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_leagu ...
and the highest league in the German
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
of
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
(). Until the introduction 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 ...
in 2008 it was the fifth tier of the league system, until the introduction of the
Regionalliga
A (, plural ) is a regional league in numerous Sports governing body, sports governing bodies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, usually located in the upper or middle tiers of the sports leagues.
The term is often associated with the Germa ...
s in 1994 the fourth tier.
Overview
The Thüringenliga was established in 1990 as the ''
Landesliga
The Landesliga () is a tier of football in some states of the German football league system.
In Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, Bremen, Lower Saxony and Hamburg, the Landesligas are set right below the Oberliga and therefore are the sixth tier. The r ...
Thüringen'' from fourteen clubs as a highest league for the German state of Thuringia, which was established after the league in October 1990, and the Thuringia Football Association, TFV (). It comprised the area of the three Bezirksligen of
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
,
Gera
Gera () is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of ...
and
Suhl
Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella ...
. Each of those three leagues contributed a number of clubs to the new league while one club was relegated from the
DDR-Liga
The DDR-Liga (English: GDR League or ''East German League'') was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the second level of football competition in the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik or German Democratic Republic, commonly East Germany), bei ...
, then the second division. The Thüringenliga was established within the East German football league system and incorporated in the league system of the united Germany at the end of its first season, in 1991.
The league has been a feeder league, together with the
Sachsenliga
The Sachsenliga, formerly referred to as ''Landesliga Sachsen'', is the sixth tier of the German football league system and the highest league in the German state of Saxony (German: ''Sachsen''). Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 it was ...
and
Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt
The Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt is the sixth tier of the German football league system and the highest league in the German States of Germany, state of Saxony-Anhalt (). Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 it was the fifth tier of the lea ...
, to the
NOFV-Oberliga Süd
The NOFV-Oberliga Süd is the fifth tier of the German football league system in the southern states of the former East Germany. It covers the German states of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Saxony and southern Brandenburg. It is one of fourteen Ob ...
, which its champion is directly promoted to. As such, it was the fourth tier of the German league system.
After having fourteen clubs in the league in its first season, the number went to seventeen the year after and was then set at sixteen, which it maintained for most seasons. It some years the number does however vary to balance out promotion and relegation.
In 1994, with the 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 ...
as the new third tier of the league system, the ''Thüringenliga'' fell to tier five in the system but remained unchanged otherwise.
In 2008, the league was again demoted one level when 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 ...
was established. However, this changed nothing in the leagues status as a feeder league to the
NOFV-Oberliga
The NOFV- Oberliga is a division at step 5 of the German football league system. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, it became the successor of the DDR-Oberliga, and functions today as a 5th division in the former territory of East Germany and the ...
.
The Landesligen of Thuringia and Saxony are unique in their naming as every other league in Germany of this standing carries the name
Verbandsliga
The Verbandsliga () is the tier-six football league in the German football league system, covering the area of a '' Bundesland'' or a regional part of such Bundesland.FC Union Mühlhausen
From the Bezirksliga Erfurt:
* SV Funkwerk Kölleda, ''now FSV 06 Kölleda''
*
Glückauf Sondershausen Glückauf may refer to
* Glück auf, the traditional German miners' greeting
*Glückauf-Kampfbahn, a sports stadium in Gelsenkirchen, Germany
*, a number of ships with this name.
*Eugen Glueckauf (1906 – 1981), German-born British expert on nucle ...
* ''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.