Promotion to the 2. Bundesliga

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Promotion to the 2. Bundesliga
Organising bodies DFL and DFB
Founded1974;51 years ago (1974)
RegionGermany
Number of teams2 or 3
Qualifier for 2. Bundesliga
Current champions Arminia Bielefeld
Dynamo Dresden
(2024–25)
Soccerball current event.svg 2024–25 3. Liga

The Promotion to the 2. Bundesliga (German: Aufstiegsrunde zur 2. Bundesliga) are an end-of-season competition, held annually to determine the clubs that were promoted from the Amateurligas, later the Amateur Oberligas to the 2. Bundesligas . It is necessary because there are more third division champions than promotion spots available.

Contents

Originally there were fifteen Amateurligas which were reduced to eight Amateur Oberligas in 1978. From 1981 the 2. Bundesliga was reduced to one single league.

After the introduction of the Regionalliga in 1994, the promotion round was greatly reduced in length, generally only involving two teams. Eventually, after 2000, all promotion spots to the 2. Bundesliga were direct with no deciders necessary. Since the 2008–09 season, after the introduction of the 3. Liga, a promotion round was reintroduced.

Leagues

Tier two

Originally, there were two 2. Bundesligas, the second tier of the German football league system, these being:

In 1981, these were reduced to just one league, the 2. Bundesliga .

Tier three

In 1975, there were 15 Amateurligas, the third level of German football, these being:

Southern Germany

In 1978, these were reduced to four Amateur Oberligas, these being:

Northern Germany

In 1978, these were reduced to four Amateur Oberligas, these being:

North-Eastern Germany

The following three Oberligas were formed in 1991, after the German reunion.

System and modus

2. Bundesliga South promotion modus

From 1975 until 1978 the champions of the Amateurligas Bayern and Hessen were directly promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. The winners of the Amateurligas Nordbaden, Südbaden, Schwarzwald-Bodensee and Württemberg played out a third promotion spot. The winners of the Amateurligas Saarland, Südwest and Rheinland played out a fourth spot. Both these rounds were played in a home-and-away round robin.

In 1979 and 1980 there was no play-offs as the nine southern Amateurligas had merged to four Oberligas and therefore each champion was promoted directly. This fact was actually the main reason for the merger.

2. Bundesliga North promotion modus

In 1975 and 1976 the champions of the Amateurligas Niederrhein, Mittelrhein and the second placed team in the Oberliga Nord played out two promotion spots. The champion of the Amateurliga Berlin, the champion of the Oberliga Nord and the winner of the decider of the two Westfalen champions played out another two spots.

In 1977 and 1978 the top four teams of the Oberliga Nord, the champions of the Amateurligas Niederrhein, Mittelrhein, Westfalen 1, Westfalen 2 and Berlin played out the four promotion spots in two groups of four. Beforehand, a decider between the 4th placed team from the North and the runners-up of Westfalen reduced the number to eight out of those nine.

In 1979 and 1980 there was no play-offs as the six northern leagues merged to form four Oberligas like in the south. The champions of the Oberligas Nord, Nordrhein and Westfalen were promoted directly, the winner of Oberliga Berlin had to play the runners-up of the Oberliga Nord for the last spot.

2. Bundesliga promotion modus

From 1982 until 1991 the play-offs were split into a north and a south group.

In the southern group the four Oberliga champions of Bayern, Baden-Württemberg, Hessen and Südwest played out two promotion spots. In 1982 this was done in a single round system, afterwards in a home-and-away round robin.

In the northern group the winners of the four Oberligas Berlin, Westfalen, Nordrhein and Nord played out two promotion spots. In 1982 this was done in a single round system, afterwards in a home-and-away round robin. From 1984 the runners-up of the Oberliga Nord was also included in this play-off, taking the number of teams to five.

After the reunification of Germany the number of teams was extended.

In 1991 there was an additional two groups of four teams from East Germany. The winner of each of those four groups were promoted.

In 1992 there was 13 teams in four groups with the group winner gaining promotion. Qualified to this play-off were the ten Oberliga champions, the runners-up from Oberliga Nord and two teams from 2. Bundesliga.

In 1993 and 1994 the ten Oberliga champions and the runners-up from Oberliga Nord played in three groups, two times four and one time three, for three promotion spots.

in 1994 the four Regionalliga were introduced as an intermediate between 2. Bundesliga and the Oberligas. Oberliga teams were now promoted to the Regionalligas instead.

Modus from 1994

With the introduction of the four Regionalligas in 1994, the system for promotion was somewhat simpler. The champions of the Regionalligas Süd and West/Südwest were always directly promoted. The Regionalligas Nord and Nordost were considered a single entity for the purpose of promotion, therefore only one of the two winners could get directly promoted. From 1996, the two winners of the league had to play a home-and-away decider. The reason for this was that each of the first two Regionalligas covered areas with a population and playing strength roughly equal to the combined second two. The fourth promotion spot was allocated the following way:

With the reduction of the numbers of Regionalligas in 2000 to two, play-offs became unnecessary and two teams from each league were directly promoted.

Modus from 2000

After the changes in the league system in 2000, the reduction of the numbers of Regionalligas from four to two, direct promotion was available to the 2. Bundesliga once more. The champions and runners-up of the two Regionalligas moved up without having to play a promotion round. In some instances, a promotion spot was held by a reserve team of a Bundesliga or 2. Bundesliga side, in those cases, the next-best placed first team was promoted instead.

In 2008, the 3. Liga was established as the new third tier, between Regionalligas and 2. Bundesliga. The top-two teams out of the third division are directly promoted. The third placed club has to play the 16th placed team of the 2. Bundesliga in a home and away round to determine who receives the last spot in the second division. [1] Reserve sides, which also play in the 3. Liga, can not earn promotion.

Clubs taking part in the promotion round

Southern Germany (1975–1978)

SeasonAmateurliga BayernAmateurliga Hessen
1974–75 Jahn Regensburg FSV Frankfurt
1975–76 Würzburger FV KSV Baunatal
1976–77 Würzburger Kickers VfR Bürstadt
1977–78 MTV Ingolstadt FC Hanau 93
SeasonAmateurliga SaarlandAmateurliga SüdwestAmateurliga Rheinland
1974–75 ASC Dudweiler Eintracht Bad Kreuznach Eintracht Trier
1975–76 Borussia Neunkirchen Wormatia Worms Eintracht Trier
1976–77Borussia NeunkirchenWormatia Worms TuS Neuendorf
1977–78Borussia Neunkirchen Mainz 05 TuS Neuendorf
SeasonAmateurliga NordbadenAmateurliga SüdbadenAmateurliga WürttembergAmateurliga Schwarzwald-Bodensee
1974–75 VfB Eppingen Offenburger FV VfR Aalen SSV Reutlingen
1975–76 VfR Mannheim FC 08 Villingen SpVgg Ludwigsburg BSV Schwenningen
1976–77 SV Neckargerach Freiburger FC SSV Ulm SSV Reutlingen
1977–78 FV Weinheim SC Freiburg SSV UlmSSV Reutlingen

Southern Germany (1982–1994)

SeasonOberliga BayernOberliga HessenOberliga Baden-WürttembergOberliga Südwest
1981–82 FC Augsburg FSV Frankfurt SSV Ulm FC Homburg
1982–83 SpVgg Unterhaching VfR Oli BürstadtSSV Ulm 1. FC Saarbrücken
1983–84 1860 Munich VfR Oli BürstadtFreiburger FCFC Homburg
1984–85 SpVgg Bayreuth Viktoria Aschaffenburg SV Sandhausen FSV Salmrohr
1985–861860 Munich Kickers Offenbach SSV UlmFSV Salmrohr
1986–87SpVgg BayreuthKickers OffenbachSV SandhausenEintracht Trier
1987–88SpVgg UnterhachingViktoria AschaffenburgFV 09 WeinheimMainz 05
1988–89SpVgg Unterhaching Hessen Kassel SSV Reutlingen SV Edenkoben
1989–90 Schweinfurt 05 Rot-Weiss Frankfurt SSV ReutlingenMainz 05
1990–911860 MunichHessen Kassel 1. FC Pforzheim Borussia Neunkirchen
1991–92SpVgg UnterhachingViktoria AschaffenburgSSV ReutlingenFSV Salmrohr
1992–931860 MunichKickers OffenbachSSV UlmEintracht Trier
1993–94FC AugsburgFSV FrankfurtSSV UlmEintracht Trier

Northern Germany (1975–1978)

SeasonAmateurliga MittelrheinAmateurliga NiederrheinOberliga Nord
1974–75 Bayer Leverkusen Union Solingen Arminia Hannover
1975–76 Bonner SC 1. FC Bocholt VfL Wolfsburg
SeasonAmateurliga WestfalenAmateurliga MittelrheinOberliga NordOberliga Nord
1976–77 Rot-Weiß Lüdenscheid Siegburger SV 04 Union Salzgitter Holstein Kiel
1977–78 DSC Wanne-Eickel Viktoria Köln VfL Wolfsburg Göttingen 05
SeasonAmateurligas WestfalenOberliga BerlinOberliga Nord
1974–75 Westfalia Herne Spandauer SV VfB Oldenburg
1975–76 SC Herford Union 06 Berlin Arminia Hannover
SeasonAmateurliga NiederrheinOberliga BerlinOberliga NordQualifier
1976–771. FC BocholtSpandauer SV TuS Bremerhaven SVA Gütersloh
1977–78 Olympia Bocholt Wacker Berlin OSV Hannover Holstein Kiel

Northern Germany (1982–1994)

SeasonOberliga NordrheinOberliga WestfalenOberliga BerlinOberliga Nord (1st)Oberliga Nord (2nd)
1981–82 BV Lüttringhausen TuS Schloß Neuhaus Tennis Borussia Berlin Arminia Hannover
1982–83 Rot-Weiß Oberhausen Eintracht Hamm SC Charlottenburg FC St. Pauli
1983–841. FC Bocholt FC Gütersloh Blau-Weiß Berlin FC St. Pauli SV Lurup
1984–85 Rot-Weiss Essen Eintracht HammTennis Borussia Berlin VfL Osnabrück Hummelsbütteler SV
1985–86Rot-Weiß Essen ASC Schöppingen SC CharlottenburgFC St. PauliVfB Oldenburg
1986–87 BVL Remscheid SpVgg Erkenschwick Hertha BSC SV Meppen Arminia Hannover
1987–88 MSV Duisburg Preußen Münster Hertha BSC Eintracht Braunschweig VfL Wolfsburg
1988–89MSV DuisburgPreußen Münster Reinickendorfer Füchse TSV Havelse Göttingen 05
1989–90 Wuppertaler SV Arminia Bielefeld Reinickendorfer FüchseVfB OldenburgTSV Havelse
1990–91 FC Remscheid SC Verl Tennis Borussia BerlinVfL WolfsburgGöttingen 05
1991–92Wuppertaler SVPreußen MünsterVfL WolfsburgTSV Havelse
1992–93Rot-Weiß EssenPreußen Münster VfL Herzlake SC Norderstedt
1993–94 Fortuna Düsseldorf TuS Paderborn-Neuhaus Kickers Emden Eintracht Braunschweig

North-Eastern Germany (1991–1994)

SeasonNOFV-Oberliga NordNOFV-Oberliga MitteNOFV Oberliga Süd
1991–92 FC Berlin Union Berlin FSV Zwickau
1992–93Tennis Borussia BerlinUnion Berlin Bischofswerdaer FV
1993–94 BSV Brandenburg Energie Cottbus FSV Zwickau

1995–2000

SeasonRegionalliga SüdRegionalliga West/SüdwestRegionalliga NordRegionalliga Nord-Ost
1994–95SpVgg UnterhachingArminia Bielefeld VfB Lübeck Carl Zeiss Jena
1995–96 Stuttgarter Kickers FC Gütersloh

Rot-Weiss Essen

VfB OldenburgTennis Borussia Berlin
1996–97 1. FC Nürnberg

Greuther Fürth

SG Wattenscheid Hannover 96 Energie Cottbus
1997–98SSV UlmRot-Weiß OberhausenHannover 96Tennis Borussia Berlin
1998–99 Waldhof Mannheim

Kickers Offenbach

Alemannia Aachen VfL Osnabrück Chemnitzer FC
1999–2000SSV Reutlingen1. FC Saarbrücken

LR Ahlen

VfL OsnabrückUnion Berlin

The Nord versus Nordost play-off games

These were staged in the five seasons from 1996 to 2000 to determine which team was directly promoted. From 1998, the loser of this games got a second chance for promotion by playing the runners-up of the other two Regionalligas.

DateTeam ATeam BGame 1Game 2
1995–96 Tennis Borussia Berlin VfB Oldenburg 1–11–2 ( a.e.t. )
1996–97 Hannover 96 Energie Cottbus 0–01–3
1997–98Tennis Borussia BerlinHannover 962–00–2 (1–3 p)
1998–99 VfL Osnabrück Chemnitzer FC 1–00–2
1999–2000 Union Berlin VfL Osnabrück1–11–1 (7–8 p)

2000–2008

All listed teams were promoted:

SeasonRegionalliga SüdRegionalliga Nord
2000–01Karlsruher SCFC Schweinfurt 051. FC Union BerlinSV Babelsberg 03
2001–02Wacker BurghausenEintracht TrierVfB LübeckEintracht Braunschweig
2002–03SpVgg UnterhachingSSV Jahn RegensburgErzgebirge AueVfL Osnabrück
2003–04Rot-Weiß Erfurt1. FC SaarbrückenRot-Weiß EssenDynamo Dresden
2004–05Kickers OffenbachSportfreunde SiegenEintracht BraunschweigSC Paderborn 07
2005–06FC AugsburgTuS KoblenzRot-Weiß EssenFC Carl Zeiss Jena
2006–07SV WehenTSG 1899 HoffenheimFC St PauliVfL Osnabrück
2007–08FSV FrankfurtFC Ingolstadt 04Rot-Weiß AhlenRot-Weiß Oberhausen

3. Liga

With the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008, the first two teams of this league earned promotion to the 2. Bundesliga while the third placed team had to go through a promotion round.

SeasonChampionsRunners-upPromotion PlayoffStandings
2008–09 Union Berlin Fortuna Düsseldorf SC Paderborn Table
2009–10 VfL Osnabrück Erzgebirge Aue FC Ingolstadt Table
2010–11 Eintracht Braunschweig Hansa Rostock Dynamo Dresden Table
2011–12 SV Sandhausen VfR Aalen Jahn Regensburg Table
2012–13 Karlsruher SC Arminia Bielefeld VfL Osnabrück Table
2013–14 1. FC Heidenheim RB Leipzig Darmstadt 98 Table
2014–15 Arminia Bielefeld MSV Duisburg Holstein Kiel Table
2015–16 Dynamo Dresden Erzgebirge Aue Würzburger Kickers Table
2016–17 MSV Duisburg Holstein Kiel Jahn Regensburg Table
2017–18 1. FC Magdeburg SC Paderborn Karlsruher SC Table
2018–19 VfL Osnabrück Karlsruher SC Wehen Wiesbaden Table
2019–20 Würzburger Kickers [A] Eintracht Braunschweig FC Ingolstadt Table
2020–21 Dynamo Dresden Hansa Rostock FC Ingolstadt Table
2021–22 1. FC Magdeburg Eintracht Braunschweig 1. FC Kaiserslautern Table
2022–23 SV Elversberg VfL Osnabrück [B] Wehen Wiesbaden Table
2023–24 SSV Ulm Preußen Münster Jahn Regensburg Table
2024–25 Arminia Bielefeld Dynamo Dresden 1. FC Saarbrücken Table

3. Liga promotion round

From the 2008–09 season onwards, the third placed team in the 3. Liga had to play the 16th placed team in the 2. Bundesliga for one more spot in the second division:

2008–09 [2]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
SC Paderborn (3L)2–0 VfL Osnabrück (2B)1–01–0
2009–10 [3]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
FC Ingolstadt (3L)3–0 Hansa Rostock (2B)1–02–0
2010–11 [4]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Dynamo Dresden (3L)4–2 VfL Osnabrück (2B)1–13–1 (a.e.t.)
2011–12 [5]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Jahn Regensburg (3L)3–3 (a) Karlsruher SC (2B)1–12–2
2012–13 [6]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
VfL Osnabrück (3L)1–2 Dynamo Dresden (2B)1–00–2
2013–14 [7]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Darmstadt 98 (3L)5–5 (a) Arminia Bielefeld (2B)1–34–2 (a.e.t.)
2014–15 [8]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Holstein Kiel (3L)1–2 1860 Munich (2B)0–01–2
2015–16 [9]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Würzburger Kickers (3L)4–1 MSV Duisburg (2B)2–02–1
2016–17 [10]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Jahn Regensburg (3L)3–1 1860 Munich (2B)1–12–0
2017–18 [11]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Karlsruher SC (3L)1–3 Erzgebirge Aue (2B)0–01–3
2018–19 [12]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Wehen Wiesbaden (3L)4–4 (a) FC Ingolstadt (2B)1–23–2
2019–20 [13]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
1. FC Nürnberg (2B)3–3 (a) FC Ingolstadt (3L) 2–0 1–3
2020–21 [14]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
FC Ingolstadt 4–3 VfL Osnabrück 3–0 1–3
2021–22 [15]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Dynamo Dresden 0–2 1. FC Kaiserslautern 0–0 0–2
2022–23 [16]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Wehen Wiesbaden 6–1 Arminia Bielefeld 4–0 2–1
2023–24 [17]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Jahn Regensburg (3L)4–3 Wehen Wiesbaden (2B) 2–2 2–1
2024–25 [18]
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
1. FC Saarbrücken (3L)2–4 Eintracht Braunschweig (2B) 0–2 2–2
SymbolKey
(2B) 2. Bundesliga – 16th placed team
(3L) 3. Liga – 3rd placed team

See also

Notes

  1. The champions of the 2019–20 3. Liga, Bayern Munich II, could not be promoted as they are a reserve team, so the promotion spot was instead passed down to the next eligible team.
  2. The runners-up of the 2022–23 3. Liga, SC Freiburg II, could not be promoted as they are a reserve team, so the promotion spot was instead passed down to the next eligible team.

References

  1. Beschlüsse des DFB-Bundestages – Spielklassenstrukturreform (in German) DFB website, official bulletin regarding the establishment of the 3rd Liga, published: 30 September 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2008
  2. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2008/2009" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  3. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2009/2010" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  4. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2010/2011" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  5. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2011/2012" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  6. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2012/2013" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  7. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2013/2014" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  8. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2014/2015" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  9. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2015/2016" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  10. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2016/2017" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  11. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2017/2018" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  12. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2018/2019" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  13. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2019/2020" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  14. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2020/2021" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  15. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2021/2022" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  16. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2022/2023" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  17. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2023/2024" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  18. "Relegation 2. Bundesliga 2024/2025" (in German). Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 17 May 2025.

Sources