Country Germany Folded 1933 | Founded 1927 Level on pyramid Level 1 | |
 | ||
State Hesse-Nassau
People's State of Hesse Replaced by Gauliga Südwest/Mainhessen | ||
The Bezirksliga Main-Hessen was the highest association football league in the German state of Hesse and the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau from 1927 to 1933. The league was disbanded with the rise of the Nazis to power in 1933.
Contents
Overview
The league was formed in 1927, from the clubs of the Bezirksliga Main and the clubs of the north-eastern part of the Bezirksliga Rheinhessen-Saar. The clubs from the Bezirksliga Rheinhessen-Saar which did not become part of the new league were added to the new Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar instead. With the Viktoria Aschaffenburg, the league also included one club from Bavaria.
The league operated from the start in two regional divisions, the Main-division, named after the river Main and the Hessen-division, named after the region of Hesse. The first played with twelve, the second with ten clubs in its first season 1927-28. The clubs in each division played each other in a home-and-away round with the division winners advancing to the Southern German championship, which in turn was a qualification tournament for the German championship. A Bezirksliga final was not played.
The second and third placed team in each division qualified for another round, the Bezirksliga runners-up round, to determine one more team which would gain entry to the German finals.
The leagues were reduced to ten teams in the Main division and nine in the Hessen division in the following season but remained unchanged in modus otherwise. For the 1929-30 season, both divisions then operated on a strength of eight teams, a system that also applied in the following season.
In the 1931-32 season, both divisions expanded in strength, Main to eleven and Hessen to ten teams. The Southern German finals were also reorganised with the top two teams from each division advancing to the Northwest finals group.
In its last season, 1932–33, both divisions operated on a strength of ten clubs.
With the rise of the Nazis to power, the Gauligas were introduced as the highest football leagues in Germany. In the region, the Gauliga Südwest/Mainhessen replaced the Bezirksliga Main-Hessen as the highest level of play. The clubs from the Hanau and Friedberg region however were added to the new Gauliga Hessen.
Southern German championship
Qualified teams and their success:
German championship
Qualified teams and their success:
Founding members of the league
The 22 founding members of the league and their positions in the 1926-27 season were:
Main division
Hessen division
Main division
Source:"Bezirksliga Main-Hessen". Das deutsche Fussball-Archiv. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Hessen division
Source:"Bezirksliga Main-Hessen". Das deutsche Fussball-Archiv. Retrieved 2008-07-24.