Niederrheinliga |
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Founded |
1956 |
Nation |
Germany |
State |
Nordrhein-Westfalen |
Promotion To |
NRW-Liga |
Relegation To |
Landesliga Niederrhein-Gruppe 1 |
Landesliga Niederrhein-Gruppe 2 |
Landesliga Niederrhein-Gruppe 3 |
Number of Teams |
18 |
Level on Pyramid |
Level 6 |
Current Champions 2010-11 |
KFC Uerdingen |
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. Until 2008, when the 3rd Liga was introduced, it was the 5th tier of the German league system.
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The league was formed from 16 clubs in 1956 to provide a single-division highest league for the Niederrhein Football Association. Previous to this, the three Landesligen were the highest level of play in the region. The Landesligen still remain as the tier below the Verbandsliga to this day.
The Verbandsliga Niederrhein was upon its interception the third tier of the German league system. The league champion had to compete with the winner of the Verbandsliga Mittelrhein for promotion to the 2nd Oberliga West. Upon introduction of the Bundesliga in 1963, the league was set below the new Regionalliga West but remained as the third tier. With the exception of 1963 and 1974, when the league systems were changed, the champion continued to have the opportunity to win promotion. In 1964, 1970, 1976 and 1978, the league winner failed to do so, every other season they were successful. In 1977, the runners-up was promoted as Fortuna Düsseldorf II was ineligible.
The league operated with 16 clubs throughout most of its existence, only occasionally altering the numbers to balance out promotion and relegation.
With the replacement of the Regionalliga by the 2nd Bundesliga Nord in 1974, the league champion had to gain promotion through a play-off system with the winners of the other tier-three leagues in northern Germany.
In 1978, the Amateur-Oberliga Nordrhein was formed as the third tier of football in the region compromising the area of the Verbandsliga Niederrhein and Verbandsliga Mittelrhein. One of the main reasons for this move was to provide direct promotion for the tier-three champions again. The clubs placed one to seven in the league were admitted to the new Oberliga, these being:
Verbandsliga Niederrhein, together with Mittelrhein, remained as a feeder league for the new Oberliga, but now as a tier-four competition. Its champion, and some years the runners-up, were directly promoted to the Oberliga Nordrhein.
With the re-introduction of the Regionalligen in 1994, the league slipped to tier five but remained unchanged otherwise.
From 2008, with the introduction of the 3rd Liga, the Verbandsliga Niederrhein was downgraded to the sixth tier. The league above it was then the new Oberliga Nordrhein-Westfalen, a merger of the Oberligen Nordrhein and Westfalen. The champion of the Verbandsliga continued to be directly promoted but since there were now four Verbandsligen below the Oberliga, the runners-up didn't have the option of promotion unless the league winner declined.
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Source:"Verbandsliga Niederrhein". Das deutsche Fussball-Archiv. http://www.f-archiv.de/. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
From the Landesliga Gruppe 1:
From the Landesliga Gruppe 2:
From the Landesliga Gruppe 3:
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