In Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, Bremen, Lower Saxony and Hamburg, the Landesligas are set right below the Oberliga and therefore are the sixth tier. The reason for this is that Bavaria, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, and Bremen are the only places in Germany where the Oberliga, the State, and the Verband are geographically the same, while the other two states simply chose to call their leagues Landesligas when establishing them in 1990. In the Middle Rhine and Lower Rhine regions of North Rhine-Westphalia it is also, since 2012, the sixth tier.
Typically, in each Bundesland, the Landesligas are divided into different Staffeln or "divisions". In Bavaria, the Landesliga is divided into five divisions, South-West, South-East, Central, North-West, and North-East. In Saxony, Bremen, and Thuringia, the Landesliga is in a single division format. In Hamburg, it consists of two divisions.[2]
In 2017, Schleswig-Holstein introduced Landesligas at the sixth tier,[4] leaving Hesse as the only German state not to have Landesligas. The Rheinland region of Rhineland-Palatinate also operates without such a league.[2]
In Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia the league below the Landesligas is the Landesklasse (English: State Class).[2] Also in 2017, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania reduced the number of Landesligas and Landesklasses to 2 and 4 divisions respectively,[5] but temporarily reverted them to 3 and 5 divisions for two seasons in 2020.[6]
Leagues
The Landesligas: Tier six (red) seven (yellow) and eight (blue) leagues. White denotes areas without Landesligas.
Verbandsliga Nord Verbandsliga Ost Verbandsliga Süd-West Verbandsliga Süd-Ost Verbandsliga West
The Landesligas of Thuringia and Saxony are unique in their naming as every other league in Germany of this standing carries the name Verbandsliga. This was done so simply by choice of the local football associations in Saxony and Thuringia and the name could be changed to Verbandsliga if they wish to do so. Bavaria does not have this option however, since its Landesligas are not the highest leagues in the Verband. This position is held by the Oberligas in this state.
Uniquely, the Saarland has the Landesligas as the eighth tier of its league system; in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Saxony-Anhalt the equivalent tier is Landesklasse.[2]
Leagues
State
Region
Promotion to
Relegation to
Landesliga Nord Landesliga Ost Landesliga Süd Landesliga West
Note: Unterhaching II is a guest team, whose matches and their results would still be counted in the Südwest division table, and thus not an official Landesliga competitor.
