It is one of five leagues at the fourth tier, together with the Regionalliga Bayern, Regionalliga Südwest, Regionalliga Nord and the Regionalliga West. From 1994 to 2000 it was part of the third tier, until the first of many re-structurings of the league system. The last of these occurred in 2012, which saw the Regionalliga Nordost reinstated.
Overview
The Regionalliga Nordost was formed in 1994 to form a regional third level of play between the 2nd Bundesliga and the NOFV-Oberligas Nord, Mitte and Süd. The league was made up of 18 clubs, with two coming from the 2nd Bundesliga and six each from Mitte and Nord while the south only sent four. It was formed alongside three other Regionalligas, the Regionalliga Nord, West/Südwest and Süd. With the introduction of the Regionalliga also went the disbanding of the central division of the NOFV-Oberligas. Its clubs were spread between the remaining two.
The founding members of the Regionalliga Nordost were:
The league contained 18 teams throughout its original six years.
The league winner was not always promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga. The champions of the Regionalligas Nord and Nordost had to play-off for a spot in the 2nd Bundesliga from 1996 to 2000. The winner of this contest was promoted, the loser faced the runners-ups of the Regionalligas Süd and West/Südwest for another spot in the second division.
In 1997, Energie Cottbus became the first club from the Regionalliga to reach a German Cup final, losing 2-0 to VfB Stuttgart.
The league was disbanded after six seasons. In 2000, the number of Regionalligas was reduced from four to two. Most clubs from the league went to the Regionalliga Nord, some clubs from the south went to the Regionalliga Süd.
With the changes in the German league system in 2008, the number of Regionalligas was extended to three, with the formation of the Regionalliga West, a league which essentially is a reformation of the Regionalliga West/Südwest. The Regionalliga Nordost was not recreated, however. Instead, its clubs remained in the Regionalliga Nord. Teams from its region playing in the Regionalliga Süd moved to the northern group as well, unless they qualified for the 2nd Bundesliga or 3rd Liga.
Disbanding
When the league was discontinued in 2000, the top seven clubs in the league went to the two remaining Regionalligas, five to the north and two to the south, these being the two clubs from the state of Thuringia. The other eleven league teams were relegated to the NOFV-Oberligas.
In October 2010, another reform of the Regionalligas was agreed. The number of leagues was again expanded to five. The defunct Regionalliga Nordost was reestablished and a Regionalliga Bayern was established. Also, the Regionalliga West lost the clubs from the south west to a new league, formed out of those clubs and clubs from Regionalliga Süd outside Bavaria. The new system came into operation at the beginning of the 2012–13 season. The number of reserve teams per Regionalliga was limited to seven.[1]
The five league champions, plus the runner-up of the Regionalliga Süd/Südwest, entered play-offs for the three promotion spots. The new leagues consisted of up to 22 clubs in their inaugural season, but were then reduced to between 16 and 18 clubs. The Regionalligas are not administered by the DFB, but rather by the regional football associations. The reorganisation of the Regionalligas, so soon after the last changes in 2008, became necessary because of a large number of insolvencies. These were caused by a lack of media interest in the leagues, large expenses and infrastructure demands.[2]
As four teams were relegated from the 3rd Liga starting at the end of the 2018–19 season, the champions of the Regionalliga Nordost (Chemnitzer FC), the Regionalliga Südwest and the Regionalliga West were promoted directly to the 3. Liga.[3] The remaining two champions, from the Regionalliga Bayern and Nord, played a two-legged promotion play-off for the last promotion spot. In 2020, the three direct promotion spots will go to the champions of the Regionalliga Südwest, Regionalliga Bayern and Regionalliga Nord, and the champions of the Regionalliga Nordost and Regionalliga West will participate in the play-off. This format was installed initially as a temporary solution until the DFB-Bundestag was unsuccessful on a format that could have enabled all Regionalliga champions to be promoted.[4] In September 2019, the Bundestag delegates voted to grant the Südwest and West champions two direct promotions indefinitely starting in 2021. A third direct promotion place will be assigned according to a rotation principle among the Regionalliga Nord, Nordost and Bavarian champions. The representatives from the two remaining Regionalligen will determine the fourth promoted club in two-legged playoffs.[5]
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