3rd Liga
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- For The Croatian Third League (3. Hrvatska Nogometna Liga), see Treća HNL.
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| 3rd Liga |
|---|
| Founded |
| 2008 |
| Nation |
 Germany |
 |
| Promotion To |
| 2. Bundesliga |
| Relegation To |
| Regionalliga |
| Number of Teams |
| 20 |
| Level on Pyramid |
| Level 3 |
| Domestic Cups |
| DFB-Pokal |
| Website |
| Official Bundesliga website |
The 3rd Liga will be the Third Division of football in Germany. The league will start in the 2008/09 season. It will be below the 2. Bundesliga in the German football league system.
Contents |
[edit] History
- For more details on this topic, see History of German football
On September 8, 2006, the German Football Association, the DFB, announced the formation of the 3rd Liga. It was originally anticipated that the leagues name would be 3rd Bundesliga, but the DFB chose 3rd Liga instead, reflecting the fact that the league will be directly administered by the DFB, not by the DFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga, English:German Football League) who runs the two Bundesligen[1].
At the end of the 2007/08 season, the two best teams which are not B-teams from each of the two divisions of the Regionalliga will be promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. The eight best remaining teams in each of the two Regionalliga divisions after allowing for the restrictions on B-teams described in the next paragraph will be promoted to the new 3rd Liga, joining the four teams relegated from the 2007/08 2. Bundesliga to form the 20 team division.
During the 2008/09 season, only a maximum of four B-teams belonging to teams from the two upper Bundesligen will be allowed in 3rd Liga. These will be the two highest placed B-teams from each of the two divisions of the Regionalliga as long as all four finish in the first ten of their respective division. If four or less B-teams finish in the top ten places of the two divisions, these teams will be placed in the 3rd Liga regardless of which divisions they were competing in. If more than four B-teams finish in the top ten places, but in one division less than two B-teams finish in the top ten places, the four places in the 3rd Liga for B-teams will be filled by the B-team, if any, from the latter division finishing in the first ten places, and the highest placed B-teams from the former division. Play-offs will only take place if a promotion place must be decided between two teams which have the same number of points, goal difference, number of goals scored, scores in the matches against each other, and away goals.[2]
In the following years, B-teams will be relegated and promoted like every other team. The B-clubs gained that right in exchange for giving up the right to compete in DFB-Pokal.
[edit] Division Set-up
In the first season, the teams which are not B-teams among the 20 teams in the league will compete for promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga, while the bottom teams will be relegated to one of the new three divisions of the Regionalliga. If, however, a B-team is playing in the 3rd Liga and the respective A-team is relegated to the 3rd Liga, the B-team will be relegated regardless of its league position.
[edit] Qualifying for the 3rd Liga
At the end of the 2007-08 2. Bundesliga season on May 18, 2008, four clubs were relegated from the 2. Bundesliga. Pending DFB approval, they will become charter members of the 3. Liga.
Additionally, at the end of the 2007-08 Regionalligen seasons on May 31, 2008, eight clubs from the Regionalliga Nord and eight clubs from the Regionalliga Süd have also qualified.
From the Regionalliga Nord:
Fortuna Düsseldorf
1. FC Union Berlin
SV Werder Bremen II
Wuppertaler SV Borussia
Rot-Weiß Erfurt
Dynamo Dresden
Kickers Emden
Eintracht Braunschweig
From the Regionalliga Süd:
VfB Stuttgart II
VfR Aalen
SV Sandhausen
SpVgg Unterhaching
Wacker Burghausen
FC Bayern Munich II
Jahn Regensburg
Stuttgarter Kickers
As there are currently only three reserves teams on qualification spots for the league, the rule of only two second teams from each group can be admitted to the new 3rd Liga does not have any direct effects.
Source:Tables of the 2nd Bundesliga and Regionalligas. kicker.de. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
[edit] References
- ^ Deutscher Fußball Bund - 3rd Liga Qualifikation Modus (in German) accessed 4 March 2008
- ^ Deutscher Fußball Bund - Regionalliga - Modus (in German) accessed 2nd August 2007
[edit] External links (sites in German)
- Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB)
- Kicker.de
- Bundesliga archive
- Site with information on the Bundesliga
- 3rd Liga on Weltfussball.de
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