Verbandsliga Niedersachsen
 |
|
| Country |
 Germany
|
|---|---|
| State |
 Lower Saxony
|
| Founded | 1947 |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Level on pyramid | Level 5 |
| Promotion to | Regionalliga Nord |
| Relegation to | |
| Current champions |
Lupo Martini Wolfsburg (2015–16) |
 2015–16
|
|
The Niedersachsenliga, (English: Lower Saxony league) sometimes referred to as Oberliga Niedersachsen, is the fifth tier of the German football league system and the highest league in the German state of Lower Saxony (German: Niedersachsen). Since 1994, the league was split into a western and an eastern group. From 2010, it returned to a single-division format. It is one of fourteen Oberligas in German football, the fifth tier of the German football league system.
The league was formed as Landesliga Niedersachsen in 1947, operating with four divisions in variable strength, all up with 42 clubs. The four regional divisions were named after the capital city of the district, being Hannover, Hildesheim, Braunschweig and Osnabrück. Additionally, some clubs from Niedersachsen also played in the Amateurliga Bremen, a trend that continues to a lesser degree even today. The state of Lower Saxony had only recently then been formed in the British occupation zone and the status of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen as an independent German state had not been fully confirmed yet.
From the start, the Landesliga Niedersachsen was a feeder league to the Oberliga Nord which its champion had the option of promotion to. Promotion had to be archived through a play-off with teams from the Amateurligas of Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. As such, the league was the second tier of the northern German league system.
In 1949, the four Landesligen were disbanded in favor of the two new Amateuroberligen, the Amateuroberliga Niedersachsen-West and the Amateuroberliga Niedersachsen-Ost. The western division started with sixteen, the eastern with eighteen clubs. The majority of clubs previously playing in the Bremen leagues also returned to the Niedersachsen league system. Below the Amateuroberligen, eight Amateurligen were established. This system remained as such unchanged until 1964.
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