American football Regionalliga
SportAmerican football
Founded1985 (1985)
AdministratorAFVD
No. of teams42
CountryGermany
Most recent
champion(s)		North: Hildesheim Invaders
East: Spandau Bulldogs
West: Paderborn Dolphins
Central: Gießen Golden Dragons
Southwest: Pforzheim Wilddogs
South: Ingolstadt Dukes
Level on pyramidLevel 3
Related
competitions		German Football League 2

The American football Regionalliga is the third tier of American football in Germany, below the German Football League and the German Football League 2.[1]

The league is subdivided into six regional divisions, the Regionalligas (English: Regional league) Nord (North), Ost (East), West, Mitte (Central), Südwest (Southwest) and Süd (South).[2]

History

The league was formed in 1985 with two regional divisions, Central and West. The number of divisions changed frequently in the following years, as did the name of the league, changing to Verbandsliga for a time. From 1991 it operated under name of Regionalliga again with seven divisions, one in the North and two each in the West, Central and Bavaria. From 1995 the league was reduced to four divisions, South, West, Central and Northeast, a format that remained unchanged until 2004 when the Northeast division was split into North and East divisions. Since 2004 the Regionalliga operates in the current five division format.[3]

Organisation

The five Regionalligas are organised by the regional American football associations rather than the American Football Association of Germany, like the Regionalliga Süd which is organised by the Bavarian one.[4]

In the 2015 season 33 clubs compete in the league, nine in the central division and six each in the other four.[2]

The top teams of the Regionalliga divisions qualify for the play-offs to the German Football League . The division champions and runners-up of the Central and South division play each other home and away for two promotion spots to the southern division of the German Football League 2, whereby the division winner from one plays the runners-up from the other. In the north, the three division winners of the North, West and East division play each other in a single game round robin for two spots in the northern division of the GFL 2. Promotion is subject to licensing approval and can be enlarged if additional spots in the German Football League 2 become available. An overall Regionalliga championship is not played.[3]

The bottom teams from each division are relegated and replaced with the top teams from the tier below, the American football Oberliga.[3]

Division champions

The division champions since adaption of the current structure in 2004:[3]

Northern region

YearNorthEastWest
2004 Osnabrück TigersBerlin RebelsTroisdorf Jets
2005 Osnabrück TigersFrankfurt Red CocksAssindia Cardinals
2006 Weyhe VikingsFrankfurt Red CocksBonn Gamecocks
2007 Magdeburg Virgin GuardsLeipzig LionsAssindia Cardinals
2008 Hildesheim InvadersMagdeburg Virgin GuardsPaderborn Dolphins
2009 Hamburg Blue DevilsMagdeburg Virgin GuardsMönchengladbach Mavericks
2010 Hamburg Blue DevilsPotsdam RoyalsTroisdorf Jets
2011 Osnabrück TigersCottbus CrayfishBonn Gamecocks
2012 Lübeck SealsRostock GriffinsBielefeld Bulldogs
2013 Hildesheim InvadersTollense SharksCologne Crocodiles
2014 Osnabrück TigersPotsdam RoyalsPaderborn Dolphins
2015 Ritterhude BadgersRostock GriffinsAssindia Cardinals
2016 Braunschweig FFC IIRostock GriffinsLangenfeld Longhorns
2017 Elmshorn Fighting PiratesBerlin BearsSolingen Paladins
2018 Hannover SpartansSpandau BulldogsTroisdorf Jets
2019 Oldenburg KnightsBerlin AdlerAssindia Cardinals
2020 ———
2021 Hildesheim InvadersSpandau BulldogsPaderborn Dolphins
2022 Oldenburg KnightsSpandau BulldogsMünster Blackhawks

Southern region

The division champions and runners-up since adaption of the structure in 2004:[3]

Year CentralSouth
WinnersRunners-upWinnersRunners-up
2004 Weinheim LonghornsStuttgart Silver Arrows Königsbrunn AntsDeggendorf Black Hawks
2005 Jena HanfriedsObertshausen Blizzards Plattling Black HawksRosenheim Rebels
2006 Kaiserslautern PikesStuttgart Silver Arrows Aschaffenburg StallionsFranken Timberwolves
2007 Stuttgart Silver ArrowsMontabaur Fighting Farmers Erding BullsFranken Timberwolves
2008 Kaiserslautern PikesRhein Neckar Bandits Aschaffenburg StallionsStarnberg Argonauts
2009 Hanau HornetsHolzgerlingen Twister Kirchdorf WildcatsAllgäu Comets
2010 Badener GreifsFrankfurt Pirates Kirchdorf WildcatsAllgäu Comets
2011 Kaiserslautern PikesFrankfurt Universe Allgäu CometsNürnberg Rams
2012 Ravensburg RazorbacksBadener Greifs Fursty RazorbacksStarnberg Argonauts
2013 Darmstadt DiamondsHolzgerlingen Twister Straubing SpidersIngolstadt Dukes
2014 Albershausen CrusadersLangen Knights Ingolstadt DukesMünchen Rangers
2015 Ravensburg RazorbacksGießen Golden Dragons Straubing SpidersNeu-Ulm Spartans
2016 Albershausen CrusadersHolzgerlingen Twister Fursty RazorbacksStraubing Spiders
  • Bold denotes promoted teams.

The division champions since adaption of the current structure in 2017:[3]

Year CentralSouthwestSouth
2017 Montabaur Fighting FarmersPforzheim WilddogsStraubing Spiders
2018 Darmstadt DiamondsBiberach BeaversFursty Razorbacks
2019 Frankfurt PiratesAlbershausen CrusadersFursty Razorbacks
2020 Bad Homburg SentinelsAlbershausen Crusaders—
2021 Gießen Golden DragonsPforzheim WilddogsIngolstadt Dukes
2022 Montabaur Fighting FarmersPforzheim WilddogsRegensburg Phoenix
  • Bold denotes promoted teams.

Current clubs

The Regionalliga clubs for the 2022 season:[2]

References

  1. ↑ German Football League 2 Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine (in German) AFVD website, accessed: 20 January 2011
  2. 1 2 3 3. Liga 2015 Football-aktuell.de, accessed: 28 April 2015
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Football History (in German) Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 28 April 2015
  4. ↑ Allgemeine Ligenstruktur AFVBy (in German) Bavarian American football association – league structure, accessed: 28 April 2015
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