The Hessenliga (until 2008 ''Oberliga Hessen'') is the highest football league in the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are ...
and the Hessian football league system. It is one of fourteen
Oberligas in German football, the fifth tier of the
German football league system
The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for association football in Germany that in the 2016–17 season consisted of 2,235 leagues in up to 13 levels having 31,645 team ...
. Until the introduction of the
3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.
The modern 3. Liga was formed for th ...
in 2008 it was the fourth tier of the league system, until the introduction of the
Regionalliga
The Regionalliga () is the fourth tier in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier in Germany. In 1994, it was introduced as the third tier. Upon the creation of the new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it became the four ...
s in 1994 the third tier.
Overview
The league was formed in 1945 and except for its first two seasons it has always played as one single division. The league was called
Landesliga
The Landesliga ( en, Football State League) is a tier of football in some states of the German football league system.
In Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, Bremen, Lower Saxony and Hamburg, the Landesligas are set right below the Oberliga and therefor ...
-Hessen until 1950 and actually formed the second tier of southern German football. With the introduction of the
2nd Oberliga Süd in 1950, the Landesliga-Hessen was renamed Amateurliga Hessen. From 1978, it was called Amateur Oberliga Hessen and finally, in 1994 it was renamed Oberliga Hessen.
Since introduction of the Regionalliga Süd in 1994, the winner of the Oberliga Hessen is automatically promoted to this league. Until 1994 the winners of the Oberligas had to
play-off for the four promotion spots to the
2. Bundesliga
The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...
with the other Oberliga winners.
In 1994, with the introduction of the Regionalliga, six clubs from Hesse were qualified for the new league, based on their performance over the last three seasons, these clubs being:
*
Kickers Offenbach
Offenbacher Kickers, also known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left established local clubs ...
*
SV Wehen Wiesbaden
SV Wehen Wiesbaden is a German association football club based in Wiesbaden, Hesse. Since the beginning of the 2007–08 season the club no longer plays its home games in Taunusstein, where they were originally located. In the summer of 2007 ''W ...
*
SG Egelsbach
The SG Egelsbach is a German association football club from the city of Egelsbach, Hesse.
History
The club was formed after the Second World War in 1945 when four local sports associations merged, the ''FC Egelsbach 1903, TV 1874 Egelsbach'', ...
*
Rot-Weiss Frankfurt
*
KSV Hessen Kassel
KSV Hessen Kassel is a semi-professional German football club based in Kassel, Hesse. KSV competes in the German Regionalliga Südwest, the fourth tier of German football. Nicknamed "Die Löwen" (the lions), the club was founded as FC Union 9 ...
*
SV Darmstadt 98
Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919, the association was briefly known as ''Rasen-Sp ...
Originally,
FSV Frankfurt
Fußballsportverein Frankfurt 1899 e.V., commonly known as simply FSV Frankfurt, is a German association football club based in the Bornheim district of Frankfurt am Main, Hesse and founded in 1899. FSV Frankfurt also fielded a rather successfu ...
, champions of 1994, would have also been qualified but gained promotion to the 2. Bundesliga instead.
The Oberliga Hessen still remained below the Regionalliga Süd after the reduction of the number of Regionalligas from four to two in 2000 but this reduction meant that the Oberliga champions in that year were not promoted.
With the changes in the league system in 2008, four clubs from the Hessenliga were promoted to Regionalliga Süd after the 2007–08 season, nominally the top four teams, however, there was also financial requirements to receive a
Regionalliga
The Regionalliga () is the fourth tier in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier in Germany. In 1994, it was introduced as the third tier. Upon the creation of the new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it became the four ...
licence. The four clubs were:
*
SV Darmstadt 98
Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919, the association was briefly known as ''Rasen-Sp ...
*
SV Wehen II
*
Viktoria Aschaffenburg
SV Viktoria 01 Aschaffenburg is a German football club based in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria.
Even though Aschaffenburg is located in Bavaria, Viktoria Aschaffenburg historically played its football in the Hessenliga (V) and the associated Hessian le ...
*
Eintracht Frankfurt II
Eintracht Frankfurt II is the reserve team of Eintracht Frankfurt. Formerly known as ''Eintracht Frankfurt Amateure'' (Amateurs) until 2005 the team played as U23 (Under 23) to emphasize the character of the team as a link between youth academy a ...
The Hessenliga is fed by the three Verbandsligen. The winners of those are directly promoted to the Hessenliga, the three runners-up
play-off for one more promotion spot.
* Feeder leagues to the Hessenliga:
**
Verbandsliga Hessen-Nord
**
Verbandsliga Hessen-Mitte
**
Verbandsliga Hessen-Süd
The Hessenliga also, at times, accommodated teams from
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
,
Viktoria Aschaffenburg
SV Viktoria 01 Aschaffenburg is a German football club based in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria.
Even though Aschaffenburg is located in Bavaria, Viktoria Aschaffenburg historically played its football in the Hessenliga (V) and the associated Hessian le ...
and
FC Bayern Alzenau
FC Bayern Alzenau is a German football club based in Alzenau, Bavaria. They currently are in the Hessenliga.
History
The club was initially formed as ''Alzenauer Fußball Club'' and joined gymnastics club ''Turn- und Sport Alzenau'' as that c ...
. In the 2011–12 season, ''Viktoria'' played in the league while ''Alzenau'' played one level above in the Regionalliga.
From 2012 onwards, the league became a feeder league to the new
Regionalliga Südwest
The Regionalliga Südwest ( en, Regional League Southwest) is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. It is one of five leagues at this level, together wit ...
, together with the
Oberliga Baden-Württemberg
The Oberliga Baden-Württemberg is the highest association football league in the state of Baden-Württemberg and the Baden-Württemberg football league system. It is one of fourteen Oberligas in German football, the fifth tier of the German foot ...
and the
Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar
The Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar, formerly the ''Oberliga Südwest'', is the highest regional football league for the Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland states of Germany, organized by the Southwestern Regional Football Association. It is the fift ...
. The previous league the Hessenliga was set below at, the Regionalliga Süd, was disbanded after the 2011–12 season.
[DFB-Bundestag beschließt Reform der Spielklassen]
DFB. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
Champions
The league champions since 1945:
* The record number of league championships is held by
FSV Frankfurt
Fußballsportverein Frankfurt 1899 e.V., commonly known as simply FSV Frankfurt, is a German association football club based in the Bornheim district of Frankfurt am Main, Hesse and founded in 1899. FSV Frankfurt also fielded a rather successfu ...
, with eight titles to their name (including one won by their reserve team, FSV Frankfurt II).
* In 2014 champions
TGM SV Jügesheim declined promotion and no other team that applied for a Regionalliga licence finished high enough in the league to qualify.
* In 2017 champions Hessen Dreieich declined promotion. Runners-up
TSV Eintracht Stadtallendorf
TSV Eintracht Stadtallendorf is a German association football club from the city of Stadtallendorf, Hesse. The footballers are part of a sports club that also includes departments for athletics, badminton, gymnastics, handball, judo, swimming, ...
were promoted instead.
* In 2021 there was no champion or promotion because of the decision to curtail the season during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
The COVID-19 pandemic in Germany has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths.
On 27 January 2020, the first case in Germany was confirmed near Munich, Bavaria. By mid February, the arising cluster of cases had been fully conta ...
.
League placings
The complete list of clubs and placings in the league since being renamed to Hessenliga in 2008:
Key
References
Sources
* ''Deutschlands Fußball in Zahlen'', An annual publication with tables and results from the Bundesliga to Verbandsliga/Landesliga.
DSFS.
* ''Kicker Almanach'', The yearbook on German football from Bundesliga to Oberliga, since 1937.
''Kicker'' Sports Magazine.
* ''Süddeutschlands Fußballgeschichte in Tabellenform 1897–1988'' History of Southern German football in tables, by Ludolf Hyll
* ''Die Deutsche Liga-Chronik 1945–2005'' History of German football from 1945 to 2005 in tables.
DSFS. 2006.
External links
Das deutsche Fussball Archiv Historic German league tables
Weltfussball.de Round-by-round results and tables of the ''Oberliga Hessen'' from 1994 onwards
The Hesse football leagues on Fussball.de
Hessian Football Association (HFV)
{{UEFA fifth level leagues
Hessen
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Darms ...
Football competitions in Hesse
1945 establishments in Germany