Verbandsliga Südwest
 |
|
| Country |
 Germany
|
|---|---|
| State |
 Rheinland-Pfalz
|
| Region |
Rhenish Hesse Palatinate |
| Confederation | South West German Football Association |
| Founded | 1952 |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Level on pyramid | Level 6 |
| Promotion to | Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar |
| Relegation to |
|
| Domestic cup(s) | South West Cup |
| Current champions |
TuS Mechtersheim (2015–16) |
The Verbandsliga Südwest is a German amateur football division administered by the Southwestern Football Association, one of the 21 German state football associations. Being the top flight of the Southwestern state association, the Verbandsliga is currently a level 6 division of the German football league system.
The Amateurliga Südwest was formed in 1952 in the southern half of the state of Rheinland-Pfalz. Before its interception, three separate leagues operated in the area as the highest level of play. The league was a feeder league to the 2. Oberliga Südwest. From 1952 until the establishment of the Oberliga Südwest in 1978, it was the third tier of the football league system.
The winner of the Amateurliga Südwest was not automatically promoted to its superior league but rather had to take part in a promotion play-off. The champion would have to compete with the winners of the Amateurligen Saarland and Rheinland.
Until 1933, the region covered by the Südwest FA was politically part of two other German states. The south, the Palatinate (Pfalz) region, was part of Bavaria and the north, the Rhenish Hesse (Rheinhessen) region, was part of Hesse. This explains the seemingly odd fact that there are two clubs in the Südwest region named "Bavaria", FC Bavaria Wörth and FC Bavaria Ebernburg. From 1933 to 1945, most of the region was part of the Gau Saar-Palatinate. After the war, these regions were incorporated into the new state of Rheinland-Pfalz. The separation of this areas from their original states results from the outcome of the 2nd World War when they became part of the French occupation zone, while Hessen and Bavaria were in the US zone.
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