East German football league system
Encyclopedia
| East German football league system |
|---|
| Founded |
| 1949 |
| Disbanded |
| 1991 |
| Nation |
 |
 |
| Bezirke Administrative division of the German Democratic Republic The Administrative divisions of the German Democratic Republic were constituted in two different forms during the country's 41-year-long history. The Republic first retained the traditional German division into federated states called Länder, but in 1952 replaced them with arbitrarily-drawn... |
 SchwerinSchwerin Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:... |
 RostockRostock Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders... |
 NeubrandenburgNeubrandenburg Neubrandenburg is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located in the southeastern part of the state, on the shore of a lake called the Tollensesee .... |
 MagdeburgMagdeburg Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe.... |
| Potsdam Potsdam Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre.... |
.svg.png) BerlinEast Berlin East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city... |
| Halle Halle, Saxony-Anhalt Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia... |
 Frankfurt/Oder |
 CottbusCottbus Cottbus is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree. As of , its population was .- History :... |
 GeraGera Gera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia , lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster, approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometres to the east of Erfurt... |
 ErfurtErfurt Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian... |
 SuhlSuhl - Geography :Suhl sits on the south edge of the Suhler Scholle, an upthrust granite complex that is streaked by numerous dikes. This is part of the Ruhla-Schleusingen Horst that defines the southwest side of the Thuringian Forest... |
 DresdenDresden Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area.... |
 LeipzigLeipzig Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing... |
 Karl-Marx-StadtChemnitz Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle... |
| Last Champion 1990-91 |
| FC Hansa Rostock FC Hansa Rostock F.C. Hansa Rostock is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from the former East Germany and have made several appearances in the 1. Bundesliga. Rostock currently compete in the 2. Bundesliga... |
The football league system of the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(shortened:GDR, German:Deutsche Demokratische Republik or DDR) existed from the creation of the DDR-Oberliga
DDR-Oberliga
The DDR-Oberliga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the elite level of football competition in the DDR , being roughly equivalent to the Oberliga or Bundesliga in West Germany.-Overview:Following World...
in 1949 until shortly after German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
in 1990.
The German Democratic Republic football league system
From 1949 until 1991 East Germany had its own football league system.It had its own nationwide league called Oberliga
DDR-Oberliga
The DDR-Oberliga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the elite level of football competition in the DDR , being roughly equivalent to the Oberliga or Bundesliga in West Germany.-Overview:Following World...
which existed throughout the whole GDR history. Since 1954 the DDR-Oberliga consisted of 14 teams; the two worst-placed teams were relegated to the Liga
DDR-Liga
The DDR-Liga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the second level of football competition in the DDR , being roughly equivalent to the Bundesliga in West Germany.-1950-1955:The league was established with two divisions of ten teams each in 1950...
, which was introduced in 1950. Following the dissolution of the five federal states the five old Landesliga divisions were replaced by 15 new Bezirksliga divisions as the third level of the league system. By 1955 however, there was another change in the league system as the 2nd DDR-Liga was created as a level between the DDR-Liga and the Bezirksligen.
In 1962, the DDR-Liga was once more divided into two divisions and the 2nd DDR-Liga was abandoned.In 1971 the DDR-Liga was divided into five Divisions, and for that reason was now similar to the Landesliga of the 1940s. The five division champions played a qualification round to determine which clubs would promote to the Oberliga. Since 1984 the Liga consisted of two divisions again, whose champions were directly promoted to the Oberliga. Below the two DDR-Liga divisions were the fifteen Bezirksligen whose champions had to play a promotional round to determind the six clubs that would move up to the 2nd Division.
Below the Bezirksliga there were (descending) Bezirksklasse, Kreisliga and, at the lowest level, several Kreisklasse divisions, as they actually are today.
The league system in the 1989-90 season
The 1989-90 season was the last "true" season of DDR football. The league system presented here had been in use since 1984, when the DDR-Liga was reduced from five to two divisions.Level |
League(s)/Division(s) |
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I |
Oberliga DDR-Oberliga The DDR-Oberliga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the elite level of football competition in the DDR , being roughly equivalent to the Oberliga or Bundesliga in West Germany.-Overview:Following World... 14 clubs |
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II |
Liga Staffel A DDR-Liga The DDR-Liga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the second level of football competition in the DDR , being roughly equivalent to the Bundesliga in West Germany.-1950-1955:The league was established with two divisions of ten teams each in 1950... 18 clubs |
Liga Staffel B DDR-Liga The DDR-Liga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the second level of football competition in the DDR , being roughly equivalent to the Bundesliga in West Germany.-1950-1955:The league was established with two divisions of ten teams each in 1950... 18 clubs |
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III |
Bezirksliga Schwerin 13 clubs Bezirksliga Rostock 14 clubs Bezirksliga Neubrandenburg 15 clubs Bezirksliga Magdeburg 16 clubs Bezirksliga Potsdam 16 clubs Bezirksliga Berlin 17 clubs Bezirksliga Frankfurt/Oder 15 clubs |
Bezirksliga Cottbus 16 clubs Bezirksliga Halle 13 clubs Bezirksliga Gera 16 clubs Bezirksliga Erfurt 16 clubs Bezirksliga Dresden 16 clubs Bezirksliga Leipzig 15 clubs Bezirksliga Karl-Marx-Stadt 14 clubs Bezirksliga Suhl 15 clubs |
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Source:
- All leagues at the same level run parallel.
- Leagues below the Bezirksliga not shown.
- The boundary between the two 2nd Divisions was geographically not fixed, teams promoted from the Bezirksligen in the central part of East Germany could end up in either league. The allocation of the Bezirksligen to the 2nd Division shown here is therefore a guide only.
- Bezirksliga Karl-Marx-Stadt changed its name to Bezirksliga ChemnitzChemnitzChemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
on 21 June 1990. - The 1989-90 season was the last before the reunification of Germany in October 1990. One more season was played after that before the two league systems were integrated. The 1990-91 season however already saw changes with the introduction of Verbands- and Landesligen in all areas except Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and East Berlin as the third tier between 2nd Division and Bezirksligen. Also, the DDR-Oberliga was renamed NOFV-Oberliga.
The league system in the 1990-91 season
The 1990-91 league system as such existed for this one season only, it was the transition stage between the East German and the West German football league system to form the united German football league systemGerman football league system
The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to a series of hierarchically interconnected leagues for association football clubs in Germany that consists of over 2,300 men's divisions, in which all leagues are bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation...
.
Level |
League(s)/Division(s) |
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I |
NOFV-Oberliga 14 clubs |
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II |
NOFV-Liga-Group A DDR-Liga The DDR-Liga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the second level of football competition in the DDR , being roughly equivalent to the Bundesliga in West Germany.-1950-1955:The league was established with two divisions of ten teams each in 1950... 16 clubs |
NOFV-Liga-Group B DDR-Liga The DDR-Liga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the second level of football competition in the DDR , being roughly equivalent to the Bundesliga in West Germany.-1950-1955:The league was established with two divisions of ten teams each in 1950... 16 clubs |
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III |
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern The Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the sixth tier of the German football league system and the highest league in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern... : No league at this level |
Verbandsliga Brandenburg Verbandsliga Brandenburg The Brandenburg-Liga is the highest league for football teams exclusively in the German state of Brandenburg. Since the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008, it is the sixth tier of the German football league system... 13 clubs |
Berlin Verbandsliga Berlin The Berlin-Liga is the highest league for football teams exclusively in the German capital. Since German reunification in 1990, it is the highest level of domestic football in Berlin, replacing the Oberliga Berlin in this position... : No league at this level |
Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt The Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt is the sixth tier of the German football league system and the highest league in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt,... 14 clubs |
Landesliga Thüringen Landesliga Thüringen The Thüringenliga is the sixth tier of the German football league system and the highest league in the German state of Thuringia . Until the introduction of the 3... 14 clubs |
Landesliga Sachsen Landesliga Sachsen 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,... 12 clubs |
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IV |
Bezirksliga Schwerin 14 clubs Bezirksliga Rostock 14 clubs Bezirksliga Neubrandenburg 15 clubs |
Bezirksliga Potsdam 14 clubs Bezirksliga Frankfurt/Oder 14 clubs Bezirksliga Cottbus |
Bezirksliga Berlin 17 clubs |
Bezirksliga Magdeburg 13 clubs Bezirksliga Halle 14 clubs |
Bezirksliga Erfurt 14 clubs Bezirksliga Suhl 12 clubs Bezirksliga Gera |
Bezirksliga Leipzig 15 clubs Bezirksliga Chemnitz 13 clubs Bezirksliga Dresden |
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Source:
- All leagues on the same level run parallel.
- Leagues below the Bezirksligen not shown.
League Timeline 1949 to 1991
Source:Club names and affiliations
The clubs in the East German league system were very similar to clubs in other eastern European communist countries and therefore very different from the rest of Europe. "Free", uncontrolled formation of sports- or football clubs was not possible, as the DFVDeutscher Fußball-Verband der DDR
The Deutscher Fußball-Verband der DDR was since the 1950s the football association of the German Democratic Republic, fielding the East Germany national football team until 1990 before rejoining its counterpart, the German Football Association DFB, which had been founded in 1904....
controlled everything. Players on elite level did not necessarily have a free choice of club either and if they wanted to play in the national team they usually had to join one of the big clubs, a fact after all quite similar to the west.
Football clubs in the former GDR could be classified in four simple categories, identifiable by their names, these being:
Dynamo
- The clubs of the interior ministry with strong connection to the secret policeStasiThe Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
. Erich MielkeErich MielkeErich Fritz Emil Mielke was a German communist politician and Minister of State Security—and as such head of the Stasi —of the German Democratic Republic between 1957 and 1989. Mielke spent more than a decade as an operative of the NKVD during the rule of Joseph Stalin...
, head of the Stasi was the patron of all DynamoSV DynamoThe Sports Club Dynamo was the sport organization of the security agencies of former East Germany. The sports club was founded on 27 March 1953 and was headquartered in Hohenschönhausen in East Berlin...
clubs and especially of Dynamo BerlinDynamo BerlinDynamo Berlin may refer to:* SC Dynamo Berlin, a multi-sports club in East Berlin from 1954 to 1991* Berliner FC Dynamo, an association football club separated out of SC Dynamo Berlin in 1966 and still extant...
, resulting in very favorable results for those clubs. Especially in the last fifteen years of the GDR, the Dynamo clubs dominated the league completely.- BFC DynamoBerliner FC DynamoBerliner FC Dynamo is a German association football club and is the successor organization to the club that played in East Berlin as Dynamo Berlin from 1953 to 1966.-Founding and Stasi patronage:...
(until January 1966 SC Dynamo Berlin) - Dynamo DresdenDynamo DresdenSG Dynamo Dresden are a German association football club, based in Dresden, Saxony. They were founded in 1950, as a club affiliated with the East German police, and became one of the most popular and successful clubs in East German football, winning eight league titles...
- BFC Dynamo
Vorwärts
- The clubs of the ministry of defence, usually called ASV VorwärtsArmeesportvereinigung Vorwärts (ASV)The Armeesportvereinigung Vorwärts , briefly ASV Vorwärts , was the sport organization of the German Democratic Republic's National People's Army and its predecessor, the Barracked People's Police .Together with the sport clubs and the Sportvereinigung Dynamo, the ASV was one of the most...
. The army club Vorwärts Berlin dominated the league in the 1960s, but with the rise in power of the Stasi and the decline of the army, the club was forced to leave BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
for Frankfurt/Oder to make room for Dynamo Berlin.- FC Vorwärts Frankfurt/OderFC Viktoria FrankfurtFrankfurter FC Viktoria is a German association football club based in Frankfurt , Brandenburg. The club was originally founded in East Germany as the army club SV Vorwärts der HVA Leipzig in 1951 in the city of Leipzig.- History :One of the characteristics of East German football after World War...
(until summer 1971 FC Vorwärts Berlin)
- FC Vorwärts Frankfurt/Oder
Football Clubs
- A handful of clubs were established as separate football clubsFootball club (GDR)Football club was a designation for the elite football teams in the GDR . They were formed in the mid-1960s as centers of high-level football....
from December 1965 to January 1966 to improve the level of play and concentrate the best players, those being:- 1. FC Magdeburg1. FC Magdeburg1. FC Magdeburg is a German association football club playing in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt.-History:Football has been played in Magdeburg since the end of the 19th century. On 15 June 1896 SV Victoria 96 Magdeburg was founded, a club that had its best days before World War II, when it participated...
, continued to receive support from the "VEB Schwermaschinenbau-Kombinat Ernst Thälmann" (SKET) - FC Hansa RostockFC Hansa RostockF.C. Hansa Rostock is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from the former East Germany and have made several appearances in the 1. Bundesliga. Rostock currently compete in the 2. Bundesliga...
- Rot-Weiß Erfurt
- FC Carl Zeiss JenaFC Carl Zeiss JenaFC Carl Zeiss Jena is a German association football club based in Jena, Thuringia.-History:The club was founded in May 1903 by workers at the Carl Zeiss AG optics factory as the company-sponsored Fussball-Club der Firma Carl Zeiss. The club underwent name changes in 1911 to Fussball Club Carl Zeiss...
, continued to receive close support from Carl Zeiss optics factories - FC Karl Marx StadtChemnitzer FCChemnitzer FC is a German association football club based in Chemnitz, Saxony.The roots of the club go back to its establishment as Chemnitzer BC 1933 in 1933 after the collapse of former Chemnitzer BC 1899....
- 1. FC Lok Leipzig, despite its name, the club was not affiliated with the Deutsche Reichsbahn
- 1. FC Union Berlin1. FC Union Berlin1. FC Union Berlin is a German association football club based in Berlin. It is one of two sides in the city bearing the name Union that emerged during the Cold War and played in East Germany, while the other played in the west. The club currently plays in the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga.-Foundation to...
- FC Chemie Halle, despite its name, the club was not affiliated with the chemical industry
- 1. FC Magdeburg
- Apart from those eight, the BFC Dynamo and Vorwärts Berlin also nominally became independent football clubs but in practice they remained under the influence of their ministries. An eleventh club, SG Dynamo Dresden was granted the same privileges in regards of player drafting but did not become an autonomous football club.
BSG
- Short for the BetriebssportgemeinschaftBetriebssportgemeinschaft (GDR)A Betriebssportgemeinschaft was an organizational form of sports clubs in East Germany.After World War II, the Allied Control Commission had dissolved all existing sports structures, including the dissolution of all existing sports clubs on the basis of directive 23, dated 17 December 1945. This...
, those were the sport clubs sponsored by East German government-owned companies. By far the most numerous, they were the basis of sports in the GDR. However, they received the lowest priority in the sports system. Generally, athletes were company employees and the sports teams were company sponsored. Due to the different industries' varying ability to create a "profit", the BSG's varied greatly in financial wealth and sporting success. Wismut and Chemie were the two dominant branches in the ranks of the BSG's. The BSG's themselves subdivide in different industries, again easily distinguishable by their names:- Aktivist = Mining industry: Aktivist Brieske-Senftenberg
- Aufbau = Building industry: Aufbau dkk Krumhermersdorf
- Chemie = Chemical industry: Chemie LeipzigFC Sachsen LeipzigFC Sachsen Leipzig was a German football club from Leipzig, Saxony. The roots of the club go back to 1899 and the founding of Britannia Leipzig. Following World War I, a 1919 merger with FC Hertha 05 Leipzig created Leipziger Sportverein 1899...
- Einheit = Civil administration: Einheit Pankow
- Empor = Trade & Commerce: Empor NeuruppinMSV NeuruppinMSV Neuruppin is a German association football club from Neuruppin, Brandenburg. The football team and its youth side is part of a larger sports association of approximately 1,000 members that has departments for athletics, billiards, boxing, chess, disabled sports, gymnastics, hiking, swimming,...
, Empor HalleVfL Halle 1896VfL Halle is a German association football club from the city of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt.-History:The oldest club in the city of Halle was founded as Hallescher Fußballclub von 1896 on 16 July 1896... - Energie = Energy providers: Energie CottbusEnergie CottbusFC Energie Cottbus is a German association football club based in Cottbus, Lusatia . It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was, at the time, East Germany...
- Fortschritt = Textile industry: Fortschritt Bischofswerda
- Lokomotive = State railway (the Deutsche Reichsbahn): Lok StendalLok Stendal1. FC Lok Stendal is a German association football club that plays in Stendal, Saxony-Anhalt.- History :Founded in 1909, FC Viktoria Stendal was dissolved in the aftermath of World War II and re-established in Soviet-occupied East Germany in 1945 as SG Stendal-Nord. The club underwent a number of...
, Lokomotive HalberstadtGermania HalberstadtVfB Germania Halberstadt is a German association football club from Halberstadt, Saxony-Anhalt.-History:The club was founded on 26 October 1949 as BSG Reichsbahn Halberstadt before being re-named BSG Lokomotive Halberstadt in 1950...
-
- Motor = Automotive industry: Motor BabelsbergSV Babelsberg 03SV Babelsberg 03 is a German association football club based in Potsdam-Babelsberg, on the outskirts of Berlin. The team was founded as Sport-Club Jugendkraft 1903 and again as SG Karl-Marx Babelsberg in 1948 as successor to the pre-war side SpVgg Potsdam 03.-History:Playing as SV Nowawes the team...
, Motor Karl Marx StadtVfB Fortuna ChemnitzVfB Fortuna Chemnitz is German association football club from Chemnitz, Saxony. The club was formed in 2005 out of the fusion of VfB Chemnitz and SV Fortuna Furth Glösa.-History:... - Post = Postal service: Post Neubrandenburg
- Rotation = Print industry: Rotation BabelsbergFortuna BabelsbergFortuna Babelsberg is a German football club from the south-eastern part of the city of Potsdam in Brandenburg. A former East German side, they currently play in the Landesliga Brandenburg-Nord, the 7th tier of the German football league system....
- Stahl = Steel industry: Stahl BrandenburgStahl BrandenburgFC Stahl Brandenburg is a German association football club based in Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg.-History:The club was formed in 1950 as BSG Einheit Brandenburg and played its earliest seasons in the II division of East German football. They took on the name BSG Stahl Brandenberg in 1955...
, Stahl EisenhüttenstadtFC Stahl EisenhüttenstadtEisenhüttenstädter FC Stahl is a German association football club based in Eisenhüttenstadt, Brandenburg, near the Polish border.-History:The club's predecessors were founded as BSG Stahl Fürstenberg Ost in 1950. The community of Stalinstadt was built nearby for the workers of the local ironworks,... - Traktor = Agriculture: Traktor Groß-Lindow
- Turbine = Energy providers: Turbine Potsdam, Turbine MarkranstädtSSV MarkranstädtSSV Markranstädt is a German association football club from the city of Markranstädt, Saxony near Leipzig. It is part of a larger sports club that also has departments for badminton, cycle ball, gymnastics, table tennis, and volleyball.-History:...
- Wismut = Mining industry, specifically uranium mining: Wismut Aue, Wismut PlauenVFC PlauenVFC Plauen is a German association football club from the city of Plauen, Saxony.-History:The club was founded as 1. Vogtländischer Fußballclub Plauen and took part in the competition of the VMFV...
- Motor = Automotive industry: Motor Babelsberg
- Some industrial branches were particularly unsuccessful due to low funding, an example is agriculture who did not have a club in the first or second division again after 1978 when Traktor Groß-Lindow got relegated.
- Some clubs remained outside those categories, at least by name, belonging to well-known East German companies and carrying their names, like Sachsenring Zwickau.
External links
- The DDR-Oberliga at Fussballdaten.de
- DDR-Oberliga results & tables
- Results and tables of the DDR-Liga
- Das deutsche Fussball Archiv
- The DDR-Oberliga at RSSSF.com
- DDR-Liga at RSSSF.com
- Name changes of GDR football teams at RSSSF.com
Sources
- "Kicker Almanach" The Football Yearbook on German football from Bundesliga to Oberliga, since 1937, published by the Kicker Sports MagazineKicker (sports magazine)kicker Sportmagazin is Germany's leading sports magazine and is focused primarily on football. The magazine was founded in 1920 by German football pioneer Walther Bensemann and is published twice a week, usually Monday and Thursday, in Nuremberg...
- Behind the Wall: East German football between state and society, by Mike Dennis, Professor of Modern German History at the University of Wolverhampton