The Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany, existing from 1994 to 2004. It covered the states of Lower Saxony and Bremen. With the re-formation of the Oberliga Nord in 2004, the league was disbanded.

Overview

The Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen started out in 1994 as a replacement for the Oberliga Nord, which was disbanded in that year. Along with this league, the Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein was formed to cover the other two of the four states the Oberliga Nord previously had served. The reason for the disbanding of the Oberliga Nord and the creation of two separate leagues in its stead was the formation of the Regionalliga Nord, which became the new third tier of league football in the north and covered exactly the same region as the Oberliga previously.

The league was formed from sixteen clubs, with twelve of them coming from the Verbandsliga Niedersachsen, three from the Verbandsliga Bremen and one from the Oberliga Nord. With the inception of this league, the Verbandsliga Niedersachsen split itself into two groups, east and west.

For the duration of the league's existence, it was fed by the three Verbandsligas of Bremen, Niedersachsen-West and Niedersachsen-Ost with the winners of these leagues gaining direct promotion to the Oberliga. Bremen, the smallest of the twenty-one German football associations, was the junior partner in this league, always only providing a small number of clubs.

The winner of the Oberliga was directly promoted to the Regionalliga from 1995 to 1999. In 2000, no promotion was available due to changes in the league system. From 2001 to 2004, the league champion had to play-off for promotion with the winner of the Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein. Only in 2004 could the champion of Niedersachsen/Bremen win this contest and gain promotion.

In 2000, with the reduction of the number of Regionalligas to two, eight clubs were relegated from this league to the Oberliga. The bottom seven clubs of the Oberliga were relegated that year and the league expanded to eighteen teams. The Regionalliga Nord now covered the complete northern half of Germany, not just the traditional region of the Oberliga Nord.

On these grounds it was decided in 2004 to reform a united Oberliga Nord which allowed direct promotion to its champion to the Regionalliga. The Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen was therefore disbanded. Its champion gained promotion to the Regionalliga this season, the clubs placed second to eighth were admitted to the new Oberliga. The other ten clubs in the league were relegated to the Verbandsligas.

In 2008, with the introduction of the new 3. Liga, the Oberliga Nord was disbanded again. The Oberligas Niedersachsen/Bremen and Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein however were not reformed. Below the Regionalliga Nord the five Verbandsligas in the north functioned instead as the next level of play, making it, until 2012, the only region without an Oberliga and without direct promotion to the Regionalliga.

League champions The league champions:Historical German league tables Das Deutsche Fußball-Archiv. Retrieved 5 February 2015Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen tables and results 1994–2008 Fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 5 February 2014 SeasonClub1994–95BV Cloppenburg1995–96Sportfreunde Ricklingen1996–97Eintracht Nordhorn1997–98Lüneburger SK1998–99SC Göttingen 051999–2000Kickers Emden2000–01SC Göttingen 052001–02VfB Oldenburg2002–03Kickers Emden2003–04VfL Wolfsburg II

Placings in the league from 1994 to 2004 The complete list of clubs in the league and their final placings: Club 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 VfL Wolfsburg II 3 9 6 2 1 Eintracht Nordhorn 8 1 R R R 5 2 4 2 SV Wilhelmshaven R R R R R R R 3 3 3 BV Cloppenburg 1 R 7 2 R R 4 10 5 4 Hannover 96 II 11 12 16 14 5 Kickers Emden R R R R R 1 2 8 1 6 Arminia Hannover 8 11 2 R R R 3 11 7 7 SV Meppen 2B 2B 2B 2B R R 11 4 8 8 VfB Oldenburg R R 2B R R R 8 1 6 9 Eintracht Braunschweig II 9 10 Concordia Ihrhove 8 8 8 6 10 7 14 11 FC Oberneuland 4 3 3 2 6 5 10 12 Rotenburger SV 9 11 7 7 13 13 13 SC Langenhagen 14 11 14 VfV 06 Hildesheim 12 15 SSV Vorsfelde 3 10 10 10 16 Lüneburger SK R R R 1 R R R 15 15 17 SC Weyhe 17 18 SC Göttingen 05 R 2 R R 1 R 1 9 16 FC Schüttorf 14 5 12 12 17 FC Bremerhaven R 9 13 5 2 R 16 18 SVG Einbeck 12 6 11 16 TuS Celle R R R R R R 13 18 TSV Havelse 3 6 10 4 5 4 15 Blau-Weiß Lohne 5 5 15 9 9 17 TuS Lingen 7 10 5 6 4 8 18 Südharz Walkenried 7 9 13 14 12 MTV Wolfenbüttel 11 11 7 13 Bremer TS Neustadt 15 14 SVG Göttingen 12 3 12 7 12 15 Sportfreunde Ricklingen 4 1 R R R 16 Atlas Delmenhorst 1 2 R R R 13 MTV Gifhorn 15 SV Werder Bremen III 16 SC Harsum 6 4 6 15 Blumenthaler SV 16 SpVg Aurich 10 13 14 Vatan Sport Bremen 14 SC Vahr 13 15 TuS Esens 9 16 Preußen Hameln 14 FC Mahndorf 16 1 Atlas Delmenhorst withdrew from the league in 1999.

Key Symbol Key B Bundesliga 2B 2. Bundesliga R Regionalliga Nord 1 League champions Place League Blank Played at a league level below this league

Founding members of the league The league was formed from sixteen clubs from two states in 1994, those being:

From the Oberliga Nord: Preußen Hameln

From the Verbandsliga Bremen: FC Mahndorf SC Vahr Bremer TS Neustadt

From the Verbandsliga Niedersachsen: Atlas Delmenhorst TSV Havelse BV Cloppenburg Sportfreunde Ricklingen SC Harsum TuS Esens SpVg Aurich TuS Lingen Blau-Weiß Lohne SpVgg Göttingen Arminia Hannover Hannover 96 II

Disbanding of the league The league was disbanded in 2004 and replaced by the Oberliga Nord. Its clubs were spread between the Regionalliga Nord, Oberliga Nord and the three Verbandsligas:

To the Regionalliga Nord: VfL Wolfsburg II

To the Oberliga Nord: Eintracht Nordhorn SV Wilhelmshaven BV Cloppenburg Hannover 96 II Kickers Emden Arminia Hannover SV Meppen

To the Verbandsliga Bremen: FC Oberneuland SC Weyhe

To the Verbandsliga Niedersachsen-Ost: Eintracht Braunschweig II Rotenburger SV SSV Vorsfelde Lüneburger SK

To the Verbandsliga Niedersachsen-West: VfB Oldenburg SC Langenhagen VfV 06 Hildesheim

Team withdrawn: Concordia Ihrhove

References

Sources Deutschlands Fußball in Zahlen, An annual publication with tables and results from the Bundesliga to Verbandsliga/Landesliga. DSFS. Kicker Almanach, The yearbook on German football from Bundesliga to Oberliga, since 1937. Kicker Sports Magazine. Die Deutsche Liga-Chronik 1945-2005 History of German football from 1945 to 2005 in tables. DSFS. 2006.

External links Das deutsche Fussball Archiv Historic German league tables The Lower Saxony Football Association (NFV) The Bremen Football Association (BFV) Northern German Football Association (NFV)