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East German football league system

East German football league system
Founded
1949
Disbanded
1991
Nation
Flag of East Germany East Germany
The East German Bezirke
Bezirke
Schwerin coat-of-arms.jpg Schwerin
DEU Neubrandenburg COA.svg Neubrandenburg
Wappen Magdeburg.svg Magdeburg
Coat of arms of Potsdam.svg Potsdam
Flag of East Berlin (1956-1990).svg Berlin
Coat of arms of Halle (Saale).svg Halle
Wappen Frankfurt an der Oder.jpg Frankfurt (Oder)
Wappen Cottbus.png Cottbus
Wappen Gera.svg Gera
Wappen Erfurt.svg Erfurt
Wappen Suhl.svg Suhl
Dresden Stadtwappen.svg Dresden
Coat of arms of Leipzig.svg Leipzig
Coat of arms of Chemnitz.svg Karl-Marx-Stadt
Last Champion 1990-91

The football league system of the German Democratic Republic (shortened: GDR, German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik or DDR) existed from the creation of the DDR-Oberliga in 1949 until shortly after German reunification in 1990.

From 1949 until 1991 East Germany had its own football league system. It had its own nationwide league called Oberliga which existed throughout the whole GDR history. Since 1954 the DDR-Oberliga consisted of 14 teams; the two worst-placed teams were relegated to the Liga, which was introduced in 1950. Following the dissolution of the five federal states the five old Landesliga divisions were replaced by 15 new Bezirksliga divisions as the third level of the league system. By 1955 however, there was another change in the league system as the 2nd DDR-Liga was created as a level between the DDR-Liga and the Bezirksligen.

In 1962, the DDR-Liga was once more divided into two divisions and a year later the 2nd DDR-Liga was abandoned. In 1971 the DDR-Liga was divided into five Divisions, and for that reason was now similar to the Landesliga of the 1940s. The five division champions played a qualification round to determine which clubs would promote to the Oberliga. From 1984 to 1991, the Liga consisted of two divisions again, whose champions were directly promoted to the Oberliga. Below the two DDR-Liga divisions were the fifteen Bezirksligen whose champions had to play a promotional round to determine the six clubs that would move up to the 2nd Division.

Below the Bezirksliga there were (descending) Bezirksklasse, Kreisliga and, at the lowest level, several Kreisklasse divisions, as they actually are today.

The 1989-90 season was the last "true" season of DDR football. The league system presented here had been in use since 1984, when the DDR-Liga was reduced from five to two divisions.

Level

League(s)/Division(s)

I

Oberliga
14 clubs

II

Liga Staffel A
18 clubs

Liga Staffel B
18 clubs


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Wikipedia

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