The Reichsliga (, ''

Reich ''Reich'' (; ) is a German language, German noun whose meaning is analogous to the meaning of the English word "realm"; this is not to be confused with the German adjective "reich" which means "rich". The terms ' (literally the "realm of an emp ...

League'') was a proposed nationwide German

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

league. First suggested in 1932 by

German Football Association The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of t ...

(DFB) president Felix Linnemann, the ''Reichsliga'' was essentially a forerunner 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 ...

'', finally established as a national league (originally for

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

) in 1963.The Bundesliga: a true success story
Official ''Bundesliga'' website, accessed: 5 July 2011

History

Football in Germany Football (or "soccer") is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund, link=no or ) is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members (roughly eight percent of the popul ...

after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

was very regionalised, leading to the top clubs in the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (lit. German Realm, German Empire, from german: Deutsches Reich, ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty ...

playing in weak local competitions with clubs well below their own strength. Those clubs would then only truly be challenged during the German finals round. Linnemann wished to achieve a concentration of those clubs by forming a ''Reichsliga'', like it existed in other countries, in which those clubs could play together. This however was vetoed by the powerful regional associations in 1932. The discussion about the ''Reichsliga'' went hand in hand with the question of professionalism in Germany, with the ''DFB'' being a strong advocate for keeping the game amateur in the country. In October 1932 however, the federation made a sudden, unexpected turnaround and legalised professionalism. Before steps could be taken, in January 1933, the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

came to power and paid football was moved off the ''DFB'' agenda again.''30 Jahre Bundesliga'', p. 6 From 1933, instead of the ''Reichsliga'', the Nazis introduced 16 regional ''

Gauliga A Gauliga () was the highest level of play in German football from 1933 to 1945. The leagues were introduced in 1933, after the Nazi takeover of power by the National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise. Name The German word ...

s''. In 1938 however, the ''Reichsliga'' was once more contemplated after the freshly unified German-Austrian team, playing with high expectations at the

1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, beat ...

was a complete disappointment, being knocked out in the first round. The embarrassment to Germany and its Nazi government caused the latter to approve plans for the consolidation of German football. The ''Reichsliga'' or, as an alternative, the reduction of the number of ''Gauligas'' from 16 to five was envisioned. The events of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

however put a stop to all these plans and by the time the regime fell in 1945 the number of ''Gauligas'' had increased greatly in response to travel difficulties caused by the war and Nazi expansionism. After 1945, the '' Oberligas'' were gradually formed in

Allied-occupied Germany Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...

, first in the South and Berlin, later in the West and North, too, which had suffered greater damage to its infrastructure through

strategic bombing Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...

during the war and was consequently slower to rebuild. Travel between occupation zones was difficult and the new leagues followed in their boundaries the limits of the Allied zones, putting a nationwide league out of question. In any case, such a league would not have been able to be called the ''Reichsliga'' anymore, as the German Reich had ceased to exist. With the formation of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

in 1949, soon requests for the ''

'' were voiced and a national league was finally established in 1963.''30 Jahre Bundesliga'', p. 9

References

Sources

* ''30 Jahre Bundesliga'' 30th anniversary special, publisher: '' kicker Sportmagazin'', published: 1993 * ''kicker-Almanach 1990'' Yearbook of German football, publisher: ''kicker Sportmagazin'', published: 1989,

External links

DFB — Deutscher Fußball Bund
(German Football Association) {{Bundesliga Association football leagues in Germany Proposed association football leagues 1930s in Germany Bundesliga