The Regionalliga Nord () is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with the Regionalliga Bayern, Regionalliga Nordost, Regionalliga Südwest and the Regionalliga West. Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 it was the third tier.
From 1963 to 1974, a Regionalliga Nord existed as the second tier of the German football league system, but it is not related to the current Regionalliga.
Overview The Regionalliga Nord was introduced in 1994 along with three other Regionalligas, those being:
Regionalliga Süd Regionalliga Nordost Regionalliga West/Südwest
The reason for its introduction was to create a highest regional league for the north of Germany and to allow its champions, and some years the runners-up too, to be directly promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga. Prior to the introduction of the four Regionalligas, the leagues below the second division were the Oberligas, in which there was ten. Those ten Oberliga champions had to go through a promotion play-off rather than being directly promoted. The champions of the Regionalligas Nord and Nordost however 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.
The Regionalliga Nord was direct continuation of the Oberliga Nord, which was disbanded in 1994 in favour of the Regionalliga. Fourteen out of sixteen Oberliga Nord clubs qualified for the new league, only the bottom two teams were relegated to the two new Oberligas.
To replace the Oberliga Nord below the Regionalliga, two new leagues were formed, those being the Oberligas Niedersachsen/Bremen and Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein. These two leagues were in turn disbanded in 2004 when the Oberliga Nord was reformed.
In 2001, Union Berlin of this league became only the second Regionalliga side to reach a German Cup final, losing 2−0 to Schalke 04.
With the league changes in Germany in 2008, the Oberliga Nord was again disbanded and the level below the Regionalliga Nord in this region were the five Verbandligas. This required a promotion play-off for this league winners as there were not five promotion spots available for their region. No changes were made in the NOFV region, where the two Oberligas Nord and Süd remained.
The following four teams were promoted to the Regionalliga from 2009: NOFV-Oberliga Nord champions NOFV-Oberliga Süd champions Lower Saxony champions, being the winner of the home-and-away series of the champions of the Oberliga Niedersachsen-West and Ost; since 2010 that Oberliga is a single division Winner of the promotion play-off for the champions of the Oberliga Hamburg, Bremen and Schleswig-Holstein, and the Oberliga Niedersachsen runners-up
League history
Founding members
The Regionalliga Nord was formed in 1994 with 18 clubs, fourteen from the Oberliga Nord and one each from the Verbandsligas of Niedersachsen, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.
The founding members were:
From the Oberliga Nord: Kickers Emden Eintracht Braunschweig VfL Osnabrück VfL Herzlake TuS Hoisdorf VfB Oldenburg Holstein Kiel Werder Bremen II VfB Lübeck Hamburger SV II VfL 93 Hamburg TuS Celle 1. SC Göttingen 05 SV Lurup
From the Verbandsliga Schleswig-Holstein: Lüneburger SK
From the Verbandsliga Hamburg: Concordia Hamburg
From the Verbandsliga Bremen: FC Bremerhaven
From the Verbandsliga Niedersachsen: SV Wilhelmshaven
The "new" Regionalliga Nord was actually a reformation of the "old" Regionalliga Nord which operated from 1963 to 1974 in the same region but then as the second tier of German football. Unlike the "old" Regionalliga, the new one allowed reserve teams to compete in it.
Expansion of the league in 2000
After six seasons, in 2000, the number of Regionalligas was reduced from four to two. Only the Regionalligas Süd and Nord survived. The clubs of the other two were spread according to their geographical location.
Only the teams placed two to six were permitted to remain in the league. The league champion, VfL Osnabrück, was promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga and all clubs from place seven to eighteen were relegated to the Verbandsligas. The league was expanded to nineteen teams and fourteen clubs from the 2nd Bundesliga, Regionalliga West/Südwest and Regionalliga Nordost were admitted.
Remaining in the Regionalliga Nord: VfB Lübeck Eintracht Braunschweig SV Wilhelmshaven Werder Bremen II Lüneburger SK
Relegated from the 2nd Bundesliga: SC Fortuna Köln Tennis Borussia Berlin
Admitted from the Regionalliga West/Südwest: Preußen Münster SC Verl SG Wattenscheid 09 KFC Uerdingen 05 Rot-Weiß Essen Fortuna Düsseldorf Borussia Dortmund II
Admitted from the Regionalliga Nordost: Union Berlin Babelsberg 03 Erzgebirge Aue Dresdner SC FC Sachsen Leipzig
The league reform in 2008
With the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 and of a third Regionalliga, the Regionalliga West, the league became the fourth tier of German football. The clubs from North Rhine-Westphalia left the league again and joined the new Regionalliga West.
The make up of the leagues was: Winner and runners-up of the Regionalliga Nord qualified for the 2nd Bundesliga (unless they are reserve teams) Clubs placed third to tenth went to the new 3. Liga (only the two best placed reserve teams were admitted) Clubs placed eleventh to eighteen remained in the Regionalligas (clubs from North Rhine-Westphalia left for the Regionalliga West) The five best teams from the Oberliga Nord joined the Regionalliga. The sixth placed team played-off with the five Verbandsliga winners from this region for one more place in the Regionalliga. The three best teams from the NOFV-Oberliga Nord and Süd each and a play-off winner of the two fourth placed teams.
The following 18 teams fulfilled the various qualification criteria and were granted a license for play in the new Regionalliga Nord for the 2008–09 season.
Remaining in the Regionalliga Nord: 1. FC Magdeburg Hamburger SV II Babelsberg 03 Energie Cottbus II VfB Lübeck VfL Wolfsburg II
From the Oberliga Nord: Holstein Kiel SV Wilhelmshaven FC Altona 93 Hannover 96 II FC Oberneuland (as play-off winner)
From the NOFV-Oberliga Nord: Hertha BSC Berlin II Hansa Rostock II Türkiyemspor Berlin
From the NOFV-Oberliga Süd: Chemnitzer FC Hallescher FC VFC Plauen Sachsen Leipzig (as play-off winner)
The league reform in 2012
In October 2010, another reform of the Regionalligas expanded the number of leagues to five, with the Nordost clubs leaving the Regionalliga Nord to form their own Regionalliga Nordost once more. The new system came into operation in the 2012–13 season. It was also decided to limit the number of reserve teams per Regionalliga to seven.DFB-Bundestag beschließt Reform der Spielklassen DFB website, 22 October 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
The league reform in 2019 As four teams were relegated from the 3. Liga at the end of the 2018–19 season, the champions of the Regionalliga Nordost, Regionalliga Südwest and Regionalliga West were promoted directly to the 3. Liga and the remaining two champions, VfL Wolfsburg II of the Regionalliga Nord and Bayern Munich II of the Regionalliga Bayern, played a two-legged promotion play-off for the last promotion spot, which was won by Bayern Munich II. In 2020, the three direct promotion spots went to the champions of the Regionalliga Südwest, Regionalliga Nord and Regionalliga Bayern, while the Nordost and the West champions participated in the play-off. This format was installed initially as a temporary solution until the DFB-Bundestag in September 2019 decided on a format that could have enabled all Regionalliga champions to be promoted. On that date, the Bundestag delegates voted to grant the Südwest and West champions two direct promotions indefinitely from 2021, with the third direct promotion place rotating between the Regionalliga Nord, Nordost and Bavarian champions. The representatives from the two remaining Regionalligen enter a two-legged play-offs to determine the fourth promotion place.
Winners and runners-up of the Regionalliga Nord The winners and runners-up of the league: SeasonWinnerRunner-up1994–95VfB Lübeck VfL Osnabrück1995–96VfB Oldenburg Eintracht Braunschweig1996–97Hannover 96 Eintracht Braunschweig1997–98Hannover 96 Eintracht Braunschweig1998–99VfL Osnabrück VfB Lübeck1999–2000VfL Osnabrück VfB Lübeck2000–01Union Berlin Babelsberg 032001–02VfB Lübeck Eintracht Braunschweig2002–03Erzgebirge Aue VfL Osnabrück2003–04Rot-Weiß Essen Dynamo Dresden2004–05Eintracht Braunschweig SC Paderborn2005–06Rot-Weiß Essen Carl Zeiss Jena2006–07FC St Pauli VfL Osnabrück2007–08Rot-Weiß AhlenRot-Weiß Oberhausen2008–09Holstein KielHallescher FC2009–10Babelsberg 03VfL Wolfsburg II2010–11Chemnitzer FCVfL Wolfsburg II2011–12Hallescher FCHolstein Kiel2012–13Holstein KielTSV Havelse2013–14VfL Wolfsburg IIWerder Bremen II2014–15Werder Bremen IIVfL Wolfsburg II2015–16VfL Wolfsburg IIVfB Oldenburg2016–17SV MeppenWeiche Flensburg2017–18Weiche FlensburgHamburger SV II2018–19VfL Wolfsburg IIVfB Lübeck2019–20VfB LübeckVfL Wolfsburg II2020–21Not completed2021–22VfB OldenburgWeiche Flensburg2022–23VfB LübeckHamburger SV II2023–24Hannover 96 IISV Meppen2024–25TSV HavelseKickers Emden2025–26SV MeppenSV Drochtersen/Assel
Promoted teams in bold.
Season abandoned in June 2020, with final standings decided on a points-per-game basis.
Season abandoned in April 2021 with Weiche Flensburg leading the north division and Werder Bremen II leading the south division. TSV Havelse were nominated for the promotion play-offs.
League statistics The top goalscorers and attendance figures for the league are: