The 2021–22 3. Liga was the 14th season 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 ...

. It was originally scheduled to start on 23 July 2021 and concluded on 14 May 2022; however, the opening match between

VfL Osnabrück VfL Osnabrück is a German multi-sport club in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony. It currently fields teams in basketball, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, and tennis but is by far best known for its Association football, football section. The footba ...

and

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jer ...

had to be postponed after Duisburg was quarantined due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

cases, delaying the season start by one day. From this season onward, the

German Football Association The German Football Association ( ; DFB ) is the governing body of Association football, football, futsal, and beach soccer in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and ...

will allow clubs to place a sponsor logo on the back of their shirts. The league fixtures were announced on 1 July 2021.

Teams

Team changes

Originally,

SV Meppen SV Meppen is a German association football club playing in Meppen, Lower Saxony. The club was founded on 29 November 1912 as ''Amisia Meppen'' and joined ''Männer-Turnverein Meppen'' on 8 February 1920 to form ''TuS Meppen 1912''. The football ...

was relegated from the 2020–21 3. Liga. However,

KFC Uerdingen KFC Uerdingen 05 was a German football club in the Uerdingen district of the city of Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. The former Bundesliga side, which had its greatest successes in the 1980s, plays in the fourth-level Regionalliga. In 2025, t ...

could not meet the licensing requirements, sparing Meppen from relegation.

Stadiums and locations

¹ Viktoria Berlin will play their home matches at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Stadion since their home stadium, the Stadion Lichterfelde, did not meet 3. Liga standards.
² SC Freiburg II moved to the Dreisamstadion after

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions ...

moved to the

Europa-Park Stadion The Europa-Park Stadion, which opened in 2021 and is also known as the Mooswald-Stadion (, is a stadium in Freiburg im Breisgau, Freiburg, Germany, that serves mainly as the home of Association football, football club SC Freiburg, replacing the Dr ...

, since their previous home stadium, the Möslestadion, did not meet 3. Liga standards.
³ TSV Havelse will play their home matches at the HDI-Arena since their home stadium, the

Wilhelm-Langrehr-Stadion Wilhelm-Langrehr-Stadion is a association football, football stadium in the Havelse district of the Lower Saxony, Lower Saxon town of Garbsen. It is home to Regionalliga side TSV Havelse. The stadium has a capacity of 3,500. History TSV Havel ...

Garbsen Garbsen () is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Leine, approximately northwest of Hanover. The name Garbsen can be traced back to 1223. Today's 13 city districts have partly developed in ...

, did not meet 3. Liga standards.
⁴ SC Verl will play their home matches at the Stadion am Lotter Kreuz since their home stadium, the Sportclub Arena in Verl, did not meet 3. Liga standards. They will move to the Benteler-Arena for the last five home matches of the season.

Personnel and kits

Managerial changes

League table

Results

Top scorers

Number of teams by state

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:3. Liga, 2021-22 2021–22 in German football leagues 2021–22

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...