Regionalliga West

The Regionalliga West is a German professional football division administered by the Western German Football Association based in Duisburg. It is one of the five German regional football associations. Being the single flight of the Western German state association, the Regionalliga is currently a level 4 division of the German football league system. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with the Regionalliga Bayern, Regionalliga Nordost, Regionalliga Nord and the Regionalliga Südwest.

For other uses, see Regionalliga West (disambiguation).

Regionalliga West
Regionalliga West
Organising bodyWestern German Football Association
Founded2008
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Number of teams18
Level on pyramidLevel 4
Promotion to3. Liga
Relegation toOberliga Niederrhein
Oberliga Mittelrhein
Oberliga Westfalen
Domestic cup(s)
International cup(s)UEFA Europa League (through DFB-Pokal win)
Current championsPreußen Münster
(2022-23)
Current: 2023–24 Regionalliga West

League history

Formation
Main article: Regionalliga

The league came into existence in August 2008 and was formed from the five Regionalliga clubs in its region which did not achieve admittance to the new 3rd Liga and thirteen Oberliga clubs. The number of clubs in the new league was set at eighteen. Along with the formation of this league there was a merger of the Oberligas below it, with Nordrhein and Westfalen forming the new NRW-Liga, while the Oberliga Südwest remained independent.

With the inception of the new Regionalliga West in 2008, there were now three Regionalligas which form the fourth tier of the German football league system, these were:

The league covered the same region, as the now defunct Regionalliga West/Südwest did from 1994 to 2000. It also shares its name with the "old" Regionalliga West, which operated from 1963 to 1974, but this league only covered the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

In 2008–09, with BV Cloppenburg, it included a club from Lower Saxony, while in 2009–10, with Waldhof Mannheim, a club from Baden-Württemberg played in the league. This moving-around of clubs was done to balance out the three Regionalligas in numbers. In 2010–11, in turn, Wormatia Worms, a club nominally belonging to the West, played in the South.[1]

2008–09 season
Main article: 2008–09 Regionalliga

In its first season, the league was won by the reserve team of Borussia Dortmund, which finished three points ahead of the reserve side of the 1. FC Kaiserslautern. The best non-reserve side in the league was the Preußen Münster, finishing fourth, 15 points clear of the champion. At the bottom of the table, 1. FC Kleve and BV Cloppenburg suffered relegation, while 16th placed Wormatia Worms was spared because FSV Oggersheim, in 12th place, did not apply for a licence for the next season.[2] The league had an average number of 1,372 spectators by game, with Rot-Weiss Essen with 7,077 per game by far the best supported club in the league. Second in this ranking was Preußen Münster with 3,649 spectators per game while the reserve side of Bayer Leverkusen came last in this ranking, attracting only 247 spectators per home game.[3]

Sascha Mölders of Rot-Weiss Essen was by far the best scorer in the league scoring 28 times during the season, nine times more than the second-best, Christopher Kullmann.[4]

The reserve team of Fortuna Düsseldorf, 1. FC Saarbrücken and Bonner SC were promoted to the league for the following season, while Waldhof Mannheim crossed over from the southern division to the west.[5]

2009–10 season
Main article: 2009–10 Regionalliga

The second edition of the competition was won by the 1. FC Saarbrücken, a club freshly promoted from the Oberliga who had played in the Bundesliga in the past but fallen down the ranks in the league system. 1. FCS beat Sportfreunde Lotte by eight points to the top spot. At the bottom end, Eintracht Trier and Wormatia Worms, two clubs from Rhineland-Palatinate, were in 17th and 18th spot with a clear gap to a non-relegation rank, while 16th placed Borussia Mönchengladbach reserves was on equal points with no less than four other clubs. All three however were spared from relegation.[5]

The top goal scorers in the second season of the league were Ercan Aydogmus and Christian Knappmann, having both scored 16 goals each.[6]

At the end of the 2009–10 season, Rot-Weiss Essen, Waldhof Mannheim and Bonner SC were all refused a Regionalliga licence and relegated. This meant, the three last-placed teams in the league that season were after all reprieved and not relegated.[5] For Rot-Weiss Essen this was especially bitter, having been the best-supported club in the league for the second year running, with 5,955 spectators per home game. The gap to the second best supported team however, the 1. FC Saarbrücken, was not as wide as in the previous year, Saarbrücken attracting 4,796 spectators a game. Bayer Leverkusen II was once more the least-best supported team but managed to raise its average to 401 spectators by game. Overall, support for the league in its second yearwent up.[7]

The teams promoted from the Oberliga at the end of the season were FC 08 Homburg, SC Wiedenbrück and the reserves of Arminia Bielefeld. The reserves of Borussia Dortmund, 2009 champions, and the Wuppertaler SV were relegated from the 3rd Liga to the Regionalliga. Wormatia Worms had left the league for the southern division to avoid an uneven number of teams between the three Regionalligas after two of the three 3rd Liga outgoers had been from the west.

2010–11 season
Main article: 2010–11 Regionalliga

The 2010–11 season saw the league feature thirteen clubs from North Rhine-Westphalia, of which eight are from Westphalia. Of the other five, two were from the Saarland while the remaining three were from Rhineland-Palatinate. Unlike the previous two seasons, no club from outside those three states competes in the league this year.[8]

It also featured a record ten reserve teams, leaving only eight first teams in the league.[8]

The league was won by Preußen Münster, who finished with a ten-point gap to second-placed Eintracht Trier.

Since 2012
The Fußball-Regionalligen from 2012 onwards.

In October 2010, another reform of the Regionalligas was decided upon. The number of leagues was now expanded to five, with the Regionalliga West losing clubs from the Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate. The new system came into operation with the start of the 2012–13 season. It was also decided to limit the number of reserve teams per Regionalliga to seven. The later however is planned to be achieved through the shifting of clubs between leagues rather than restricting the overall number of reserve teams.[9]

As four teams were relegated from the 3rd Liga starting at the end of the 2018–19 season, the Regionalliga West champions, along with their counterparts from the Nordost and Südwest, were promoted directly to the 3rd Liga. The West was chosen by a draw. The remaining two champions also determined by the same draw, from the Regionalliga Nord and Bayern, played a two-legged promotion play-off for the last promotion spot.[10] In 2020, the three direct promotion spots will go to the Südwest champions and the champions of the two leagues that participated in the promotion play-off in the previous season, while the Nordost and West champions participate in the play-off. This format was initially installed 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.[11] On that date, 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 remaining two Regionalligen will determine the fourth promoted club in two-legged playoffs.[12]

At the end of March 2023, the Western German Football Association (WDFV) confirmed the Regionalliga West's status as a professional league for the first time with regard to the 2023–24 season's licensing procedure. North Rhine-Westphalia had already classified the league as such in the 2020–21 season to enable the "numerous professional footballers" to continue practicing their profession. At that time, for example, the game operations in the four remaining regional leagues had been stopped prematurely.[13]

Foundation clubs of the Regionalliga West

The Regionalliga West was formed in 2008 with 18 clubs, five from the two Regionalligas (III), four each from the Oberligas Südwest, Nordrhein and Westfalen (IV) and one from the Oberliga Nord (IV).

The founding members were:

From the Regionalliga Nord:

From the Regionalliga Süd:

From the Oberliga Nordrhein:

From the Oberliga Westfalen:

From the Oberliga Südwest:

From the Oberliga Nord:

Winners and runners-up of the Regionalliga West

The winners and runners-up of the league are:

Season Winner Runner-up
2008–09 Borussia Dortmund II 1. FC Kaiserslautern II
2009–10 1. FC Saarbrücken Sportfreunde Lotte
2010–11 Preußen Münster Eintracht Trier
2011–12 Borussia Dortmund II Sportfreunde Lotte
2012–13 Sportfreunde Lotte Fortuna Köln
2013–14 Fortuna Köln Sportfreunde Lotte
2014–15 Borussia Mönchengladbach II Alemannia Aachen
2015–16 Sportfreunde Lotte Borussia Mönchengladbach II
2016–17 Viktoria Köln Borussia Dortmund II
2017–18 KFC Uerdingen 05 Viktoria Köln
2018–19 Viktoria Köln Rot-Weiß Oberhausen
2019–20 SV Rödinghausen SC Verl
2020–21 Borussia Dortmund II Rot-Weiss Essen
2021–22 Rot-Weiss Essen Preußen Münster
2022–23 Preußen Münster Wuppertaler SV
  • Promoted teams in bold.

League statistics

The top goal scorers and spectator statistics for the league are:

Season Overall
Spectators		 Per game Best supported Club Spectators
/game		 Top goal scorer Goals
2008–09 419,871 [3] 1,372 Rot-Weiss Essen 7,077 Sascha Mölders (RWE) [4] 28
2009–10 510,663 [7] 1,669 Rot-Weiss Essen 5,955 Ercan Aydogmus (BSC)
Christian Knappmann (SCV) [6]		 16
2010–11 305,890[14] 1,000 Preußen Münster 5,640 Robert Mainka (SCW) [15] 18
2011–12 381,689[16] 1,116 Rot-Weiss Essen 6,814 Christian Knappmann (WSV) [17] 30
2012–13 455,207[18] 1,198 Rot-Weiss Essen 8,008 Sven Michel (SFS, BMG) [19] 20
2013–14 561,169[20] 1,641 Rot-Weiss Essen 7,864 Aziz Bouhaddouz (BLII) [21] 24
2014–15 587,606[22] 1,920 Alemannia Aachen 10,724 Jesse Weißenfels (LOT) [23] 20
2015–16 521,017[24] 1,523 Alemannia Aachen 7,951 Marlon Ritter (BMG) [25] 23
2016–17 555,671[26] 1,816 Rot-Weiss Essen 7,865 Mike Wunderlich (VIK) [27] 29
2017–18 502,319[28] 1,642 Rot-Weiss Essen 6,833 Marius Bülter (SVR)
Christopher Kramer (WSV) [29]		 20
2018–19 474,402[30] 1,550 Rot-Weiss Essen 7,259 Simon Engelmann (SVR) [31] 19
2019–20 409,252[32] 1,819 Rot-Weiss Essen 10,945 Simon Engelmann (SVR) [33] 26
League record

League placings

Current extent of league

Final league positions for clubs from the region currently covered by the league:

Club 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Viktoria Köln 6 4 3 3 1 2 1 3L 3L 3L 3L 3L
SC Verl 8 9 9 10 10 11 7 9 13 8 7 2a 3L 3L 3L 3L
Borussia Dortmund II 1 3L 6 1 3L 3L 3L 4 2 4 5 9 1 3L 3L 3L
Rot-Weiss Essen 7 5b 8 4 9 5 12 5 10 8 3 2 1 3L 3L
Preußen Münster 4 6 1 3L 3L 3L 3L 3L 3L 3L 3L 3L 3 2 1 3L
Wuppertaler SV 3L 3L 8 5 15c 11 3 10 13 12 3 2 x
Borussia Mönchengladbach II 6 16b 5 3 7 7 1 2 3 12 4 8 11 13 3 x
SV Rödinghausen 8 14 10 5 3 1a 6 6 4 x
Fortuna Köln 7 2 1 3L 3L 3L 3L 3L 10 4 5 6 x
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 2B 2B 2B 3L 8 3 4 5 4 9 2 4 7 4 7 x
Alemannia Aachen 2B 2B 2B 2B 3L 13 2 7 7 6 6 6 14 12 8 x
Schalke 04 II 15 12 11 11 3 6 11 10 16 12 8 9 9 x
1. FC Düren 10 x
SV Lippstadt 08 18 13 16 16 14 11 x
SC Wiedenbrück 10 15 9 16 12 11 14 7 17 10 8 12 x
Fortuna Düsseldorf II 11 16 19 12 10 9 6 12 15 12 11 9 11 13 x
1. FC Köln II 3 4 7 6 16c 12 10 15 6 14 9 5 5 7 14 x
1. FC Bocholt 15 x
Rot-Weiss Ahlen 2B 2B 3L 13 15 18 10 16 x
FC Wegberg-Beeck 19f 16 17 17 x
SSVg Velbert 13 19 16 x
FC Gütersloh x
SC Paderborn II x
1. FC Kaan-Marienborn 15 5j
Wattenscheid 09 15 13 8 8 11 11 19e 17
SV Straelen 16 13 15 18
Bonner SC 10b 9 13 14 14 19 16
Sportfreunde Lotte 10 2 3 2 1 2 6 1 3L 3L 3L 7 15 18
KFC Uerdingen 05 17 15 1 3L 3L 3L 19
VfB Homberg 18 20 20
SV Bergisch Gladbach 09 18 17 21
TuS Haltern 15d
TV Herkenrath 18
TuS Erndtebrück 17 17
Westfalia Rhynern 18
TSG Sprockhövel 17
Sportfreunde Siegen 5 5 17 18g
FC Kray 20 14 18
VfL Bochum II 14 3 14 14 14 14 16h
FC Hennef 05 18
Bayer Leverkusen II 9 13 15 18 11 8i
VfB Hüls 17
MSV Duisburg II 19
Arminia Bielefeld II 18
1. FC Kleve 18

Former extent of league

Final league positions for clubs from the regions formerly covered by the league:

Club 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Waldhof Mannheim 14a RL RL RL RL RL RL RL 3L 3L 3L
1. FC Saarbrücken 1 3L 3L 3L 3L RL RL RL RL RL RL 3L 3L
Mainz 05 II 5 15 13 12 RL RL 3L 3L 3L RL RL RL RL RL
SV Elversberg 11 7 12 13 RL 3L RL RL RL RL RL RL RL RL
FC 08 Homburg 17 RL RL RL RL RL RL RL RL RL
Wormatia Worms 16 17a RL RL RL RL RL RL RL RL RL
TuS Koblenz 2B 2B 3L 17 RL RL RL RL RL
Eintracht Trier 13 18a 2 4 RL RL RL RL RL
1. FC Kaiserslautern II 2 8 4 9 RL RL RL RL RL
BV Cloppenburg 17 RL RL RL RL
SC Idar-Oberstein 16 RL
FSV Oggersheim 12k

Key
Symbol Key
B Bundesliga
2B 2. Bundesliga
3L 3. Liga
1 League champions
Place League
Blank Played at a league level below this league
RL Played in one of the other Regionalligas

Notes
  • ^a SV Rödinghausen did not apply for a 3. Liga licence.[34] SC Verl was promoted instead.
  • ^b At the end of the 2009–10 season, Rot-Weiss Essen, Waldhof Mannheim and Bonner SC were refused a Regionalliga licence and relegated. The three last-placed teams were therefore not relegated. Wormatia Worms was transferred into the southern group for 2010–11.[5]
  • ^c Wuppertaler SV declared insolvency after the end of the 2012–13 season and was relegated, 1. FC Köln II inherited the club's league place.[35]
  • ^d TuS Haltern withdrew from competition at the end of the 2019–20 season.
  • ^e Wattenscheid 09 declared insolvency during the 2019–20 season and was relegated.[36] All results were expunged.
  • ^f FC Wegberg-Beeck withdrew from competition at the end of the 2015–16 season.
  • ^g Sportfreunde Siegen withdrew from competition at the end of the 2016–17 season.
  • ^h VfL Bochum II withdrew from competition at the end of the 2014–15 season.
  • ^i Bayer Leverkusen II withdrew from competition at the end of the 2013–14 season.
  • ^j 1. FC Kaan-Marienborn withdrew from competition at the end of the 2022–23 season.
  • ^k At the end of the 2008–09 season, FSV Oggersheim did not apply for a Regionalliga licence and was relegated. Wormatia Worms therefore remained in the league.[2]

References
  1. Der SVW spielt im Westen (The SVW plays in the west) (in German) kicker. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2009
  2. Regionalliga West 2008–09 (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 30 October 2010
  3. Zuschauertabele (Spectator figures) Regionalliga West 2008–09 (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 30 October 2010
  4. Torschützenliste (Goal scorers) Regionalliga West 2008–09 (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 30 October 2010
  5. Regionalliga West 2009–10 (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 30 October 2010
  6. Torschützenliste (Goal scorers) Regionalliga West 2009–10 (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 30 October 2010
  7. Zuschauertabele (Spectator figures) Regionalliga West 2009–10 (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 30 October 2010
  8. Regionalliga West 2010–11 (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 30 October 2010
  9. DFB-Bundestag beschließt Reform der Spielklassen (Reform of the league system) (in German) DFB website. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2010
  10. "Lauth lost Aufstiegsspiele zur 3. Liga aus" [Lauth draws promotion matches to the 3. Liga]. DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  11. "Änderung der Aufstiegsregelung in der Regionalliga beschlossen" [Change of promotion format in the Regionalliga decided upon]. dfb.de. German Football Association. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  12. "Eigener Ausschuss und neue Aufstiegsregelung zur 3. Liga" [Own committee and new promotion scheme to the 3. Liga]. DFB.de. DFB. 27 September 2019.
  13. "Regionalliga West ist offiziell eine Profi-Liga, WDFV bestätigt Status". FuPa. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  14. Zuschauertabele (Spectator figures) Regionalliga West 2010–11 (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 16 June 2011
  15. Torschützenliste (Goal scorers) Regionalliga West 2010–11 (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 16 June 2011
  16. Zuschauertabele (Spectator figures) Regionalliga West 2011–12 (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 26 May 2012
  17. Torschützenliste (Goal scorers) Regionalliga West 2011–12 (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 26 May 2012
  18. Zuschauertabele (Spectator figures) Regionalliga West 2012–13 (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 27 May 2013
  19. Torschützenliste (Goal scorers) Regionalliga West 2012–13 (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 27 May 2013
  20. Regionalliga West 2013/2014 .:. Zuschauer .:. Heimspiele (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 22 May 2014
  21. Regionalliga West 2013/2014 » Torschützenliste (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 22 May 2014
  22. Regionalliga West 2014/2015 .:. Zuschauer .:. Heimspiele (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 20 May 2015
  23. Regionalliga West 2014/2015 » Torschützenliste (in German) Weltfussball.de. Retrieved 20 May 2015
  24. "Regionalliga West 2015/2016 » Zuschauer » Heimspiele" [Regionalliga West 2015–16 spectators home games]. weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  25. "Regionalliga West 2015/2016 » Torschützenliste" [Regionalliga West 2015–16 goal scorers]. weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  26. "Regionalliga West 2016/2017 » Zuschauer » Heimspiele" [Regionalliga West 2016–17 spectators home games]. weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  27. "Regionalliga West 2016/2017 » Torschützenliste" [Regionalliga West 2016–17 goal scorers]. weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  28. "Regionalliga West 2017/2018 » Zuschauer » Heimspiele" [Regionalliga West 2017–18 spectators home games]. weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  29. "Regionalliga West 2017/2018 » Torschützenliste" [Regionalliga West 2017–18 goal scorers]. weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  30. "Regionalliga West 2018/2019 » Zuschauer » Heimspiele" [Regionalliga West 2018–19 spectators home games]. weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  31. "Regionalliga West 2018/2019 » Torschützenliste" [Regionalliga West 2018–19 goal scorers]. weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  32. "Regionalliga West 2019/2020 » Zuschauer » Heimspiele" [Regionalliga West 2018–19 spectators home games]. weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  33. "Regionalliga West 2019/2020 » Torschützenliste" [Regionalliga West 2018–19 goal scorers]. weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  34. "SV Rödinghausen verzichtet auf Aufstieg in die 3. Liga". kicker (in German). 13 February 2020.
  35. Regionalligen 2013/14: Regionalliga: Alle Ligen, alle Vereine (in German) kicker.de. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013
  36. "Offiziell! Wattenscheid stellt Spielbetrieb ein – Jugend gerettet". Reviersport (in German). 23 October 2019.
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