Country | Germany |
---|---|
State | Lower Saxony |
Founded | 1979 |
Number of teams | 19 |
Level on pyramid | Level 6 |
Promotion to | Niedersachsenliga |
Relegation to | Bezirksliga Weser-Ems 1-5 |
Current champions |
TuS Bersenbrück (2015–16) |
The Landesliga Weser-Ems, called the Bezirksoberliga Weser-Ems from 1979 to 1994 and 2006 to 2010, is the sixth tier of the German football league system and the second highest league in the German state of Lower Saxony (German:Niedersachsen). It covers the region of the now defunct Regierungsbezirk Weser-Ems.
It is one of four leagues at this level in Lower Saxony, the other three being the Landesliga Lüneburg, the Landesliga Hannover and the Landesliga Braunschweig.
The term Landesliga can be translated as State league.
The league's history goes back to 1979, when four new Bezirksoberligas (Braunschweig, Hannover, Lüneburg and Weser-Ems) were formed in the state of Lower Saxony. The Bezirksoberligas (6th tier) were set below the Verbandsliga Niedersachsen (4th tier) and the two Landesligas (5th tier) in the German football league system. In 1994, the two old Landesligas were dissolved, while the four Bezirksoberligas were renamed into Landesliga Braunschweig, Landesliga Hannover, Landesliga Lüneburg, and Landesliga Weser-Ems respectively. Due to the introduction of the new Regionalliga (IV) the new Landesligas still remained at the 6th tier of German football, however.
In 2006, the Landesliga was renamed into Bezirksoberliga again. The new Bezirksoberliga Weser-Ems was made up of sixteen clubs, three from the tier-five Verbandsliga Niedersachsen-West, nine from the Landesliga and two each from the two Bezirksligas. The league was formed in a reorganisation of the league system in Lower Saxony, whereby the four regional Landsligas were replaced by the Bezirksoberligas. Below these, the number of Bezirksligas was increased. In Weser-Ems, the two Bezirksligas were expanded to five, while the other three regions operate with four Bezirksligas at this level.