Introduction of the Fußball-Bundesliga
Encyclopedia
The Introduction of the Fußball-Bundesliga was the long-debated step of establishing a top-level association football league in Germany
in 1963. The new league, the Fußball-Bundesliga
, played its first season in 1963–64 and continues to be the higest league in the country. Its introduction reduced the number of first division teams in Germany from 74 to 16 and finally eliminated the problem of the top-teams having to play uncompetitive teams in regional leagues.
While the league was only finally introduced in 1963, plans and suggestions for a national league date back as far as the early 1930s, when a Reichsliga
was proposed. The process of forming such a league went hand-in-hand with the discussion over professionalism in German football. While a limited form of professionalism was approved in 1932 it was, because of the rise of the Nazis to power in 1933, not implemented until after the Second World War.
's 1963 victory over 1. FC Köln
was to be the last.
Quite early on in the history of German football, attempts were made to form a single-division national league to replace the multitude of regional top-level leagues. The driving force behind this was the idea of having a league which would include only the best teams in the country, contrary to the current system where strong clubs would play together with weaker ones in small local competitions and would only be truly challenged at the German finals round.
Football in Germany, in the 1920's and 30s, was strictly amateur and the German Football Association
, the DFB, strived to keep it this way. The establishing of a top league, the Reichsliga, was seen as going hand in hand with the legalisation of professionalism, as the clubs saw these two steps as serving a common goal. The DFB however remained fiercely anti-professionalism. The DFB outlawed games between German clubs and the professional clubs from Austria
, banned players who were found to have accepted any form of payment and even banned whole teams, like FC Schalke 04
. Felix Linnemann
, president of the DFB at the time, wished for the introduction of the Reichsliga but failed to get the motion passed by the regional associations in 1932.
The clubs from the West
of Germany, especially the industrialised Ruhr
region, were the most vocal in advocating professionalism and the Reichsliga. To general surprise, the annual convention of the DFB on 16 October 1932 in Wiesbaden
passed a resolution to permit professionalism, without the subject even having been on the list of items to debate and after years of opposition. It was decided to develop a frame work in which professional football could be organised and a clear separation between professional and amateur football in the country could be achieved.
in Germany. The DFB was converted to the new Reichsamt Fußball and the German football landscape reorganised into 16 Gaue with a regional league, the Gauliga
, on top of each. Professionalism and the Reichsliga were out of question and the debate silenced.
While professionalism experienced another blow in 1938 with the Anschluss
of Austria and the outlawing of the professional league there, the Reichsliga soon returned back on the agenda. The freshly unified German-Austrian team, playing with high expectations at the 1938 FIFA World Cup
was a complete disappointment, being knocked out in the first round. The embarrassment to Germany and its Nazi government caused the latter to approve plans for the concentration of forces in German football. The Reichsliga or, as an alternative, the reduction of the number of Gauligas from 16 to five was envisioned. The events of the Second World War however put a stop to all these plans, and by the time the regime fell in 1945 the number of Gauligas had greatly expanded because of travel difficulties caused by the effects of the war and Nazi expansionism.
were gradually formed in Allied-occupied Germany, first in the South and Berlin, later in the West and North, too, which had suffered greater damage to its infrastructure through strategic bombing
during the war. Travel between occupation zones was difficult and the new leagues followed in their boundaries the limits of the Allied zones. In the US zone, the Oberliga Süd
was established, in the French zone the Oberliga Südwest
and in the British the Oberliga Nord
and Oberliga West
. The Oberliga Berlin
, for a time, covered all four occupation zones of Berlin
but the eastern clubs later left. In the Soviet zone, a separate league was formed, later to become the DDR-Oberliga
. What did change in German football was the introduction of a form of semi-professionalism, the Vertragsspieler (Contract player). Players in the top leagues were now allowed a payment of DM 120 per month, later raised to 400. All this half-way step however achieved was that players would be paid their permissible wage over the table and extra money under the table through hidden accounts.
Germany's surprise victory at the 1954 FIFA World Cup
led the teams coach, Sepp Herberger
, to demand a national league once more. Herberger had already been a driving force of this move in the late 1930s. Ironically, his very success in Switzerland in 1954 spoke against him, with opposition to the league claiming that the current system was the reason for Germany's success in the first place.
Herberg's dream of a national league, now titled the Bundesliga, was finally achieved in 1959, but in the wrong sport, for him, with the establishment of the Ice hockey Bundesliga
as the first league to carry that name.
Herberger found support for his plans in Hermann Neuberger
, at the time a DFB official and later to become its chairman, and Franz Kremer, chairman of the 1. FC Köln. Kremer became the voice of the powerful clubs in the West, raising the issue at every annual convention of the German association. In 1957, a twelve-men commission was formed to investigate the Bundesliga question, in April 1958 a special conference of the DFB declined the introduction of the league once more. In 1960, the football association of the Saarland
, Neuberger's home region, demanded a reduction of top-level clubs without clearly mentioning the word Bundesliga, a step that was approved but its execution procrastinated.
greatly helped the cause, like it did in 1938. On 28 July 1962, at the annual convention of the DFB in the Westfalenhalle, Dortmund
, at 17:45, the introduction of the Bundesliga was officially approved with 103 votes for the league and 26 against. Parallel to this, new guidelines for professionalism were approved, too, raising the permissible monthly income to DM 1,200, including bonuses. For certain, specially gifted players, exceptions could be applied for and granted to pay them more. The 1. FC Nuremberg, a strong opposing force to the Bundesliga, was ironically the first to apply for this exception for 12 of its players.
On 24 August 1963, the first round of the new Bundesliga was played, enthusiastically welcomed as "finals atmosphere every weekend" by kicker Sportmagazin
.
, could not and would not have been permitted to apply. Those would join the Bundesliga only after the German reunion, in 1991.
Of the 46, two soon withdrew their application. The rest was judged by financial criteria as well as by on-the-field performance over the previous ten seasons. In January 1963, the applications of 15 clubs were rejected, leaving 29 in the running. The weeding out of the last 13 that would not get a Bundesliga place in 1963 was fiercely contested, to the point that Kickers Offenbach
and Alemannia Aachen
took their rejection to court, without success. Both would however later gain entry to the league for short periods.
The qualifying system for the new league was fairly complex. The league placings of the clubs playing in the Oberligen for the last ten seasons were taken into consideration, whereby results from 1952 to 1955 counted once, results from 1955 to 1959 counted double and results from 1959 to 1963 triple. A first place finish was awarded 16 points, a sixteenth place one point. A German championship, 20 points, or runners-up spot and DFB-Pokal
win, 10 points, were also rewarded with points. However, the 1963 editions of those two competitions were not taken into calculation anymore. The five Oberliga champions of the 1962–63 season were granted direct access to the Bundesliga. Later on, a special scenario also existed for the case that Borussia Neunkirchen would reach the German championship final, in which case the club would have gained entry to the league as a 17th team, as the two slots granted to the Southwest had already been allocated at the time. The idea that the German champions or runners-up might have to enter the second division did obviously not appeal to the DFB. To keep the numbers even, the 18th spot would then have been allocated to the South. An additional condition that was laid down was that no city could be present with more than one club. This condition, as Hamburger SV, TSV 1860 Munich and 1. FC Köln each won their leagues and qualified automatically meant, that their city rivals FC St. Pauli, FC Bayern Munich and Viktoria Köln could qualify under no circumstances once those three clubs had sealed their championships.
Clubs within the same Oberliga that were separated by less than 50 points were considered on equal rank and the 1962–63 placing was used to determine the qualified team.
Points table:
Points table:
Points table:
Points table:
Points table:
The second tier mainly experienced an influx of former Oberliga clubs that failed to gain entry to the Bundesliga or had not applied in the first place. The South, West and Southwest saw their 2nd Oberligas simply renamed to Regionalliga. In Berlin and the North, where there hadn't been a 2nd Oberliga, Regionalligas were formed. Especially for the North, that meant that the second tier was now formed of only one league instead of five. In regards to promotion to the first tier, which had been automatic until 1963, the number of tier-two leagues now made such a system impossible. Instead, the league champions and, except Berlin, the runners-up, entered a promotion round to determine the two promoted teams. A pre-qualifying was held to reduce the number of teams from nine to eight, these eight would then play in two groups of four a home-and-away schedule. The two group winners were then promoted. After 1966, this was expanded to ten teams in two groups of five, with the Berlin runners-up now also qualifying. This system was to remain in place until the next reform of the German league system in 1974, when the 2nd Bundesligas
were introduced.
The third tier in turn experienced an influx of former 2nd Oberliga teams that failed to make the cut for the Regionalligas. In Bavaria and the Rhineland, the Amateurliga, which had operated in two regional division, merged into a single division. The Northern Amateurligas, formerly on the second tier, now slipped to the third, as happened in Berlin.
to the Bundesliga without the side actually having qualified and thereby enlarging the league to 18 teams almost by accident, a format it continued from then on except for one season.
In 1991, 28 years after its interception, the Bundesliga finally became a league for all of Germany. After the German reunion, two clubs from the east, F.C. Hansa Rostock and Dynamo Dresden
joined the league for the 1991–92 season and caused an on-off expansion of the league to 20 teams.
The 58 top-level Oberliga clubs from 1962-63 that were not selected for the Bundesliga were mostly grouped in the new Regionalligas. Only in Berlin did the bottom two teams, Viktoria 89 Berlin
and SC Tegel have to drop from the first to the third tier, while in the Southwest Eintracht Kreuznach also found itself dropping to the Amateurliga.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1963. The new league, the Fußball-Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
, played its first season in 1963–64 and continues to be the higest league in the country. Its introduction reduced the number of first division teams in Germany from 74 to 16 and finally eliminated the problem of the top-teams having to play uncompetitive teams in regional leagues.
While the league was only finally introduced in 1963, plans and suggestions for a national league date back as far as the early 1930s, when a Reichsliga
Reichsliga
The Reichsliga was a proposed nation-wide German association football league, first suggested in 1932 by Felix Linnemann, president of the German Football Association, the DFB, at the time...
was proposed. The process of forming such a league went hand-in-hand with the discussion over professionalism in German football. While a limited form of professionalism was approved in 1932 it was, because of the rise of the Nazis to power in 1933, not implemented until after the Second World War.
The Reichsliga before 1933
Germany introduced a national championship in 1903 which, for the first 60 years, was played in a knockout format, whereby the top clubs of the regional football championships would qualify for the finals. The season annually culminated in a final, of which VfB Leipzig's 7-2 win over Deutscher FC Prag in 1903 was the first while Borussia DortmundBorussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
's 1963 victory over 1. FC Köln
1. FC Köln
1. FC Köln is a German association football club based in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs Kölner Ballspiel-Club 1901 and SpVgg Sülz 07....
was to be the last.
Quite early on in the history of German football, attempts were made to form a single-division national league to replace the multitude of regional top-level leagues. The driving force behind this was the idea of having a league which would include only the best teams in the country, contrary to the current system where strong clubs would play together with weaker ones in small local competitions and would only be truly challenged at the German finals round.
Football in Germany, in the 1920's and 30s, was strictly amateur and the German Football Association
German Football Association
The German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is...
, the DFB, strived to keep it this way. The establishing of a top league, the Reichsliga, was seen as going hand in hand with the legalisation of professionalism, as the clubs saw these two steps as serving a common goal. The DFB however remained fiercely anti-professionalism. The DFB outlawed games between German clubs and the professional clubs from Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, banned players who were found to have accepted any form of payment and even banned whole teams, like FC Schalke 04
FC Schalke 04
Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...
. Felix Linnemann
Felix Linnemann
Felix Linnemann was the fourth Deutscher Fußball-Bund president, serving from 1925 to 1945....
, president of the DFB at the time, wished for the introduction of the Reichsliga but failed to get the motion passed by the regional associations in 1932.
The clubs from the West
Western German football championship
The Western German football championship was the highest association football competition in Western Germany, in the Prussian Province of Westphalia, the Rhine Province, the northern parts of the province of Hesse-Nassau as well as the Principality of Lippe, later to become the Free State of Lippe...
of Germany, especially the industrialised Ruhr
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
region, were the most vocal in advocating professionalism and the Reichsliga. To general surprise, the annual convention of the DFB on 16 October 1932 in Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
passed a resolution to permit professionalism, without the subject even having been on the list of items to debate and after years of opposition. It was decided to develop a frame work in which professional football could be organised and a clear separation between professional and amateur football in the country could be achieved.
During the Nazi era
All this came to naught on 30 January 1933, when the Nazis took powerMachtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
in Germany. The DFB was converted to the new Reichsamt Fußball and the German football landscape reorganised into 16 Gaue with a regional league, the Gauliga
Gauliga
A Gauliga was the highest level of play in German football from 1934-45. The leagues were introduced in 1933, after the Nazi takeover of power by the Sports office of the Third Reich.-Name:...
, on top of each. Professionalism and the Reichsliga were out of question and the debate silenced.
While professionalism experienced another blow in 1938 with the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
of Austria and the outlawing of the professional league there, the Reichsliga soon returned back on the agenda. The freshly unified German-Austrian team, playing with high expectations at the 1938 FIFA World Cup
1938 FIFA World Cup
The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:...
was a complete disappointment, being knocked out in the first round. The embarrassment to Germany and its Nazi government caused the latter to approve plans for the concentration of forces in German football. The Reichsliga or, as an alternative, the reduction of the number of Gauligas from 16 to five was envisioned. The events of the Second World War however put a stop to all these plans, and by the time the regime fell in 1945 the number of Gauligas had greatly expanded because of travel difficulties caused by the effects of the war and Nazi expansionism.
Post-war attempts
The year 1945 brought a restart for German football. New leaguesOberliga (football)
The Oberliga is currently the name of the fifth tier of the German football leagues. Before the introduction of the 3rd Liga in 2008, it was the fourth tier...
were gradually formed in Allied-occupied Germany, first in the South and Berlin, later in the West and North, too, which had suffered greater damage to its infrastructure through strategic bombing
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
during the war. Travel between occupation zones was difficult and the new leagues followed in their boundaries the limits of the Allied zones. In the US zone, the Oberliga Süd
Oberliga Süd (1945-63)
The Oberliga Süd was the highest level of the German football league system in the south of Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963.It covered the three states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen.-Overview:...
was established, in the French zone the Oberliga Südwest
Oberliga Südwest (1945-63)
The Oberliga Südwest was the highest level of the German football league system in the southwest of Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the two states of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland.-Overview:...
and in the British the Oberliga Nord
Oberliga Nord (1947-63)
The Oberliga Nord was the highest level of the German football league system in the north of Germany from 1947 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.-Overview:...
and Oberliga West
Oberliga West (1947-63)
The Oberliga West was the highest level of the German football league system in the west of Germany from 1947 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963...
. The Oberliga Berlin
Oberliga Berlin (1945-63)
The Oberliga Berlin was the highest level of the German football league system in the city of West-Berlin in Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It was by far the smallest of the five Oberligas.-Overview:...
, for a time, covered all four occupation zones of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin 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...
but the eastern clubs later left. In the Soviet zone, a separate league was formed, later to become 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...
. What did change in German football was the introduction of a form of semi-professionalism, the Vertragsspieler (Contract player). Players in the top leagues were now allowed a payment of DM 120 per month, later raised to 400. All this half-way step however achieved was that players would be paid their permissible wage over the table and extra money under the table through hidden accounts.
Germany's surprise victory at the 1954 FIFA World Cup
1954 FIFA World Cup
The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average goals scored per game...
led the teams coach, Sepp Herberger
Sepp Herberger
Josef "Sepp" Herberger was a German football player and manager...
, to demand a national league once more. Herberger had already been a driving force of this move in the late 1930s. Ironically, his very success in Switzerland in 1954 spoke against him, with opposition to the league claiming that the current system was the reason for Germany's success in the first place.
Herberg's dream of a national league, now titled the Bundesliga, was finally achieved in 1959, but in the wrong sport, for him, with the establishment of the Ice hockey Bundesliga
Ice hockey Bundesliga
The Ice hockey Bundesliga was formed in 1958 as the elite hockey competition in the Federal Republic of Germany, replacing the Oberliga in this position...
as the first league to carry that name.
Herberger found support for his plans in Hermann Neuberger
Hermann Neuberger
Hermann Neuberger was a German football official, and from 1975 to 1992 the seventh president of the Deutscher Fußball-Bund DFB.- External links :*...
, at the time a DFB official and later to become its chairman, and Franz Kremer, chairman of the 1. FC Köln. Kremer became the voice of the powerful clubs in the West, raising the issue at every annual convention of the German association. In 1957, a twelve-men commission was formed to investigate the Bundesliga question, in April 1958 a special conference of the DFB declined the introduction of the league once more. In 1960, the football association of the Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
, Neuberger's home region, demanded a reduction of top-level clubs without clearly mentioning the word Bundesliga, a step that was approved but its execution procrastinated.
Approval
Disillusioned with the slow process of implementing this reduction, the clubs from the West once more raised a motion, to introduce the Bundesliga in 1963, which was approved. Germany's poor performance at the 1962 FIFA World Cup1962 FIFA World Cup
The 1962 FIFA World Cup, the seventh staging of the World Cup, was held in Chile from 30 May to 17 June. It was won by Brazil, who retained the championship by beating Czechoslovakia 3–1 in the final...
greatly helped the cause, like it did in 1938. On 28 July 1962, at the annual convention of the DFB in the Westfalenhalle, Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, at 17:45, the introduction of the Bundesliga was officially approved with 103 votes for the league and 26 against. Parallel to this, new guidelines for professionalism were approved, too, raising the permissible monthly income to DM 1,200, including bonuses. For certain, specially gifted players, exceptions could be applied for and granted to pay them more. The 1. FC Nuremberg, a strong opposing force to the Bundesliga, was ironically the first to apply for this exception for 12 of its players.
On 24 August 1963, the first round of the new Bundesliga was played, enthusiastically welcomed as "finals atmosphere every weekend" by kicker Sportmagazin
Kicker (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...
.
Qualifying system
The DFB received 46 applications from clubs from the five Oberliga's to fill the 16 available spots in the new league, which had to be submitted by 1 December 1962. Clubs from the sixth German Oberliga, the highest league in the German Democratic RepublicGerman 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...
, could not and would not have been permitted to apply. Those would join the Bundesliga only after the German reunion, in 1991.
Of the 46, two soon withdrew their application. The rest was judged by financial criteria as well as by on-the-field performance over the previous ten seasons. In January 1963, the applications of 15 clubs were rejected, leaving 29 in the running. The weeding out of the last 13 that would not get a Bundesliga place in 1963 was fiercely contested, to the point that Kickers Offenbach
Kickers Offenbach
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 including Melitia, Teutonia, Viktoria, Germania and Neptun...
and Alemannia Aachen
Alemannia Aachen
Alemannia Aachen is a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long term fixture of the country's second division, Alemannia enjoyed a three-year turn in the top flight in the late 1960s and, after a successful 2005–06 campaign, returned to first division play...
took their rejection to court, without success. Both would however later gain entry to the league for short periods.
The qualifying system for the new league was fairly complex. The league placings of the clubs playing in the Oberligen for the last ten seasons were taken into consideration, whereby results from 1952 to 1955 counted once, results from 1955 to 1959 counted double and results from 1959 to 1963 triple. A first place finish was awarded 16 points, a sixteenth place one point. A German championship, 20 points, or runners-up spot and DFB-Pokal
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
win, 10 points, were also rewarded with points. However, the 1963 editions of those two competitions were not taken into calculation anymore. The five Oberliga champions of the 1962–63 season were granted direct access to the Bundesliga. Later on, a special scenario also existed for the case that Borussia Neunkirchen would reach the German championship final, in which case the club would have gained entry to the league as a 17th team, as the two slots granted to the Southwest had already been allocated at the time. The idea that the German champions or runners-up might have to enter the second division did obviously not appeal to the DFB. To keep the numbers even, the 18th spot would then have been allocated to the South. An additional condition that was laid down was that no city could be present with more than one club. This condition, as Hamburger SV, TSV 1860 Munich and 1. FC Köln each won their leagues and qualified automatically meant, that their city rivals FC St. Pauli, FC Bayern Munich and Viktoria Köln could qualify under no circumstances once those three clubs had sealed their championships.
Clubs within the same Oberliga that were separated by less than 50 points were considered on equal rank and the 1962–63 placing was used to determine the qualified team.
Oberliga Nord
The breakdown for the five Oberligas was as follows:- Oberliga NordOberliga Nord (1947-63)The Oberliga Nord was the highest level of the German football league system in the north of Germany from 1947 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.-Overview:...
: Eight clubs applied for Bundesliga membership, of those Hamburger SV and Werder Bremen qualified early (11 January 1963). The third place went to Eintracht Braunschweig due to their third place finish in 1962–63 even though their overall points put them in seventh spot in the ranking, but within 50 points of third-placed VfL Osnabrück. Osnabrück finished seventh in 1962–63.
Points table:
| Rank | Club | Points 1952 to 1963 | Place in 1962–63 |
| 1 | Hamburger SV Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department... ‡ |
518 | 1 |
| 2 | Werder Bremen | 396 | 2 |
| 3 | VfL Osnabrück 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 football section.- Foundation to WW2 :... |
313 | 7 |
| 4 | Hannover 96 Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96, Hannover or simply 96, is a German association football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony.-Foundation to WWII:... |
309 | 9 |
| 5 | FC St Pauli | 303 | 6 |
| 6 | Holstein Kiel Holstein Kiel Holstein Kiel is a German association football and sports club based in the city of Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein. Through the 1910s and 1920s the club was a dominant side in northern Germany winning six regional titles and finishing as runners-up another six times... |
294 | 5 |
| 7 | Eintracht Braunschweig Eintracht Braunschweig Eintracht Braunschweig is a German association football club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. The club was one of the founding members of the Bundesliga in 1963 and won the national title in 1967.-History:... |
276 | 3 |
| 8 | Arminia Hannover Arminia Hannover SV Arminia Hannover is a German association football club based in Hanover, Lower Saxony.- History :The club was founded in 1910 as FC Arminia Hannover and merged with Rugby-Verein Merkur in 1918, becoming SV Arminia-Merkur. Two years later they re-named themselves SV Arminia Hannover and captured... |
103 | 10 |
Oberliga West
- Oberliga WestOberliga West (1947-63)The Oberliga West was the highest level of the German football league system in the west of Germany from 1947 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963...
: All Oberliga West clubs except TSV Marl-Hüls applied for Bundesliga membership. Borussia Dortmund, 1. FC Köln and FC Schalke 04 qualified early. Meidericher SV and Preußen Münster qualified even though both clubs had less points than Alemannia Aachen. Aachen finished fifth, Meidericher SV came in fourth and Preußen Münster earned a third place finish in 1962–63.
Points table:
| Rank | Club | Points 1952 to 1963 | Place in 1962–63 |
| 1 | 1. FC Köln 1. FC Köln 1. FC Köln is a German association football club based in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs Kölner Ballspiel-Club 1901 and SpVgg Sülz 07.... ‡ |
466 | 1 |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football... |
440 | 2 |
| 3 | FC Schalke 04 FC Schalke 04 Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major... |
396 | 6 |
| 4 | Alemannia Aachen Alemannia Aachen Alemannia Aachen is a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long term fixture of the country's second division, Alemannia enjoyed a three-year turn in the top flight in the late 1960s and, after a successful 2005–06 campaign, returned to first division play... |
285 | 5 |
| 5 | Preußen Münster | 251 | 4 |
| 6 | Meidericher SV | 250 | 3 |
| 7 | Fortuna Düsseldorf Fortuna Düsseldorf ' is a German association football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, currently playing in the second tier of German league football, the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga... |
225 | 13 |
| 8 | Westfalia Herne Westfalia Herne SC Westfalia Herne is a German football club based in Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club was founded on 13 June 1904 by the sons of the more well-heeled residents of the city as a rival to the worker-based club SV Sodingen.- History :... |
222 | 14 |
| 9 | Viktoria Köln Viktoria Köln FC Viktoria Köln 1904 is a German association football club from the city of Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia.- History :Founded in 1904 as FC Germania Kalk it is one of the oldest football clubs in the city. In 1909 Germania merged with FC Kalk to form SV Kalk 04 and in 1911 this club was, in... |
201 | 8 |
| 10 | Schwarz-Weiß Essen | 167 | 7 |
| 11 | Rot-Weiß Oberhausen Rot-Weiß Oberhausen Rot-Weiß Oberhausen is a German association football club in Oberhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club was formed as Oberhausener SV in December 1904 out of the merger of Emschertaler SV and the football enthusiasts of Oberhausener TV 1873... |
154 | 10 |
| 12 | Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Mönchengladbach is a German association football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. The team plays in the Bundesliga and is one of the country's most well-known, well-supported, and successful teams. Borussia Mönchengladbach has over 40,000 members and is the sixth... |
155 | 11 |
| 13 | Hamborn 07 | 101 | 12 |
| 14 | Bayer Leverkusen Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen is a German football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the most well-known department of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a sports club whose members also participate in athletics, gymnastics, basketball and other sports.-Origins and early years:On 27 November... |
88 | 9 |
| 15 | Wuppertaler SV | 52 | 15 |
Oberliga Berlin
- Oberliga BerlinOberliga Berlin (1945-63)The Oberliga Berlin was the highest level of the German football league system in the city of West-Berlin in Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It was by far the smallest of the five Oberligas.-Overview:...
: Only three clubs applied for the one available spot, Hertha BSC Berlin qualified early.
Points table:
| Rank | Club | Points 1952 to 1963 | Place in 1962–63 |
| 1 | Hertha BSC Berlin ‡ | 346 | 1 |
| 2 | Tasmania 1900 Berlin Tasmania 1900 Berlin SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin was a German association football club based in the Berlin district of Neukölln.- Tasmania 1900 :The team was founded on 2 June 1900 as Rixdorfer TuFC Tasmania 1900, changing its name when Rixdorf was re-named Neukölln in 1912... |
324 | 2 |
| 3 | Viktoria 89 Berlin Viktoria 89 Berlin Berliner Fußball-Club Viktoria 1889 is a German sports club based in the Tempelhof district of Berlin. Football, rugby, and cricket came to continental Europe in the late 19th century, and these "English games" became immediately popular in many countries. Viktoria is the oldest club in Germany... |
318 | 9 |
Oberliga Süd
- Oberliga SüdOberliga Süd (1945-63)The Oberliga Süd was the highest level of the German football league system in the south of Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963.It covered the three states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen.-Overview:...
: Of the thirteen clubs from this league applying, the 1. FC Nuremberg and Eintracht Frankfurt qualified early. Karlsruher SC and VfB Stuttgart held third and fourth place in the overall points ranking. Kickers Offenbach and FC Bayern Munich missed out to TSV 1860 Munich due to the latter winning the league in 1962–63 even though 1860 were 153 points behind Offenbach and 59 behind FC Bayern.
Points table:
| Rank | Club | Points 1952 to 1963 | Place in 1962–63 |
| 1 | 1. FC Nuremberg | 447 | 2 |
| 2 | Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt is a German sports club, based in Frankfurt, Hesse that is best known for its association football club.- Club origins :... |
420 | 4 |
| 3 | Karlsruher SC Karlsruher SC Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg. KSC rose out of the consolidation of a number of predecessor clubs. They currently play in the 2... |
419 | 5 |
| 4 | VfB Stuttgart VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart, is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club is best known for its football team, which has participated in all but two Bundesliga seasons... |
408 | 6 |
| 5 | Kickers Offenbach Kickers Offenbach 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 including Melitia, Teutonia, Viktoria, Germania and Neptun... |
382 | 7 |
| 6 | FC Bayern Munich FC Bayern Munich FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups.... |
288 | 3 |
| 7 | TSV 1860 Munich ‡ | 229 | 1 |
| 8 | VfR Mannheim VfR Mannheim VfR Mannheim is a German association football club based in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg formed in 1911 out of the fusion of Mannheimer FG 1896, Mannheimer FG 1897 Union, and FC Viktoria 1897 Mannheim... |
227 | 12 |
| 9 | SpVgg Fürth | 224 | 9 |
| 10 | 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 1.FC Schweinfurt 05 is a German association football club that plays in Schweinfurt, Bavaria.-History:The club was founded on 5 May 1905 and played in the local leagues. The team attempted a merger with Turngemeinde Schweinfurt von 1848 which lasted from 1928 to 1930 before the two groups parted... |
185 | 11 |
| 11 | FC Bayern Hof | 90 | 13 |
| 12 | TSV Schwaben Augsburg TSV Schwaben Augsburg TSV Schwaben Augsburg is a German football club which is part of a larger sports association whose origins go back to the 1847 formation of the gymnastics club Turnverein Augsburg... |
61 | 15 |
| 13 | KSV Hessen Kassel KSV Hessen Kassel KSV Hessen Kassel is a German association football club based in Kassel, Hesse. The club was founded as FC Union 93 Kassel in 1893 and just two years later joined FC Hassia 93 Cassel to form Casseler FV 95... |
36 | 10 |
Oberliga Südwest
- Oberliga SüdwestOberliga Südwest (1945-63)The Oberliga Südwest was the highest level of the German football league system in the southwest of Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the two states of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland.-Overview:...
: Of the seven clubs from the league applying, the 1. FC Saarbrücken qualified early even though FK Pirmasens and Borussia Neunkirchen were less than ten points behind in the overall ranking and finished better in 1962–63. The rumor persists that Saarbrücken was chosen because it was from the home state of the later DFB chairman Hermann Neuberger (Chairman from 1975 to 1992), a very influential figure in German football. The DFB justified the choice of the 1. FCS with the fact that the club had a superior infrastructure to the other two. The 1. FC Kaiserslautern also qualified.
Points table:
| Rank | Club | Points 1952 to 1963 | Place in 1962–63 |
| 1 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern, also known as 1. FCK, FCK or simply Kaiserslautern, is a German association football club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. On 2 June 1900, Germania 1896 and FG Kaiserslautern merged to create FC 1900... ‡ |
464 | 1 |
| 2 | 1. FC Saarbrücken 1. FC Saarbrücken 1. FC Saarbrücken is a German association football club based in the city of Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club began its existence as the football department of Turnverein Malstatt formed in 1903... |
384 | 5 |
| 3 | FK Pirmasens FK Pirmasens FK Pirmasens is a German association football club in Pirmasens, Rhineland-Palatinate. The team was formed as the football section of the gymnastics and sports club TV Pirminia Pirmasens in 1903 and became independent in 1914. They took on their current name in 1925... |
382 | 3 |
| 4 | Borussia Neunkirchen Borussia Neunkirchen Borussia VfB Neunkirchen is a German association football club based in Neunkirchen, Saarland. The club SC Borussia Neunkirchen was founded out of the 1907 merger of FC 1905 Borussia and SC Neunkirchen.-History:... |
376 | 2 |
| 5 | Wormatia Worms 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 right up until the formation of the national top-flight Bundesliga in 1963... |
278 | 4 |
| 6 | Saar 05 Saarbrücken | 229 | 9 |
| 7 | Sportfreunde Saarbrücken | 160 | 6 |
Key
| Club was one of the nine selected for the Bundesliga on 11 January 1963. | Club was one of the 20 taken into final selection and gained entry to the league. | Club was one of the 20 taken into final selection but failed to gain entry to the league. | Club was one of the 15 applicants which were removed from final selection. | Club withdrew application. |
- ‡ Denotes directly qualified league champion.
Changes to the league sytem
The changes to the league system mainly affected the first tier, where the number of leagues was reduced from five to one.The second tier mainly experienced an influx of former Oberliga clubs that failed to gain entry to the Bundesliga or had not applied in the first place. The South, West and Southwest saw their 2nd Oberligas simply renamed to Regionalliga. In Berlin and the North, where there hadn't been a 2nd Oberliga, Regionalligas were formed. Especially for the North, that meant that the second tier was now formed of only one league instead of five. In regards to promotion to the first tier, which had been automatic until 1963, the number of tier-two leagues now made such a system impossible. Instead, the league champions and, except Berlin, the runners-up, entered a promotion round to determine the two promoted teams. A pre-qualifying was held to reduce the number of teams from nine to eight, these eight would then play in two groups of four a home-and-away schedule. The two group winners were then promoted. After 1966, this was expanded to ten teams in two groups of five, with the Berlin runners-up now also qualifying. This system was to remain in place until the next reform of the German league system in 1974, when the 2nd Bundesligas
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...
were introduced.
The third tier in turn experienced an influx of former 2nd Oberliga teams that failed to make the cut for the Regionalligas. In Bavaria and the Rhineland, the Amateurliga, which had operated in two regional division, merged into a single division. The Northern Amateurligas, formerly on the second tier, now slipped to the third, as happened in Berlin.
The league system 1962-63
The league system in the last season before the introduction of the Bundesliga:Level |
League(s)/Division(s) |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
II |
Oberliga Berlin 10 clubs 1 championship round |
Oberliga Nord 16 clubs 2 championship round |
Oberliga West 16 clubs 2 championship round |
Oberliga Südwest 16 clubs 2 championship round |
Oberliga Süd 16 clubs 2 championship round |
|||||
II |
Amateurliga Berlin 16 clubs |
Amateurliga Bremen 15 clubs Amateurliga Hamburg 16 clubs Amateuroberliga Niedersachsen West 16 clubs Amateuroberliga Niedersachsen Ost 16 clubs Amateurliga Schleswig-Holstein 16 clubs |
2nd Oberliga West 2nd Oberliga West The 2nd Oberliga West was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the west of Germany from 1949 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, the most populous state of Germany.... 16 clubs |
2nd Oberliga Südwest 2nd Oberliga Südwest The 2nd Oberliga Südwest was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the southwest of Germany from 1951 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the two states of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland.-Overview:... 16 clubs |
2nd Oberliga Süd 2nd Oberliga Süd The 2nd Oberliga Süd was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the south of Germany from 1950 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the three states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen.-Overview:... 18 clubs |
|||||
III |
? |
? |
Verbandsliga Mittelrhein Verbandsliga Mittelrhein The Mittelrheinliga, formerly the Verbandsliga Mittelrhein, is the highest Football League in the region of Mittelrhein which is part of the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen. It is the 6th tier of the German football league system... 15 clubs Verbandsliga Niederrhein Verbandsliga Niederrhein The Niederrheinliga, formerly the Verbandsliga Niederrhein, is the highest football league in the region of Niederrhein which is part of the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen. It is the 6th tier of the German football league system... 16 clubs Verbandsliga Westfalen Nordost 15 clubs Verbandsliga Westfalen Südwest 15 clubs |
Amateurliga Rheinland West Amateurliga Rheinland The Amateurliga Rheinland was the highest football league in the region of the Rheinland FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1952 to the formation of the Oberliga Südwest and the Verbandsliga Rheinland below it in 1978.- Overview :The Amateurliga... 13 clubs Amateurliga Rheinland Ost Amateurliga Rheinland The Amateurliga Rheinland was the highest football league in the region of the Rheinland FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1952 to the formation of the Oberliga Südwest and the Verbandsliga Rheinland below it in 1978.- Overview :The Amateurliga... 13 clubs Amateurliga Saarland Amateurliga Saarland The Amateurliga Saarland was the highest football league in the state of Saarland and the third tier of the German football league system from 1951, when the clubs from the Saar returned to Germany, till the formation of the Oberliga Südwest and the Verbandsliga Saarland below it in 1978.- Overview... 14 clubs Amateurliga Südwest Amateurliga Südwest The Amateurliga Südwest was the highest football league in the region of the Südwest FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1952 to the formation of the Oberliga Südwest and the Verbandsliga Südwest below it in 1978.... 16 clubs |
Amateurliga Bayern Nord 17 clubs Amateurliga Bayern Süd 17 clubs Amateurliga Hessen 16 clubs Amateurliga Nordwürttemberg 16 clubs Amateurliga Schwarzwald-Bodensee Amateurliga Schwarzwald-Bodensee The Amateurliga Schwarzwald-Bodensee was the highest football league in the southern region of the Württemberg FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1960 to the formation of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and the Verbandsliga Württemberg below it in 1978.-... 16 clubs Amateurliga Nordbaden Amateurliga Nordbaden The Amateurliga Nordbaden was the highest football league in the region of the Nordbaden FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1945 to the formation of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and the Verbandsliga Nordbaden below it in 1978.- Overview :The... 16 clubs Amateurliga Südbaden Amateurliga Südbaden The Amateurliga Südbaden was the highest football league in the region of the Südbaden FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1945 to the formation of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and the Verbandsliga Südbaden below it in 1978.-Overview:The Amateurliga... 16 clubs |
|||||
The league system 1963-64
The league system in the season season after the introduction of the Bundesliga:Level |
League(s)/Division(s) |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I |
Bundesliga 16 clubs 2 relegations |
|||||||||
II |
Regionalliga Berlin 10 clubs 1 promotion round 1 relegation |
Regionalliga Nord 18 clubs 2 promotion round 2 relegations |
Regionalliga West 20 clubs 2 promotion round 5 relegations |
Regionalliga Südwest 20 clubs 2 promotion round 3 relegations |
Regionalliga Süd 20 clubs 2 promotion round 4 relegations |
|||||
III |
Amateurliga Berlin 16 clubs |
Amateurliga Bremen 15 clubs Landesliga Hamburg 15 clubs Amateuroberliga Niedersachsen West 15 clubs Amateuroberliga Niedersachsen Ost 15 clubs Amateurliga Schleswig-Holstein 16 clubs |
Verbandsliga Mittelrhein Verbandsliga Mittelrhein The Mittelrheinliga, formerly the Verbandsliga Mittelrhein, is the highest Football League in the region of Mittelrhein which is part of the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen. It is the 6th tier of the German football league system... 16 clubs Verbandsliga Niederrhein Verbandsliga Niederrhein The Niederrheinliga, formerly the Verbandsliga Niederrhein, is the highest football league in the region of Niederrhein which is part of the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen. It is the 6th tier of the German football league system... 18 clubs Verbandsliga Westfalen Nordost 17 clubs Verbandsliga Westfalen Südwest 16 clubs |
Amateurliga Rheinland Amateurliga Rheinland The Amateurliga Rheinland was the highest football league in the region of the Rheinland FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1952 to the formation of the Oberliga Südwest and the Verbandsliga Rheinland below it in 1978.- Overview :The Amateurliga... 16 clubs Amateurliga Saarland Amateurliga Saarland The Amateurliga Saarland was the highest football league in the state of Saarland and the third tier of the German football league system from 1951, when the clubs from the Saar returned to Germany, till the formation of the Oberliga Südwest and the Verbandsliga Saarland below it in 1978.- Overview... 18 clubs Amateurliga Südwest Amateurliga Südwest The Amateurliga Südwest was the highest football league in the region of the Südwest FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1952 to the formation of the Oberliga Südwest and the Verbandsliga Südwest below it in 1978.... 19 clubs |
Amateurliga Bayern 18 clubs Amateurliga Hessen 19 clubs Amateurliga Nordwürttemberg 17 clubs Amateurliga Schwarzwald-Bodensee Amateurliga Schwarzwald-Bodensee The Amateurliga Schwarzwald-Bodensee was the highest football league in the southern region of the Württemberg FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1960 to the formation of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and the Verbandsliga Württemberg below it in 1978.-... 16 clubs Amateurliga Nordbaden Amateurliga Nordbaden The Amateurliga Nordbaden was the highest football league in the region of the Nordbaden FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1945 to the formation of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and the Verbandsliga Nordbaden below it in 1978.- Overview :The... 16 clubs Amateurliga Südbaden Amateurliga Südbaden The Amateurliga Südbaden was the highest football league in the region of the Südbaden FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1945 to the formation of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and the Verbandsliga Südbaden below it in 1978.-Overview:The Amateurliga... 16 clubs |
|||||
Aftermath
After financial irregularities in the 1964–65 season, Hertha BSC Berlin was relegated despite not having finished on a relegation spot. Wishing to continue its presence in Berlin, the DFB elevated third-placed Regionalliga side Tasmania 1900 BerlinTasmania 1900 Berlin
SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin was a German association football club based in the Berlin district of Neukölln.- Tasmania 1900 :The team was founded on 2 June 1900 as Rixdorfer TuFC Tasmania 1900, changing its name when Rixdorf was re-named Neukölln in 1912...
to the Bundesliga without the side actually having qualified and thereby enlarging the league to 18 teams almost by accident, a format it continued from then on except for one season.
In 1991, 28 years after its interception, the Bundesliga finally became a league for all of Germany. After the German reunion, two clubs from the east, F.C. Hansa Rostock and Dynamo Dresden
Dynamo Dresden
SG 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...
joined the league for the 1991–92 season and caused an on-off expansion of the league to 20 teams.
The 58 top-level Oberliga clubs from 1962-63 that were not selected for the Bundesliga were mostly grouped in the new Regionalligas. Only in Berlin did the bottom two teams, Viktoria 89 Berlin
Viktoria 89 Berlin
Berliner Fußball-Club Viktoria 1889 is a German sports club based in the Tempelhof district of Berlin. Football, rugby, and cricket came to continental Europe in the late 19th century, and these "English games" became immediately popular in many countries. Viktoria is the oldest club in Germany...
and SC Tegel have to drop from the first to the third tier, while in the Southwest Eintracht Kreuznach also found itself dropping to the Amateurliga.
Sources
- 30 Jahre Bundesliga 30st Anniversary special, publisher: kicker sport magazinKicker (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...
, published: 1993 - kicker-Almanach 1990 Yearbook of German football, publisher: kicker sport magazin, published: 1989, ISBN 3767902974
- DSFS Liga-Chronik seit 1945 publisher: DSFS, published: 2005
External links
- DFB — Deutscher Fußball Bund (German Football Association)