Oberliga Niedersachsen
Encyclopedia
| Niedersachsenliga |
|---|
| Founded |
| 1947 |
| Nation |
 |
| States |
 Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany... |
| Promotion To |
| Regionalliga Nord Regionalliga Nord The Regionalliga Nord is currently the fourth tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3rd Liga in 2008 it was the third tier. It currently is the highest regional league for the northern and eastern part of Germany. It covers ten of the sixteen states of Germany... |
| Relegation To |
| LL Braunschweig |
| LL Lüneburg |
| LL Hannover |
| LL Weser-Ems |
| Number of Clubs |
| 18 |
| Level on Pyramid |
| Level 5 German 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... |
| Current champions 2010-11 |
| SV Meppen SV Meppen SV Meppen is a German association football club playing in Meppen, Lower Saxony. The club was founded on 29 November 1912 as Amisia Meppen and joined Männer-Turnverein Meppen on 8 February 1920 to form TuS Meppen 1912... |
The Niedersachsenliga, (Lower Saxony league) sometimes referred to as Oberliga Niedersachsen, is the fifth tier of the German football league system
German 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...
and the highest league in the German
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...
state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
. Since 1994, the league was split into a western and an eastern group. From 2010, it returned to a single-division format. It is one of eleven Oberligas
Oberliga (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...
in German Football.
1947-1963
The league was formed as Landesliga Niedersachsen in 1947, operating with four divisions in variable strength, all up with 42 clubs. The four regional divisions were named after the capital city of the district, being Hannover, Hildesheim, Braunschweig and Osnabrück. Additionally, some clubs from Niedersachsen also played in the Amateurliga Bremen, a trend that continues to a lesser degree even today. The state of Lower Saxony had only recently then been formed in the British occupation zoneAllied Occupation Zones in Germany
The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...
and Bremens
Bremen (state)
The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen is the smallest of Germany's 16 states. A more informal name, but used in some official contexts, is Land Bremen .-Geography:...
status as an independent German state had not been fully confirmed yet.
From the start, the Landesliga Niedersachsen was a feeder league to 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:...
which its champion had the option of promotion to. Promotion had to be archived through a play-off with teams from the Amateurligas of Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. As such, the league was the second tier of the northern German league system.
In 1949, the four Landesligen were disbanded in favor of the two new Amateuroberligen, the Amateuroberliga Niedersachsen-West and the Amateuroberliga Niedersachsen-Ost. The western division started with sixteen, the eastern with eighteen clubs. The majority of clubs previously playing in the Bremen leagues also returned to the Niedersachsen league system. Below the Amateuroberligen, eight Amateurligen were established. This system remained as such unchanged until 1964.
The two leagues continued to exchange clubs to balance out promotion and relegation but did not play out a Niedersachsen champion as such since promotion was decided between these two leagues and the other three northern German leagues. Especially the clubs from Hannover were frequently transferred between divisions.
After the first couple of seasons went with ever changing club numbers in the two leagues, reaching a peak of twenty, by 1954 both leagues had arrived at sixteen clubs each, which they maintained for the most of the coming seasons.
1963-1974
In 1963, with the introduction of the Bundesliga, the disbanding of the Oberliga Nord and the formation of the Regionalliga NordRegionalliga Nord (1963-74)
The Regionalliga Nord was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the north of Germany from 1963 until the formation of the 2nd Bundesliga in 1974...
, the leagues fell to tier three, but initially remained unchanged otherwise. The champions of the Niedersachsen leagues continued to have to play-off for promotion, now to the Regionalliga, with the same opposition as before.
The year 1964 saw the creation of a single-division highest league for Niedersachsen. Eight clubs from the western group, seven from the eastern group, one team from the Regionalliga and two promoted teams made up the new Amateurliga Niedersachsen. Promotion however still had to be archived through a promotion round with the other northern German champions.
Below the Amateurliga, four new Verbandsliga
Verbandsliga
The Verbandsliga is the 6th tier of football in Germany, played on a regional basis by Bundesland. In Saxony, Thuringia, Hamburg, Bremen and Bavaria the 6th tier is called Landesliga, which is the 7th tier in some of the other Bundesländer...
s were established, North, South, East and West, with their champions directly promoted and four clubs relegated from the eighteen-team Amateurliga.
The late sixties and early seventies saw the oddity of fourth and fifth placed teams being promoted. The reasons for this were the fact that Lower Saxony, as the strongest association in northern Germany was permitted to send more than one team to the promotion round and the high finishes of reserve teams of the likes of 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:...
, 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...
and 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:...
in the league, which were ineligible to enter the promotion rounds.
The league strength for most of these season stood at sixteen clubs.
1974-1994
After the 1973-74 season, the Regionalliga Nord was disbanded in favor of the 2nd Bundesliga Nord2nd Bundesliga Nord (1974-81)
The 2. Fußball-Bundesliga Nord was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the north of Germany from 1974 until the formation of the single-division 2. Fußball-Bundesliga in 1981...
. The new Oberliga Nord
Oberliga Nord
The Oberliga Nord was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany. It covered the states of Niedersachsen, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein...
was now introduced in northern Germany, as the third tier of the league system, below the 2nd Bundesliga. This meant for the Amateurliga a slip to tier four. The top three teams of the league were however promoted to the new Oberliga and the Amateurliga was renamed Landesliga Niedersachsen. The system for promotion from the Landesliga remained mostly unchanged and the league continued to operate on sixteen clubs.
For the first time, reserve teams were also eligible for promotion from the Niedersachsen league and Eintracht Braunschweig II became the first team to do so in 1975.
In 1979, the league changed its name once more, now becoming the Verbandsliga Niedersachsen, but remaining unchanged otherwise.
1994-2008
In 1994, the Regionalliga NordRegionalliga Nord
The Regionalliga Nord is currently the fourth tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3rd Liga in 2008 it was the third tier. It currently is the highest regional league for the northern and eastern part of Germany. It covers ten of the sixteen states of Germany...
was re-established, now as the third tier of the league system. The Oberliga Nord was in turn replaced by two parallel Oberligen
Oberliga (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...
, Niedersachsen/Bremen
Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen
The Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany, existing from 1994 to 2004. It covered the states of Lower Saxony and Bremen...
and Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein
Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein
The Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany, existing from 1994 to 2004. It covered the states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein...
. For the Verbandsliga Niedersachsen, this meant a further slip, now to tier five, and a split to two separate divisions again, but also, for the first time in its history, direct promotion for the league champions.
While the first and third placed team from the 1993-94 season gained entry to the new Regionalliga
Regionalliga
Regionalliga is a designation in Germany for sports leagues, which are led by one or more regional federations. Regionalligen often fall below the Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga of a given sport...
, the other twelve clubs of the top-fourteen were promoted to the Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen. Only the bottom five teams of the field of nineteen of that season actually remained in the Verbandsligas.
The first season of the new separated leagues saw a strong imbalance of clubs, West operated on sixteen, East on twenty-one teams. The year after, both run on a strength of sixteen.
The 1999-2000 season saw another league system change with the reduction of numbers of Regionalligen, this however had only one effect on the Verbandsligen, no direct promotion was available this year.
In 2004, it was decided to restore the Oberliga Nord in favor of the two separate Oberligen.
2008-2010
At the end of the 2007-08 season, the new 3rd Liga3rd Liga
The 3rd Liga is the third division of football in Germany. The league started with the beginning of the 2008–09 season, when it replaced the Regionalliga as the third tier football league in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2...
was established and the Oberliga Nord disbanded, again. The four northern German states were then the only region without an Oberliga and the five Verbandsligen sat right below the Regionalliga Nord, parallel to the two NOFV-Oberligas. At the end of the 2007-08 season, the five winners of the northern Verbandsligas played with the sixth placed team from the Oberliga Nord for one last spot in the Regionalliga. In the future seasons, promotion for the Niedersachsenliga winners will only be available through a decider between the two champions. These two teams will compete for one promotion spot to the Regionalliga.
The Niedersachsen-Liga will however maintain their status as tier five leagues and accordingly be renamed Oberliga Niedersachsen.
2010 onwards
The 2009-10 season will function as a qualifying stage for the new single-division Oberliga, which will kick-off in 2010. While the Lower Saxony champion will be promoted to the Regionalliga, as in the previous season, the other fifteen teams placed one to eight in the two leagues will directly qualify for the new league. The four teams placed ninth and tenth will take part in a qualifying round with the four Bezirksoberliga champions. In two groups of four, the top-two of each group will also qualify for the new league. The teams placed eleventh or lower in the Oberligas in 2009-10 will automatically be relegated.The new single-division Oberliga Niedersachsen will consist of 20 clubs in its first season and then 18 thereafter.
Position of the Oberliga Niedersachsen in the league system
| Years | Tier | Promotion to |
|---|---|---|
| 1947-63 | II | 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:... |
| 1963-74 | III | Regionalliga Nord Regionalliga Nord (1963-74) The Regionalliga Nord was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the north of Germany from 1963 until the formation of the 2nd Bundesliga in 1974... |
| 1974-94 | IV | Oberliga Nord Oberliga Nord The Oberliga Nord was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany. It covered the states of Niedersachsen, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein... |
| 1994–2004 | V | Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen The Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany, existing from 1994 to 2004. It covered the states of Lower Saxony and Bremen... |
| 2004-08 | V | Oberliga Nord |
| 2008- | V | Regionalliga Nord Regionalliga Nord The Regionalliga Nord is currently the fourth tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3rd Liga in 2008 it was the third tier. It currently is the highest regional league for the northern and eastern part of Germany. It covers ten of the sixteen states of Germany... |
Source:
Landesliga Niedersachsen
| Season | Staffel Braunschweig | Staffel Hildesheim | Staffel Hannover | Staffel Osnabrück |
| 1947-48 | MTV Braunschweig | Göttingen 05 | Teutonia Uelzen | Eintracht Osnabrück |
| 1948-49 | Rot-Weiß Braunschweig | SV Hameln 07 | SV Linden 07 | VfB Oldenburg VfB Oldenburg VfB Oldenburg is a German association football club based in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony. As of the 2011/12 season they play in the Oberliga Niedersachsenliga, which is at the 5th level of football in Germany.-History:... |
- Due to irregularities in the previous season, Hannover 96 was also promoted in 1949.
Amateuroberligas Niedersachsen West and Ost
| Season | West | East |
| 1949-50 | Eintracht Osnabrück | TSV Goslar |
| 1950-51 | Kickers Emden Kickers Emden BSV Kickers Emden is a German association football club, located in Emden, Lower Saxony.-History:The club first began playing in 1928 as a section of the gymnastics club Emder Turnverein, which was founded in 1861... |
VfR Osterode |
| 1951-52 | VfB Oldenburg | VfL Wolfsburg VfL Wolfsburg VfL Wolfsburg is a professional German association football club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, who play in the Bundesliga football competition. Wolfsburg have won the Bundesliga once in their history, in the 2008–09 season, and were DFB-Pokal runners-up in 1995. The current head coach is Felix... |
| 1952-53 | Eintracht Nordhorn Eintracht Nordhorn Eintracht Nordhorn is a German association football club from the city of Nordhorn, Lower Saxony. The club was founded in 1945 as Sportverein Nordhorn and adopted the name Eintracht Nordhorn in 1947. A separate football club known as SV Concordia Nordhorn briefly split away in 1953, but rejoined... * |
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:... |
| 1953-54 | Eintracht Nordhorn | VfL Wolfsburg |
| 1954-55 | Eintracht Nordhorn | VfV Hildesheim |
| 1955-56 | Olympia Wilhelmshaven | Eintracht Braunschweig II |
| 1956-57 | VfB Oldenburg | Union Salzgitter |
| 1957-58 | 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... |
VfV Hildesheim |
| 1958-59 | VfB Oldenburg * | Arminia Hannover |
| 1959-60 | Hannover 96 II 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:... * |
SC Leu Braunschweig |
| 1960-61 | Arminia Hannover * | SC Leu Braunschweig |
| 1961-62 | Arminia Hannover | SC Leu Braunschweig |
| 1962-63 | VfL Oldenburg | VfL Wolfsburg |
| 1963-64 | Olympia Wilhelmshaven | Hannover 96 II |
- In 1954, the runner-up VfB Oldenburg was promoted instead.
- In 1959, the runner-up Eintracht Osnabrück was promoted instead.
- In 1960, the runner-up VfB Oldenburg was promoted instead.
- In 1961, the third placed Eintracht Nordhorn was promoted instead.
- In 1964, the runner-up Göttingen 05 was promoted instead.
Amateurliga/Landesliga/Verbandsliga Niedersachsen
|
|
- In 1967, the third placed TuS Haste was promoted instead.
- In 1968, the fourth placed TuS Celle was promoted instead.
- In 1969, the fourth placed Olympia Wilhelmshaven was also promoted.
- In 1970, the fifth placed SV Meppen was promoted instead.
- In 1972, the runner-up SV Meppen was also promoted.
- In 1974, the top three teams were promoted to the new Oberliga Nord, SpVgg Bad Pyrmont and Union Salzgitter were therefore also promoted.
- In 1975, the second and third placed Eintracht Nordhorn and Eintracht Braunschweig II were promoted instead.
- In 1979, the third placed MTV Gifhorn was also promoted.
- In 1981, the third placed TSV Havelse was promoted instead.
- In 1982, the runner-up Olympia Wilhelmshaven was also promoted.
- In 1983, the third placed Eintracht Braunschweig II was promoted instead.
- In 1985, the second and third placed Eintracht Braunschweig II and Wolfenbüttler SV were promoted instead.
- In 1986, the runner-up SpVgg Göttingen was also promoted.
- In 1989, the third placed TuS Esens was promoted instead.
- In 1990, the third placed Eintracht Nordhorn was also promoted.
- In 1993, the runner-up Preußen 07 Hameln was promoted instead.
- In 1994, the top fourteen clubs were all promoted!
Verbandsligas Niedersachsen West and Ost
| Season | West | East |
| 1994-95 | Eintracht Nordhorn | SV Südharz Walkenried |
| 1995-96 | Concordia Ihrhove | Wolfenbüttler SV * |
| 1996-97 | FC Schüttorf | SpVgg Einbeck * |
| 1997-98 | Blau-Weiß Lohne | MTV Gifhorn |
| 1998-99 | FC Schüttorf | VfL Wolfsburg II |
| 1999–2000 | Hannover 96 II | Eintracht Braunschweig II |
| 2000-01 | SC Langenhagen | SpVgg Einbeck |
| 2001-02 | VfV Hildesheim | Eintracht Braunschweig II |
| 2002-03 | Hannover 96 II | SSV Vorsfelde |
| 2003-04 | VfL Osnabrück II 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 :... |
TSV Neuenkirchen |
| 2004-05 | VfL Osnabrück II | Eintracht Braunschweig II |
| 2005-06 | SV Ramlingen-Ehlershausen | VSK Osterholz Scharmbeck |
| 2006-07 | VfB Oldenburg VfB Oldenburg VfB Oldenburg is a German association football club based in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony. As of the 2011/12 season they play in the Oberliga Niedersachsenliga, which is at the 5th level of football in Germany.-History:... |
TuS Heeslingen TuS Heeslingen TuS Heeslingen is a German association football club from the town of Heeslingen, Lower Saxony. The footballers are part of a larger sports club that has departments for aerobics, athletics, badminton, bowling, gymnastics, Pilates, table tennis, and volleyball.... |
| 2007-08 | VfL Oldenburg VfL Oldenburg VfL Oldenburg is a German sports club from the town of Oldenburg, Lower Saxony which is best known for its football team, which as of 2010–11 plays in the Landesliga Weser-Ems, the 6th level of the German football league system... |
MTV Gifhorn |
Source:
- Bold denotes club gained promotion.
- In 1996, the runner-up SSV Vorsfelde was also promoted.
- In 1997, the runner-up Rotenburger SV was also promoted.
Oberligas Niedersachsen West and Ost
| Season | West | East |
| 2008-09 | VfB Oldenburg | SC Goslar 08 |
| 2009-10 | TSV Havelse TSV Havelse TSV Havelse is a German association football club based in Garbsen, Lower Saxony, near Hanover.-History:The club was founded in 1912 as FC Pelikan-Havelse by a group of thirteen young men from the small village of Havelse. They took their name from the maker's brand of the first football purchased... |
Eintr. Braunschweig II 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:... |
- In 2010 both champions gained promotion as none of the champions from the Bremen-LigaBremen-LigaThe Bremen-Liga, sometimes also referred to as Oberliga Bremen, is the fifth tier of the German football league system and the highest league in the German state of Bremen...
, Hamburg-Liga and Schleswig-Holstein-LigaSchleswig-Holstein-LigaThe Schleswig-Holstein-Liga, sometimes also referred to as Oberliga Schleswig-Holstein, is the fifth tier of the German football league system and the highest league in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein...
applied for a Regionalliga-licence
Oberliga Niedersachsen
| Season | Club |
| 2010-11 | SV Meppen |
| 2011-12 |
- Bold denotes club gained promotion.
Sources
- Deutschlands Fußball in Zahlen, An annual publication with tables and results from the Bundesliga to Verbandsliga/Landesliga, publisher: DSFSDeutscher Sportclub für FußballstatistikenThe Deutscher Sportclub für Fußballstatistiken e.V., short DSFS is an association dedicated to collecting and publishing German football statistics, similar to the RSSSF, and is a member of the German Olympic Society.The club used to be best known for its annual publication, the Deutschlands...
- Kicker Almanach, The 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...
- Die Deutsche Liga-Chronik 1945-2005 History of German football from 1945 to 2005 in tables, publisher: DSFS, published: 2006