The league was contested by fourteen teams. National People's Army club FC Vorwärts Berlin won the championship, the club's fifth of six national East German championships all up.[3][4]
In December 1965 and January 1966 East German football saw a major restructuring with the introduction of football clubs (FC) as separate entities from the sports clubs (SC). With one exception, this only affected clubs playing in the DDR-Oberliga at the time. As a result of the restructuring, ASK Vorwärts Berlin became FC Vorwärts Berlin, SC Motor Jena became FC Carl Zeiss Jena, SC Leipzig became 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig, SC Empor Rostock became FC Hansa Rostock, SC Karl-Marx-Stadt became FC Karl-Marx-Stadt, SC Dynamo Berlin became Berliner FC Dynamo, SC Chemie Halle became Hallescher FC Chemie, SC Turbine Erfurt became FC Rot-Weiss Erfurt and SC Aufbau Magdeburg became SC Magdeburg and then 1. FC Magdeburg. Outside the DDR-Oberliga, TSC Berlin became 1. FC Union Berlin. TSC Berlin was only playing in the second tier DDR-Liga at the time. Hower, 1. FC Union Berlin finished the 1965-66 DDR-Liga Nord on first place and was promoted to the 1966-67 DDR-Oberliga. With the exception of FC Vorwärts Berlin, all football clubs retained their name until the disbanding of the Oberliga in 1991 and, in some cases, beyond that.[8][6]
