The Oberliga Südwest, covering the French occupation zone in Germany, operated in two regional divisions, north and south, with a championship final at the end of season.[4]
In post-Second World War Germany many clubs were forced to change their names or merge. This policy was particularly strongly enforced in the Soviet and French occupation zones but much more relaxed in the British and US one. In most cases clubs eventually reverted to their original names, especially after the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949.[6]
During the course of the 1948–49 league season the political landscape in Germany changed with the Federal Republic of Germany, commonly referred to as West Germany, established on 23 May 1949, followed by the German Democratic Republic, commonly referred to as East Germany, on 7 October 1949. I t was the first tier of the football league system in the three western zones of Allied-occupied Germany.
Oberliga Nord
The 1948–49 season saw three new clubs promoted to the league, TuS Bremerhaven 93, Eimsbütteler TV and SC Göttingen 05. No team was relegated from the league at the end of season as the league was expanded to 16 teams in 1949–50.
Source: RSSSF.com Rules for classification: 1) Points; (R) Relegated
Finals
The winners of the two regional divisions of the Oberliga Südwest played a final to determine the league champion who was also directly qualified for the German championship:[6]
The runners-up of the two divisions determined the club who would face the loser of the championship final for the second place in the German championship:
The 1949 German football championship was contested by the eight qualified Oberliga teams and won by VfR Mannheim, defeating Borussia Dortmund in the final. It was played in a knock-out format and consisted of ten clubs.[8]