Verbandsliga Südwest

The Verbandsliga Südwest is a German amateur football division administered by the Southwest German Football Association, one of the 21 German state football associations. Being the top flight of the Southwestern state association, the Verbandsliga is a level 6 division of the German football league system.

Overview

The Amateurliga Südwest was formed in 1952 in the southern 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 2. 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 Südwest'' 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 Rheinland.

Until 1933, the region covered by the Southwest FA was politically part of two other German states during the Weimar Republic era. The south, the Palatinate (Pfalz) region, was part of Bavaria and the north, the Rhenish Hesse (Rheinhessen) region, was part of Hesse. This explains the seemingly odd fact that there are two clubs in the ''Südwest'' region named "Bavaria", ''FC Bavaria Wörth'' and ''FC Bavaria Ebernburg''. From 1933 to 1945, most of the region was part of the '' Gau Saar-Palatinate''. After the war, these regions were incorporated into the new state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The separation of these areas from their original states resulted from the outcome of the Second World War when they became part of the French occupation zone, while Hessen and Bavaria were in the US zone.

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

* BSC Oppau
*VfR Friesenheim
* FSV Schifferstadt
* Phönix Bellheim
*SV Alsenborn
* TuS Hochspeyer
* SpVgg Idar
* Palatia Böhl
* SC Oberstein 08
* ESC West-Kaiserslautern
* SpVgg Ingelheim
* SV Gonsenheim
* Fontana Finthen
* FC Sobernheim
* SG Waldfischbach
* SV Mundenheim

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.

The 1. FC Kaiserslautern II holds the record for years in the ''Amateurliga'', having spent 21 continuous seasons in it from 1957 to 1978.

The ''Amateurliga Südwest'' was renamed in 1978, now becoming the Verbandsliga Südwest. At the same time as this, the Oberliga Südwest was reformed, now as the third tier of the league system. The top five teams out of the ''Amateurliga'' went to the new Oberliga while the teams from place 6 to 16 found themselves in the Verbandsliga

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