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Regionalliga Berlin (1963–74)

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Country
  
Germany

Folded
  
1974 (11 seasons)

Level on pyramid
  
Level 2

Founded
  
1963

Replaced by
  
2nd Bundesliga Nord

Promotion to
  
Bundesliga

The Regionalliga Berlin was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the city of West-Berlin in Germany from 1963 until the formation of the 2. Bundesliga in 1974. It was by far the smallest of the five Regionalligen.

Contents

Overview

The Regionalliga Berlin started out in 1963 with 10 teams in the league. From 1965 the league was expanded to 16 clubs. In 1969-70 the league played with 14 clubs and after that always with 12.

It was formed from the clubs of the Oberliga Berlin which finished second to eights and the first three clubs of the Amateurliga Berlin. The last winner of the Oberliga Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, was promoted to the new Bundesliga and the bottom two teams of the Oberliga were relegated to the Amateurliga. The Regionalliga Berlin was as such a continuation of the Oberliga Berlin under a different name and a tier lower.

Along with the Regionalliga Berlin went another four Regionalligas, these five formed the second tier of German football until 1974:

  • Regionalliga West, covering the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen
  • Regionalliga Süd, covering the state of Bayern, Hessen and Baden-Württemberg
  • Regionalliga Nord, covering the states of Hamburg, Bremen, Niedersachsen and Schleswig-Holstein
  • Regionalliga Südwest, covering the states of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland

    • The new Regionalligas were formed along the borders of the old post-World War II Oberligas, not after a balanced regional system. Therefore, the Oberligas Berlin and West covered small but populos areas while Nord and Süd covered large areas. Südwest was something of an anachronism, neither large nor populos.

    The winners and runners-up of this league were admitted to the promotion play-off to the new Bundesliga, which was staged in two groups of originally four, later five teams each with the winner of each group going up.

    The bottom team was relegated to the Amateurliga. Below the Regionalliga Berlin was the Amateurliga Berlin.

    Tennis Borussia Berlin, SpVgg Blau-Weiß 1890 Berlin, Wacker 04 Berlin, Spandauer SV and Hertha Zehlendorf all played every season of the Regionalliga Berlin.

    Disbanding of the Regionalliga Berlin

    The league was dissolved in 1974. Originally two clubs from the Regionalliga Berlin were to be integrated in the new 2nd Bundesliga Nord, however, the Regionalliga champion Tennis Borussia Berlin won promotion to the Bundesliga and therefore only Wacker 04 Berlin was admitted into the new second division. The other ten teams in the league went to the new Oberliga Berlin.

    Winners and runners-up of the Regionalliga Berlin

    The winners and runners-up of the league were:

  • Bold denotes team went on to gain promotion to the Bundesliga.
  • In 1965, SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin were promoted to Bundesliga even though they only finished third in the Regionalliga. This was because Hertha BSC was demoted from the Bundesliga for breach of rules, Tennis Borussia having failed in the promotion play–offs and Spandauer SV declining promotion. The German Football Association still wished to have a representative for Berlin in the league and elevated SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin instead.
  • TeBe is the only team from Berlin to have won the old Regionalliga (1965, 1974) and the new one (1996, 1998).

    • Placings in the Regionalliga Berlin 1963 to 1974

    The league placings from 1963 to 1974:

    Notes

  • SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin went bankrupt in 1973 but reformed as SV Tasmania-Gropiusstadt 1973.

    • References

    Regionalliga Berlin (1963–74) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA