The Under 19 Bundesliga (German: A-Junioren Bundesliga) is the highest level in German Under 19 football. It was created in 2003 and is divided in three divisions (Nord/Nordost, West und Süd/Südwest) with 14 teams each. The winner of each divisions and the second-placed team from the Süd/Südwest division join the play-offs for the German U19 champions.
The forerunner of the Under 19 Bundesliga was the A-Jugend-Regionalliga. In the summer of 2003 the divisions North and Northeast as well as South and Southwest were merged, the division West was simply renamed. The intent was to make youth football more competitive.
History The league was formed in 2003, when the five U 19 Regionalligas merged to form the three Bundesligas as follows: Under 19 Bundesliga North/Northeast formed from: Under 19 Regionalliga North Under 19 Regionalliga Northeast Under 19 Bundesliga South/Southwest formed from: Under 19 Regionalliga South Under 19 Regionalliga Southwest Under 19 Bundesliga West formed from: Under 19 Regionalliga West
The Regionalligas itself had only been formed in 1996, to replace an even more regionalised system with separate leagues for every regional football association.Rund um die A-Junioren-Meisterschaft DFB website: Explanations to the league system, accessed: 27 November 2008 Originally, the DFB planned to organise the league in two regional divisions but was eventually forced to operate with three.Die neue DFB-A-Jugend-Bundesliga publisher: Hamburger Abendblatt, published: 30 August 2003, accessed: 27 November 2008
In 2007, the German Football Association followed this example reorganised the under 17 Regionalligas in the same fashion, forming the Under 17 Bundesliga.
Mode The clubs in each of the three divisions play a home-and-away round whereby there is no inter-league play. Every club plays therefore 26 regular season games. The bottom three teams in each division are relegated to the next level below, in turn, the best three teams from the region are promoted.
The winner of each league plus the runners-up of the South/Southwest region play in the finals round for the German Under 19 championship. The semi-finals are played in a home-and-away format. If the two semi-final teams playing each other are level on points and goals after the second game, there will be a penalty shoot-out. No extra time will be played.
The two semi-final winners reach the final, which is held at the location of the winner of the predetermined semi-final A, unless the team's stadium does not comply with DFB requirement, in which case an alternative venue will be determined. In the final, which is one game only, in case of a draw after normal time, a 20-minute extra time will be played. If the game is still a draw, a penalty shoot-out will determine the winner.
Geography
The three Bundesligas are not geographically balanced, North/Northeast covers a large area while West a rather small one, but in population termes, the arrangement is much more level. The three leagues cover the following states:
Under 19 Bundesliga North/Northeast Berlin Brandenburg Bremen Hamburg Lower Saxony Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Saxony Saxony-Anhalt Schleswig-Holstein Thuringia Under 19 Bundesliga South/Southwest Baden-Württemberg Bavaria Hesse Rhineland-Palatinate Saarland Under 19 Bundesliga West North Rhine-Westphalia
League pyramid Below the three Bundesligas, a number of second-tier leagues exist which teams are promoted from and relegated to. The league system operates as follows for the 2008–09 season.DFB Jugendordnung – § 19 – Aufstieg in die Junioren-Bundesligen DFB website – Promotion to the Bundesligas, accessed: 27 November 2008
Under 19 Bundesliga North/Northeast The league has two second divisions as the tier below, these being: Regionalliga North Regionalliga Northeast
The league champions are directly promoted while the two runners-ups play each other for a third promotion spot
Under 19 Bundesliga South/Southwest The league has four second divisions as the tier below, these being: Regionalliga Southwest Hessenliga Oberliga Baden-Württemberg Bayernliga
The winners of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and Bayernliga are directly promoted. A third promoted team is determined between the winners of the Hessenliga and the Regionalliga Southwest.
Under 19 Bundesliga West The league has three second divisions as the tier below, these being: Verbandsliga Mittelrhein Verbandsliga Niederrhein Westfalenliga
The three league champions are directly promoted.
Current participants (2023–24) Staffel Nord/Nordost 1. FC Union Berlin Dynamo Dresden Eintracht Braunschweig FC Carl Zeiss Jena FC St. Pauli Hamburger SV Hannover 96 FC Hansa Rostock Hertha BSC RB Leipzig SV Meppen VfL Osnabrück VfL Wolfsburg Werder Bremen Staffel Süd/Südwest 1. FC Heidenheim 1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. FC Nürnberg 1. FSV Mainz 05 Eintracht Frankfurt FC Augsburg FC Bayern Munich FC Ingolstadt 04 Karlsruher SC SpVgg Greuther Fürth SV Sandhausen TSG 1899 Hoffenheim TSV 1860 Munich VfB Stuttgart Staffel West 1. FC Köln Alemannia Aachen Arminia Bielefeld Bayer 04 Leverkusen Borussia Dortmund Borussia Mönchengladbach FC Schalke 04 FC Viktoria Köln Fortuna Düsseldorf MSV Duisburg SC Paderborn 07 SC Verl VfL Bochum Wuppertaler SV
Levels of youth football German football recognises seven levels of junior football, determined by age and labeled with letters, whereby A is the oldest. In the A level, mixed teams of male and females are not permitted while in B and C mixed teams are allowed if the parents or guardians of the children permit it. Below the C level, mixed teams are generally permitted without restrictions.DFB Jugendordnung – § 5 – Altersklasseneinteilung DFB website – rules & regulations of German youth football, accessed: 27 November 2008 Name Age A-Junioren Under 19 B-Junioren Under 17 C-Junioren Under 15 D-Junioren Under 13 E-Junioren Under 11 F-Junioren Under 9 G-Junioren1 Under 7
1 (commonly known as Bambini)
Division champions The champions of the three regional divisions: Season North/Northeast South/Southwest West 2003–04 Hannover 96 FC Bayern Munich VfL Bochum 2004–05 Hertha BSC VfB Stuttgart VfL Bochum 2005–06 Hertha BSC SC Freiburg FC Schalke 04 2006–07 Werder Bremen FC Bayern Munich Bayer Leverkusen 2007–08 VfL Wolfsburg VfB Stuttgart 1. FC Köln 2008–09 Werder Bremen SC Freiburg Borussia Dortmund 2009–10 FC Hansa Rostock VfB Stuttgart Bayer Leverkusen 2010–11 VfL Wolfsburg 1. FC Kaiserslautern Bayer Leverkusen 2011–12 VfL Wolfsburg FC Bayern Munich FC Schalke 04 2012–13 VfL Wolfsburg FC Bayern Munich FC Schalke 04 2013–14 VfL Wolfsburg 1899 Hoffenheim FC Schalke 04 2014–15 RB Leipzig 1899 Hoffenheim FC Schalke 04 2015–16 Werder Bremen 1899 Hoffenheim Borussia Dortmund 2016–17 VfL Wolfsburg FC Bayern Munich Borussia Dortmund 2017–18 Hertha BSC 1899 Hoffenheim FC Schalke 04 2018–19 VfL Wolfsburg VfB Stuttgart FC Schalke 04
Championship winners The German under 19 football championship begun in 1969.kicker Almanach 1990 publisher: kicker, published: 1989, accessed: 27 November 2008
Pre-Bundesliga era Season Winner Finalist Result 1968–69 VfL Bochum 1. FC Saarbrücken 5–3 1969–70 Hertha Zehlendorf TuS Altrip 3–2 1970–71 1. FC Köln 1. FC Nürnberg 3–2 1971–72 MSV Duisburg VfB Stuttgart 2–0 1972–73 VfB Stuttgart Kickers Offenbach 3–1 1973–74 1. FC Nürnberg 1. FC Köln 1–0 1974–75 VfB Stuttgart (2) FC Schalke 04 4–0 1975–76 FC Schalke 04 Rot-Weiss Essen 3–1 1976–77 MSV Duisburg (2) VfB Stuttgart 2–1 1977–78 MSV Duisburg (3) Hertha Zehlendorf 5–2 1978–79 Stuttgarter Kickers 1. FC Nürnberg 2–1 1979–80 Waldhof Mannheim FC Schalke 04 2–1 1980–81 VfB Stuttgart (3) FC Schalke 04 4–0 1981–82 Eintracht Frankfurt VfB Stuttgart 2–0 1982–83 Eintracht Frankfurt (2) 1. FC Köln 2–0 1983–84 VfB Stuttgart (4) 1. FC Kaiserslautern 3–1 aet 1984–85 Eintracht Frankfurt (3) Bayer Leverkusen 4–2 1985–86 Bayer Leverkusen 1. FC Nürnberg 2–0 1986–87 Bayer Uerdingen Eintracht Frankfurt 2–1 1987–88 VfB Stuttgart (5) Bayer Leverkusen 4–1 1988–89 VfB Stuttgart (6) 1. FC Nürnberg 3–2 1989–90 VfB Stuttgart (7) Hertha Zehlendorf 5–1 1990–91 VfB Stuttgart (8) 1. FC Kaiserslautern 4–1 1991–92 1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. FC Köln 5–1 1992–93 FC Augsburg 1. FC Kaiserslautern 3–1 1993–94 Borussia Dortmund Werder Bremen 3–2 1994–95 Borussia Dortmund (2) Bayer Leverkusen 2–0 1995–96 Borussia Dortmund (3) Waldhof Mannheim 2–0 1996–97 Borussia Dortmund (4) TSV 1860 Munich 2–1 1997–98 Borussia Dortmund (5) FC Bayern Munich 2–2 aet (2–1 pen) 1998–99 Werder Bremen VfB Stuttgart 4–1 1999–2000 Bayer Leverkusen (2) Werder Bremen 4–2 2000–01 FC Bayern Munich Bayer Leverkusen 3–2 2001–02 FC Bayern Munich (2) VfB Stuttgart 4–0 2002–03 VfB Stuttgart (9) Bayer Leverkusen 5–2
Bundesliga era Season Semi-finals Leg 1 Leg 2 Final Result 2003–04 FC Bayern Munich – Hannover 96 1–0 2–1 FC Bayern Munich (3) – VfL Bochum 3–0 VfL Bochum – SpVgg Greuther Fürth 3–0 4–3 2004–05 VfB Stuttgart – SpVgg Greuther Fürth 1–1 3–3 (3–1 pen) VfB Stuttgart (10) – VfL Bochum 1–0 VfL Bochum – Hertha BSC 2–1 1–2 (3–1 pen) 2005–06 Hertha BSC – FC Schalke 04 2–0 0–3 FC Schalke 04 (2) – FC Bayern Munich 2–1 FC Bayern Munich – SC Freiburg 2–1 1–0 2006–07 Bayer Leverkusen – 1. FC Kaiserslautern 4–1 2–0 Bayer Leverkusen (3) – FC Bayern Munich 2–1 aet Werder Bremen – FC Bayern Munich 2–2 2–4 2007–08 VfB Stuttgart – VfL Wolfsburg 1–2 2–2 SC Freiburg – VfL Wolfsburg 2–0 SC Freiburg – 1. FC Köln 3–1 2–2 2008–09 1. FSV Mainz 05 – Werder Bremen 0–1 3–0 1. FSV Mainz 05 – Borussia Dortmund 2–1 Borussia Dortmund – SC Freiburg 3–2 3–1 2009–10 FC Hansa Rostock – 1. FSV Mainz 05 1–0 2–2 FC Hansa Rostock – Bayer Leverkusen 1–0 VfB Stuttgart – Bayer Leverkusen 2–0 0–4 2010–11 Bayer Leverkusen – VfL Wolfsburg 0–2 2–5 VfL Wolfsburg – 1. FC Kaiserslautern 4–2 1. FC Kaiserslautern – TSV 1860 Munich 0–1 2–0 2011–12 VfL Wolfsburg – FC Schalke 04 2–2 2–4 FC Schalke 04 (3) – FC Bayern Munich 2–1 FC Bayern Munich – Hertha BSC 3–1 1–1 2012–13 VfL Wolfsburg – FC Schalke 04 2–0 2–0 VfL Wolfsburg (2) – FC Hansa Rostock 3–1 aet FC Bayern Munich – FC Hansa Rostock 0–2 1–1 2013–14 Hannover 96 – VfL Wolfsburg 1–1 2–2 (4–2 pen) Hannover 96 – 1899 Hoffenheim 0–5 FC Schalke 04 – 1899 Hoffenheim 0–1 0–0 2014–15 RB Leipzig – 1899 Hoffenheim 2–3 2–3 1899 Hoffenheim – FC Schalke 04 (4) 1–3 Karlsruher SC – FC Schalke 04 1–2 1–1 2015–16 1899 Hoffenheim – Werder Bremen 3–1 2–0 1899 Hoffenheim – Borussia Dortmund (6) 3–5 Borussia Dortmund – TSV 1860 Munich 1–2 2–0 2016–17 VfL Wolfsburg – Borussia Dortmund 2–3 1–2 Borussia Dortmund (7) – FC Bayern Munich 0–0 aet (8–7 pen) FC Bayern Munich – FC Schalke 04 1–3 4–2 (5–4 pen) 2017–18 1899 Hoffenheim – FC Schalke 04 0–1 2–4 FC Schalke 04 – Hertha BSC 1–3 Hertha BSC – Borussia Dortmund 4–0 1–3 2018–19 VfB Stuttgart – VfL Wolfsburg 0–0 1–1 (3–2 pen) VfB Stuttgart – Borussia Dortmund (8) 3–5 FC Schalke 04 – Borussia Dortmund 2–2 0–2 2021–22 FC Augsburg – Hertha BSC 1–3 0–2 Hertha BSC – Borussia Dortmund (9) 1–2 Borussia Dortmund – FC Schalke 04 5–1 0–1 2022–23 1. FSV Mainz 05 – 1. FC Köln 1–0 0–0 1. FSV Mainz 05 (2) – Borussia Dortmund 4–2 aet Hertha BSC – Borussia Dortmund 0–4 1–0 2023–24 Borussia Dortmund – Hertha BSC 2–2 3–3 (5–4 pen) Borussia Dortmund – 1899 Hoffenheim (2) 1–3 Borussia Mönchengladbach – 1899 Hoffenheim 2–6 0–4
Winner in bold. (2) denotes the number of titles the club had won at the time, when more than one won. Source: Alle A-Junioren-Meister official DFB website: List of all champions, accessed: 27 November 2008
Winners & Finalists As of 2024, this is the standing in the all-time winners list: