen Saarland and Südwest.

Until 1933, the region covered by the Rhinrland FA was politically part of the now dissolved German state of Prussia. It was part of the Prussian Rhine Province.

The league was established in 1952 with sixteen teams, the winner gaining promotion to the ''2nd Oberliga Südwest''. The founder members were:

* SpVgg Bendorf
* FC Urbar
* VfL Trier
* SpVgg Neuwied
* SC Wirges
* SV Niederlahnstein
* SV Ehrang
* Germania Mudersbach
* TuS Konz
* SSV Heimbach-Weis
* SpVgg Zewen
* VfB Lützel
* SV Remagen
* TuS Mayen
* SV Trier-West
* SG Betzdorf

In 1956 the league was split into a western and an eastern group with twelve teams each. In 1963 it reverted to its old single group setup.

With the introduction of the Bundesliga in 1963 the ''Amateurliga'' was placed below the new Regionalliga Südwest but still retained its third-tier status. It continued to do so after the introduction of the 2nd Bundesliga Süd in 1974.

SC Bad Neuenahr and SC Sinzig hold the record for years in the ''Amateurliga'', each with 22 out of a possible 26.

In 1978, the league was renamed Verbandsliga Rheinland. At the same time, the Oberliga Südwest was reintroduced. The top five teams out of the ''Amateurliga'' went to the new Oberliga while the teams from place 6 to 15 found themselves in the Verbandsliga. The bottom team was relegated. The ''Verbandsliga'' was now the fourth tier of the league system.

The winner of the ''Rheinlandliga'', like the winners of the ''Verbandsliga Südwest'' and the Saarlandliga gains direct promotion to the '' Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar'', formerly the ''Oberliga Südwest''. The runners-up will only get a chance for promotion when there is additional spots to fill in the ''Oberliga'', like 1994 when the Regionalligas were introduced and ''SpVgg EGC Wirges'' and the ''SG Betzdorf'' were promoted.

In the Rheinland, the ''Verbandsliga'' is called Rheinlandliga.

The Rheinland contains an unproportional amount of ''SG's'', which are joint teams without the contributing clubs actually merging. The reason for this is the relatively low population density and therefore a lack of players. ''SG's'' can usually not be promoted above their Verbandsliga.

Feeder Leagues to the ''Rheinlandliga''
* ''Bezirksliga Rheinland-Mitte''
* ''Bezirksliga Rheinland-Ost''
* ''Bezirksliga Rheinland-West''

Until 2003, two ''Landesligas'', north and south, existed in the region, set between ''Verbandsliga'' and ''Bezirksliga''. Those leagues were disbanded in 2003.

League champions

The league champions:

*bold denotes club gained promotion.
* In 1994 SpVgg EGC Wirges and SG Betzdorf were also promoted.
* SG Betzdorf was again promoted as runner–up in 1998.
* In 2006 FSV Salmrohr was promoted instead of the first placed SG Rossbach–Verscheid. The reason for this is the fact that a conglomerate of clubs, usually called SG (''Spielgemeinschaft''), can be refused promotion by their ''Verband''. Rossbach–Verscheid were two separate clubs fielding a joint team, not a merger of two clubs. In 2007, promotion was granted as the club was now an SV (''Sportverein'').
* In 2015 runner–up SV Mehring was also promoted after play–offs.
* In 2020 runners-up TSV Emmelshausen and FSV Salmrohr were also promoted.
* In 2022 runner-up TuS Kirchberg was also promoted after play-offs.

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
* ''Süddeutschlands Fussballgeschichte in Tabellenform 1897-1988'' History of Southern German football in tables, by Ludolf Hyll
* ''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

{{Football in Rhineland-Palatinate

Football competitions in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhin
1952 establishments in West Germany