East German football league system |
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Founded |
1949 |
Disbanded |
1991 |
Nation |
East Germany |
Bezirke |
Schwerin |
Rostock |
Neubrandenburg |
Magdeburg |
Potsdam |
Berlin |
Halle |
Frankfurt/Oder |
Cottbus |
Gera |
Erfurt |
Suhl |
Dresden |
Leipzig |
Karl-Marx-Stadt |
Last Champion 1990-91 |
FC Hansa Rostock |
The football league system of the German Democratic Republic (shortened:GDR, German:Deutsche Demokratische Republik or DDR) existed from the creation of the DDR-Oberliga in 1949 until shortly after German reunification in 1990.
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From 1949 until 1991 East Germany had its own football league system. It had its own nationwide league called Oberliga 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, 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 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 |
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II |
Liga Staffel A |
Liga Staffel B |
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III |
Bezirksliga Schwerin Bezirksliga Rostock Bezirksliga Neubrandenburg Bezirksliga Magdeburg Bezirksliga Potsdam Bezirksliga Berlin Bezirksliga Frankfurt/Oder |
Bezirksliga Cottbus Bezirksliga Halle Bezirksliga Gera Bezirksliga Erfurt Bezirksliga Dresden Bezirksliga Leipzig Bezirksliga Karl-Marx-Stadt Bezirksliga Suhl |
Source:"East German football leagues". Das deutsche Fussball Archiv. http://www.f-archiv.de/. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
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 system.
Level |
League(s)/Division(s) |
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I |
NOFV-Oberliga |
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II |
NOFV-Liga-Group A |
NOFV-Liga-Group B |
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III |
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: No league at this level |
Verbandsliga Brandenburg |
Berlin: No league at this level |
Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt |
Landesliga Thüringen |
Landesliga Sachsen |
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IV |
Bezirksliga Schwerin Bezirksliga Rostock Bezirksliga Neubrandenburg |
Bezirksliga Potsdam Bezirksliga Frankfurt/Oder Bezirksliga Cottbus |
Bezirksliga Berlin |
Bezirksliga Magdeburg Bezirksliga Halle |
Bezirksliga Erfurt Bezirksliga Suhl Bezirksliga Gera |
Bezirksliga Leipzig Bezirksliga Chemnitz Bezirksliga Dresden |
Source:"East German football leagues". Das deutsche Fussball Archiv. http://www.f-archiv.de/. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
Source:"East German football leagues". Das deutsche Fussball Archiv. http://www.f-archiv.de/. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
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 DFV 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[1].
Football clubs in the former GDR could be classified in four simple categories, identifiable by their names, these being:
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