The Landesliga was relaunched to start play in the 2017–18 season as part of realignments in the league system of Schleswig-Holstein[1] and as a solution to the problem of many teams promoted to the Verbandsliga ending up relegated or withdrawn after one season.[2]
The league is divided into two divisions of 16 clubs each, Schleswig (north-west) and Holstein (south-east), and teams promoted to or relegated from it will be assigned to a division based on geographical proximity, a practice called "flexible game operation" (German: flexibler Spielbetrieb).[1][3]
For 2020–21 and 2021–22, the Landesliga was expanded to three groups, each having 11 to 12 teams for a total of 34–35 after the previous 2019–20 season was curtailed.[4][5]
Founding members of the Landesliga
The league was newly reformed from the following clubs that have played in the following leagues in 2016–17:
In 2020, the division champions were determined by points-per-game average after the season was terminated in May due to the coronavirus disease pandemic in Germany. TSV Kronshagen (Schleswig) and FC Dornbreite Lübeck (Holstein) were also promoted as runners-up.