Landesliga

Landesliga

Country	Germany
Leagues	65
Level on pyramid	Level 6, 7 and 8

The Landesliga (English: Football State League) is a tier of football in some of the states of Germany.

In Bavaria, Sachsen, Thuringia, Bremen, Lower Saxony and Hamburg the Landesligas are set right below the Oberlig and therefore are the sixth tier. The reason for this is that Bavaria, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Bremen are the only places in Germany where the Oberliga, the State and the Verband are geographically the same, while the other two states simply chose to call their leagues Landesligas when establishing them in 1990. In the Middle Rhine and Lower Rhine regions of North Rhine-Westphalia it is also, since 2012, the sixth tier. In Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate (south-western part only), North Rhine-Westphalia (Westphalia), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin it is the seventh tier, below the Verbandsliga. In the Saarland, the Landesligas are set as the eighth tier.^[1][2][3]

Typically, in each Bundesland, the Landesligen are split up into different Staffeln or "divisions". In Bavaria, the Landesliga is split up into five divisions, South-West, South-East, Central, North-West and North-East. In Sachsen, Bremen and Thüringen the Landesliga is in a single division format. In Hamburg, it consists of two divisions.^[2]

Schleswig-Holstein and Hesse are the only two German states not to have Landesligen. The Rheinland region of Rhineland-Palatinate also operates without such a league.^[2]

In Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony Anhalt and Thuringia the league below the Landesligas is the Landesklasse (English: State Class).^[2]

Leagues

The Landesligas: Tier six (red) seven (yellow) and eight (blue) leagues. White denotes areas without Landesligas.

Tier-VI Landesligas

Of the 65 Landesligas in Germany 18 are set at tier six of the German football league system, these being:^[2]

• The Landesligen of Thuringia and Saxony are unique in their naming as every other league in Germany of this standing carries the name Verbandsliga. This was done so simply by choice of the local football associations in Saxony and Thuringia and the name could be changed to Verbandsliga if they wish to do so. Bavaria does not have this option however, since its Landesligas are not the highest leagues in the Verband. This position is held by the Oberligas in this state.

Tier VII-Landesligas

Apart from the above mentioned states, Landesligen also exist in the states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate (in the south-west part only), North Rhine-Westphalia (Westphalia), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin and (as Landesklasse) Thuringia as tier seven leagues, below the Verbandsligas:^[2]

Tier VIII-Landesligas

Uniquely, the Saarland has the Landesligas as the eighth tier of its league system; in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony-Anhalt the equivalent tier is Landesklasse.^[2]

Clubs in the tier-six Landesligas

References

External links

• Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv
• DFB: State Associations