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 ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

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 ...

Regionalliga Nordost The Regionalliga Nordost is the fourth tier of German football league system, German football in the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. These comprise the states of former East Germany ...

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 ...

Regionalliga West The Regionalliga West is a German semi-professional football division administered by the Western German Football Association based in Duisburg. It is one of the five German regional football associations. Being the single flight of the Western ...

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 ...

SG Sonnenhof Großaspach SG Sonnenhof Großaspach (german: Sportgemeinschaft Sonnenhof Großaspach e.V.), commonly known as Sonnenhof Großaspach, is a German professional football club based in Aspach, Baden-Württemberg. The club play in the Regionalliga Südwest, whi ...

FC 08 Homburg Fußball-Club 08 Homburg or simply FC Homburg is a German association football club based in Homburg, Saarland, that competes in the Regionalliga Südwest. The club was founded on 15 June 1908 as ''Fussball Club Homburg'' by a group of seventeen ...

SSV Ulm 1846 SSV Ulm 1846 is a German football club from Ulm, Baden-Württemberg. The modern-day football department, officially playing as SSV Ulm 1846 Fussball, was formed on 9 March 2009 when the department separated from SSV Ulm 1846. The club's great ...

Kickers Offenbach Offenbacher Kickers, also known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left established local clubs ...

Bahlinger SC Bahlinger SC is a German association football club from the Kaiserstuhl town of Bahlingen, Baden-Württemberg. History The club was founded 16 June 1929 as ''FC Bahlingen'' and merged with ''TV Bahlingen'' in 1946 to form the present-day side ...

FSV Frankfurt Fußballsportverein Frankfurt 1899 e.V., commonly known as simply FSV Frankfurt, is a German association football club based in the Bornheim district of Frankfurt am Main, Hesse and founded in 1899. FSV Frankfurt also fielded a rather successfu ...

VfR Aalen Verein für Rasenspiele 1921 Aalen e.V., known simply as VfR Aalen, is a German football club based in Aalen, Baden-Württemberg. The football team is part of a larger sports club which also offers its members gymnastics, table tennis, and cheer ...

Oberliga Baden-Württemberg The Oberliga Baden-Württemberg is the highest association football league in the state of Baden-Württemberg and the Baden-Württemberg football league system. It is one of fourteen Oberligas in German football, the fifth tier of the German foot ...

VfB Stuttgart II VfB Stuttgart II is a German football team located in Stuttgart, currently playing in the Regionalliga Südwest. From 2008 to 2016 the team played in the 3. Liga. They are the reserve team of VfB Stuttgart. Until 2005 the team played under the n ...

Rhineland Football Association The Rhineland Football Association (german: Fussball-Verband Rheinland), the ''FVR'', is one of 21 state organisations of the German Football Association, the ''DFB'', and covers the northern part of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.Saarland Football Association The Saarland Football Association (german: Saarländischer Fussball-Verband), the ''SFV'', is one of 21 state organisations of the German Football Association, the ''DFB'', and covers the state of Saarland.South Baden Football Association * Southwest German Football Association * Württemberg Football Association as well as two DFB-Regionalverbände *

Southern German Football Association The Southern German Football Association (german: Süddeutscher Fussball-Verband), the ''SFV'', is one of five regional organisations of the German Football Association, the ''DFB'', and covers the states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse. ...

*

Southwestern Regional Football Association The Regional Football Association South West (german: Fussball-Regional-Verband Südwest), the ''FRVS'', is one of five regional organisations of the German Football Association, the ''DFB'', and covers the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saar ...

History

The German league system had been reformed in 2008, when the 3rd Liga was established and the number of regional leagues increased from two to three. A further alteration was made in 2011. This was prompted by the large number of insolvencies in the fourth tier, caused by high costs and infrastructure requirements while, at the same time, the clubs at this level complained about low incomes and lack of interest from TV broadcasters. Regionalliga stadiums had to have at least 1,000 seats and a separate stand with separate entrance for away spectators; and such requirements were seen as causing excessive financial strain on amateur clubs. Many clubs also struggled to cope with the 400-page long licence application, as they had to rely on volunteers rather than being able to draw on permanent staff. This led to Oberliga champions sometimes even declining their right to promotion to avoid the financial risks of the Regionalliga, thus breaking a basic principle of German football, that league champions would almost always be promoted.''Wendelsteiner Anstoß''
Bavarian FA website - The ''Wendelstein'' paper. Retrieved 6 July 2011 In October 2010, at a special conference of the German Football Association, the ''DFB'', 223 of the 253 delegates voted for a reform of the league system at the fourth level. The number of Regionalligas was to be expanded to five, with the re-establishment of the

Regionalliga Nordost The Regionalliga Nordost is the fourth tier of German football league system, German football in the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. These comprise the states of former East Germany ...

, the formation of the Regionalliga Bayern and a shift of the Regionalliga Süd to the new Regionalliga Süd/Südwest, later renamed Regionalliga Südwest. The suggestion for the league reform had come from Bavaria, where, in a meeting of the Bavarian top-level amateur clubs at Wendelstein, the financial survival of the leagues and clubs in the current system had been questioned. This meeting resulted in the publication of what was called the ''Wendelsteiner Anstoß'', which demanded a clear demarcation between professional football on the first three tiers of German football and amateur football below that. For this purpose, the paper also demanded a re-establishment of the

German amateur football championship The German amateur football championship was a national football competition in Germany organized by the German Football Association (German: Deutscher Fußball-Bund; DFB) and in existence from 1950 to 1998. History Overview The championship was ...

as an incentive and goal for top amateur clubs who did not want to turn professional.Untere Ligen erfahren eine Aufwertung
''

Augsburger Allgemeine The ''Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung'' is a major German regional daily newspaper published since 1945. History From 1807 to 1882, another paper named ''Allgemeine Zeitung'' was published in Augsburg but it is not connected to the later newspape ...

''. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011 With the Regionaliga reform in 2012, the Regionaliga was increased from three to five leagues. Since then, these have been the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

, Northeast,

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, Southwest and Bavaria leagues. The league is hosted by the

Southwestern Regional Football Association The Regional Football Association South West (german: Fussball-Regional-Verband Südwest), the ''FRVS'', is one of five regional organisations of the German Football Association, the ''DFB'', and covers the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saar ...

and the

Southern German Football Association The Southern German Football Association (german: Süddeutscher Fussball-Verband), the ''SFV'', is one of five regional organisations of the German Football Association, the ''DFB'', and covers the states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse. ...

(with the exception of the Bavarian Football Association). It extends over the federal states of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

,

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

,

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

and

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

. From the 2012/13 to 2017/18 seasons, the champion and the runner-up took part in the Promotion to the 3. Liga. The runner-up was taken into account because six teams were required for the promotion round and because the region of the Regionalliga Südwest, then and now, had the most teams and members of all five regional leagues. For the 2018/19 to 2020/21 seasons, there was a rule that only the champion will be promoted directly to the 3. Liga; there will be no promotion for the runners-up. The relay strength in the 2019/20 season was 18 teams. From the leagues below the Regionalliga Südwest, there are a total of four promoted teams: from the upper leagues of Rhineland-Palatinate/Saar,

Hessen Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Darms ...

and

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

, one team each, usually the champions, is promoted; the three runners-up play to be the fourth promotion. In 2017, the league signed an agreement to host the China national under-20 football team, allowing the team to compete in the league in friendly matches to fill in as the league's 20th club. The arrangement was only approved by 16 of the 19 clubs in the league, with those in opposition criticising it as part of the increasing commercialisation of football. During the team's match against TSV Schott Mainz, the display of a

Tibetan flag Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken diale ...

led to the team walking off in protest. Consequently, the Chinese players were recalled and the agreement was abrogated.

Founding Members 2012/13

SG Sonnenhof Großaspach SG Sonnenhof Großaspach (german: Sportgemeinschaft Sonnenhof Großaspach e.V.), commonly known as Sonnenhof Großaspach, is a German professional football club based in Aspach, Baden-Württemberg. The club play in the Regionalliga Südwest, whi ...

, Eintracht Frankfurt II, Eintracht Trier,

Wormatia Worms VfR Wormatia 08 Worms is a German association football club that plays in Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate. The club and its historical predecessors were regular participants in regional first-division football competition until the formation of the ...

, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II,

1. FC Kaiserslautern II 1. FC Kaiserslautern II is the German reserve football teams, reserve team of Football in Germany, German association football club 1. FC Kaiserslautern, based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. Historically the team has played as 1. FC Kaise ...

, SC Freiburg II, 1. FSV Mainz 05 II, KSV Hessen Kassel, SV Elversberg, SV Waldhof Mannheim, SC 07 Idar-Oberstein,

SC Pfullendorf SC Pfullendorf is a German sports club based in Pfullendorf, Baden-Württemberg. The 700-member club is best known for its football department, but also has departments for chess, table tennis and ice stock sport, a winter sport similar to cu ...

,

TuS Koblenz TuS Koblenz is a German association football club, located in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Fussball Club Deutschland Neuendorf, which was formed in 1911, is viewed as the foundation of the modern club. History Nazi era (1933–1945) The or ...

,

FSV Frankfurt II The FSV Frankfurt II was a German association football club from the town of Frankfurt, Hesse. It was the reserve team of FSV Frankfurt. Until 2005 the team played as FSV Frankfurt Amateure during the times the senior side played in professional ...

, FC Bayern Alzenau,

SSV Ulm 1846 SSV Ulm 1846 is a German football club from Ulm, Baden-Württemberg. The modern-day football department, officially playing as SSV Ulm 1846 Fussball, was formed on 9 March 2009 when the department separated from SSV Ulm 1846. The club's great ...

, 1. FC Eschborn,

FC 08 Homburg Fußball-Club 08 Homburg or simply FC Homburg is a German association football club based in Homburg, Saarland, that competes in the Regionalliga Südwest. The club was founded on 15 June 1908 as ''Fussball Club Homburg'' by a group of seventeen ...

Rules & regulations

Promotion to the 3rd Liga

The league champions of the five new regional leagues no longer have the right to direct promotion to the 3rd Liga. Instead, the five league winners and the runners-up of the Süd/Südwest would play-off for three promotion spots. The play-offs are played in home-and-away format, and the two clubs from the Süd/Südwest region can not be paired against each other.Grundzüge der Spielklassenreform
DFB website - Basics of the Regionalliga reform. Retrieved 6 July 2011 As four teams were relegated from the 3rd Liga at the end of the 2018–19 season, the Regionalliga Südwest champions

Waldhof Mannheim SV Waldhof Mannheim is a multi-sports club, located in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. It is most known for its association football team; however, there are also professional handball and table-tennis sides. The club today has a membership of over ...

, along with their counterparts from the Nordost and West, were promoted directly to the league. In 2020, the three direct promotion spots will go to the Südwest champions and the champions of the two leagues that participated in the promotion play-off in the previous season, while the champions of the Nordost and the West participate in the play-off. This format was initially installed as a temporary solution until the

DFB-Bundestag The DFB-Bundestag (National Conference) is the highest body of the German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fussball-Bund, DFB). As football parliament it is the legislative assembly of the DFB. Structure The DFB-Bundestag convenes regularly ...

in September 2019 decided on a format that could have enabled all Regionalliga champions to be promoted. On that date, the Bundestag delegates voted to grant the Südwest and West champions two direct promotions indefinitely starting in 2021. A third direct promotion place will be assigned according to a rotation principle among the Regionalliga Nord, Nordost and Bayern champions. The representatives from the remaining two Regionalligen will determine the fourth promoted club in two-legged playoffs.

Qualifying

The new league was nominally going to have 18 clubs; however, in its first, transitional season the ''DFB'' permitted up to 22 clubs in the league. Restrictions existed on reserve sides. No more than seven reserve teams were permitted per Regionalliga; should there be more in a league the additional ones would have to be moved to a different Regionalliga. Reserve teams of 3rd Liga clubs are not permitted to play in the Regionalliga. The make up of the clubs entering the new Regionalligas from the leagues below was left to the regional football association and not regulated by the ''DFB''.Spielklassenreform offiziell beschlossen
Bavarian FA website. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011 One exception to the rule was the Bavarian club FC Bayern Alzenau, who had traditionally played in

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

's league system. This club would participate in the new Regionalliga Südwest, at their own request, rather than in the Regionalliga Bayern. 19 clubs qualified to play in the league's first season (

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

): * From the Regionalliga Süd: FC Bayern Alzenau, SC Freiburg II, Eintracht Frankfurt II,

FSV Frankfurt II The FSV Frankfurt II was a German association football club from the town of Frankfurt, Hesse. It was the reserve team of FSV Frankfurt. Until 2005 the team played as FSV Frankfurt Amateure during the times the senior side played in professional ...

, Sonnenhof Großaspach, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II, KSV Hessen Kassel,

Waldhof Mannheim SV Waldhof Mannheim is a multi-sports club, located in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. It is most known for its association football team; however, there are also professional handball and table-tennis sides. The club today has a membership of over ...

,

SC Pfullendorf SC Pfullendorf is a German sports club based in Pfullendorf, Baden-Württemberg. The 700-member club is best known for its football department, but also has departments for chess, table tennis and ice stock sport, a winter sport similar to cu ...

,

Wormatia Worms VfR Wormatia 08 Worms is a German association football club that plays in Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate. The club and its historical predecessors were regular participants in regional first-division football competition until the formation of the ...

* From the Regionalliga West: Eintracht Trier, SV Elversberg, SC Idar-Oberstein,

1. FC Kaiserslautern II 1. FC Kaiserslautern II is the German reserve football teams, reserve team of Football in Germany, German association football club 1. FC Kaiserslautern, based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. Historically the team has played as 1. FC Kaise ...

,

TuS Koblenz TuS Koblenz is a German association football club, located in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Fussball Club Deutschland Neuendorf, which was formed in 1911, is viewed as the foundation of the modern club. History Nazi era (1933–1945) The or ...

, 1. FSV Mainz 05 II * Promoted from the Oberligas: 1. FC Eschborn,

FC 08 Homburg Fußball-Club 08 Homburg or simply FC Homburg is a German association football club based in Homburg, Saarland, that competes in the Regionalliga Südwest. The club was founded on 15 June 1908 as ''Fussball Club Homburg'' by a group of seventeen ...

,

SSV Ulm 1846 SSV Ulm 1846 is a German football club from Ulm, Baden-Württemberg. The modern-day football department, officially playing as SSV Ulm 1846 Fussball, was formed on 9 March 2009 when the department separated from SSV Ulm 1846. The club's great ...

Champions & runners-up

The league champions and runners-up: * Promoted teams in bold. *¹ SC Freiburg II did not apply for a 3. Liga licence and was replaced by third placed 1. FSV Mainz 05 II in the promotion round, which Mainz completed successfully.

Record

Most Points in a Season

* SV Waldhof Mannheim – 88 (2018/19) *

1. FC Saarbrücken 1. FC Saarbrücken (german: 1. Fußball-Club Saarbrücken e. V.) is a football club based in Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club plays in the 3. Liga, which is the third tier of football in Germany. The club began its existence as the football de ...

– 82 (2017/18) *

Kickers Offenbach Offenbacher Kickers, also known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left established local clubs ...

– 79 (2014/15) * SV Elversberg – 78 (2016/17) *

SG Sonnenhof Großaspach SG Sonnenhof Großaspach (german: Sportgemeinschaft Sonnenhof Großaspach e.V.), commonly known as Sonnenhof Großaspach, is a German professional football club based in Aspach, Baden-Württemberg. The club play in the Regionalliga Südwest, whi ...

– 75 (2013/14)

Players with the Most Playing Time

Stand: end of the 2019/20 season

Player with the Most Goals

Stand: End of the 2019/20 season

Championship Titles

Logo

The

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...

of the Regionalliga Südwest, which was introduced in 2012, shows a football player wo is oriented towards the southwest. The seven blue stars symbolize the regional associations involved, the two white stars stand for the regional associations SFV and FRVS.

League statistics

The top goal scorers and spectator statistics for the league are:

Placings in the Regionalliga Südwest

Final league positions of all clubs who have played in the league: * ¹ At the end of the 2013–14 season Eintracht Frankfurt decided to withdraw its reserve side from all competitions after a ruling by the ''DFL'' allowed all Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga clubs to freely choose whether or not to operate an under-23 reserve team. Previous to that such teams had been compulsory.Eintracht Frankfurt meldet U23-Team ab
weltfussball.de. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014 * ² SSV Ulm 1846 declared insolvent at the end of the 2013–14 season and was relegated.

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.

External links

Official DFB web site on Regionalliga football

Football results and tables from Germany

Das deutsche Fussball Archiv
Historic German league tables {{DEFAULTSORT:Regionalliga Sudwest Sud Sudwest Football competitions in Saarland Football competitions in Rhineland-Palatinate Football competitions in Baden-Württemberg Football competitions in Hesse 2012 establishments in Germany Sports leagues established in 2012

Teams

Owners and shareholders

History

Founding Members 2012/13

Rules & regulations

Promotion to the 3rd Liga

Qualifying

Champions & runners-up

Record

Most Points in a Season

Players with the Most Playing Time

Player with the Most Goals

Championship Titles

Logo

League statistics

Placings in the Regionalliga Südwest

Key

References

Sources

External links