The Oberliga Hamburg, sometimes referred to as Hamburg-Liga, is the highest league in the German state of Hamburg, incorporating some of its surrounding districts. It is one of fourteen Oberligen in German football, the fifth tier of the German football league system.
Overview
1945–1963 The league was re-formed in 1945 as Stadtliga Hamburg (English: Hamburg City League) by thirteen clubs, in the newly recreated state of Hamburg which was then part of the British occupation zone in Germany. The very first league in the Hamburg & Altona area had been inaugurated as early as 1895.
In its first two seasons, the league was actually the first tier of the German league system for Hamburg, holding clubs like the Hamburger SV and FC St. Pauli in its ranks.
From 1947, the Hamburg-Liga was a feeder league to the Oberliga Nord which its champion had the option of promotion to. Promotion had to be achieved through a play-off with teams from the Amateurligen of Lower Saxony, Bremen and Schleswig-Holstein. As such, the league was by then the second tier of the northern German league system. The league was renamed Verbandsliga Hamburg (English: Hamburg FA League), and split into two groups of ten teams, the Alsterstaffel and Elbestaffel, named after the two main rivers in Hamburg. The top four clubs of the 1946–47 season left the league for the new Oberliga Nord, those clubs being the Hamburger SV, FC St. Pauli, Concordia Hamburg and Victoria Hamburg. Traditionally, the league also accommodated clubs from neighboring Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein (which it still does today), like Lüneburger SK and VfL Stade.
The two divisions were increased in strength to twelve clubs each in 1949. The year after, the league was reunited in one single division with sixteen clubs. It received the new name of Amateurliga Hamburg. The league operated on a strength of sixteen for most of the coming seasons.
1963–1974 In 1963, with the introduction of the Bundesliga, the disbanding of the Oberliga Nord and the formation of the Regionalliga Nord, the league fell to tier three and was again renamed, now Landesliga Hamburg (English:Hamburg State League), but remained unchanged otherwise, with sixteen clubs as its strength. The champion of Hamburg continued to have to play-off for promotion, now to the Regionalliga, with the same opposition as before.
From 1970, the number of leagues below the Hamburg–Liga was reduced from three to two, resulting in the Hammonia-Staffel and Hansa-Staffel which still exist today, first at the name of Verbandsliga, then, from 1978, as Landesliga.
1974–1994 After the 1973–74 season, the Regionalliga Nord was disbanded in favor of the 2nd Bundesliga Nord. The new Oberliga Nord was now introduced in northern Germany, as the third tier of the league system, below the 2nd Bundesliga. This meant for the Landesliga a slip to tier four. The top two teams of the league were however promoted to the new Oberliga. The system for promotion from the league remained mostly unchanged with an ongoing play-off system that saw the top two teams from Hamburg qualified for it.
In 1978, the league went through another name change, this time reverting to Verbandsliga Hamburg.
1994–2008 In 1994, the Regionalliga Nord was re-established, now as the third tier of the league system. The Oberliga Nord was in turn replaced by two parallel Oberligen, Niedersachsen/Bremen and Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein. For the Verbandsliga Hamburg, this meant a further slip, now to tier five, but also, for the first time in its history, direct promotion for the league champion. Along with its champion being promoted to the new Regionalliga, the league also saw the clubs placed two to eight elevated to the Oberliga.
The 1999–2000 season saw another league system change with the reduction of numbers of Regionalligen, this however had only one effect on the Verbandsliga, no promotion was available this year.
In 2004, it was decided to restore the Oberliga Nord in favor of the two separate Oberligen.
The 2006–07 league winner, SC Victoria Hamburg, did not apply for an Oberliga licence and was not promoted.
2008–present At the end of the 2007–08 season, the new 3rd Liga was established and the Oberliga Nord disbanded, again. The four northern German states were then the only region without an Oberliga and the five Verbandsligen sit right below the Regionalliga Nord, parallel to the two NOFV-Oberligen. At the end of this season, the five winners of the northern Verbandsligen played with the sixth placed team from the Oberliga Nord for one last spot in the Regionalliga. In the future seasons, promotion for the Hamburg champion will only be available through a set of play-off matches with the league winners from Bremen and Schleswig-Holstein. These three teams will compete for one promotion spot to the Regionalliga.
The Verbandsliga Hamburg however maintained its status as a tier five league, but now under the name of Oberliga Hamburg, reflecting the fact that it has been on the same level as the Oberligas.Hamburger Fußball Verband - Spielpläne Herren Retrieved 12 July 2008 Breaking with a long tradition, the league now operates with eighteen clubs, not sixteen which it had throughout most of its history.
Position of the Hamburg-Liga in the league system
YearsTierPromotion to1945-47IIndependent league1947-63IIOberliga Nord1963-74IIIRegionalliga Nord1974-94IVOberliga Nord1994-2004VOberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein2004-08VOberliga Nord2008-VRegionalliga Nord
Founding Members of the Stadtliga Hamburg The league was formed in 1945 from thirteen clubs from Hamburg, these being: Hamburger SV FC St. Pauli Altona 93 SpVgg Blankenese Union 03 Altona SC Concordia Hamburg Eimsbütteler TV SC Victoria Hamburg Post SV Hamburg Viktoria Wilhelmsburg TuS Finkenwärder (contemporary spelling) SV West-Eimsbüttel FV Wilhelmsburg 09
League champions The league champions of the Oberliga Hamburg goes as follows:
Season Club1945–46Hamburger SV1946–47FC St. Pauli1947–48Eimsbütteler TVAltona 931948–49ASV Bergedorf 85Harburger TB1949–50Post SV HamburgAltona 931950–51SC Victoria Hamburg1951–52Harburger TB1952–53SC Victoria Hamburg1953–54SC Concordia Hamburg1954–55SC Victoria Hamburg1955–56SC Concordia Hamburg1956–57TSV Uetersen1957–58ASV Bergedorf 851958–59Eimsbütteler TV1959–60SC Victoria Hamburg1960–61Harburger TB1961–62SC Victoria Hamburg1962–63HSV Barmbeck-Uhlenhorst1963–64VfL Pinneberg1964–65SC Sperber Hamburg1965–66HSV Barmbeck-Uhlenhorst1966–67SV St. Georg1967–68VfL Pinneberg1968–69TSV Langenhorn1969–70TSV Langenhorn
Season Club1970–71VfL Pinneberg1971–72ASV Bergedorf 851972–73VfL Pinneberg1973–74SC Victoria Hamburg1974–75VfL Pinneberg1975–76ASV Bergedorf 851976–77VfL Pinneberg1977–78ASV Bergedorf 851978–79VfL Stade1979–80Hummelsbüttler SV1980–81SV Lurup1981–82Hummelsbüttler SV1982–83SV Lurup1983–84Hummelsbüttler SV1984–85Holstein Quickborn1985–86Hamburger SV II1986–87Hamburger SV II1987–88Meiendorfer SV1988–89Hamburger SV II1989–90VfL Stade1990–91VfL 93 Hamburg1991–92SV Lurup1992–93SC Concordia Hamburg1993–94SC Concordia Hamburg1994–95SC Victoria Hamburg1995–96SC Condor Hamburg1996–97Vorwärts/Wacker 04 Billstedt1997–98Rasensport Elmshorn
Season Club1998–99TuS Dassendorf1999–2000ASV Bergedorf 852000–01SC Concordia Hamburg2001–02Meiendorfer SV2002–03Harburger TB2003–04HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst2004–05TSV Sasel2005–06VfL 93 Hamburg2006–07SC Victoria Hamburg2007–08SC Victoria Hamburg2008–09SC Victoria Hamburg2009–10SC Victoria Hamburg2010–11FC St. Pauli II2011–12SC Victoria Hamburg2012–13FC Elmshorn2013–14TuS Dassendorf2014–15TuS Dassendorf2015–16TuS Dassendorf2016–17TuS Dassendorf2017–18TuS Dassendorf2018–19Altona 932019–20TuS Dassendorf2020–21None2021–22TuS Dassendorf2022–23TSV Sasel2023–24Altona 932024–25Altona 932025–26ETSV Hamburg
bold denotes club gained promotion. In 1951, the runner–up Lüneburger SK was also promoted. In 1952, the runner–up Altona 93 was also promoted. In 1963, the runner–up SC Victoria Hamburg was also promoted. In 1964, fourth–placed Rasensport Harburg gained promotion instead. In 1966, the runner–up SC Sperber Hamburg was also promoted. In 1970, the runner–up SC Sperber Hamburg gained promotion instead. In 1973, the runner–up SC Concordia Hamburg was also promoted. In 1974, the runner–up SC Poppenbüttel was also promoted. In 1984, the runner–up Altona 93 was also promoted. In 1987, the runner–up 1. SC Norderstedt gained promotion instead. In 1992, the runner–up VfL 93 Hamburg was also promoted. In 1994, clubs placed second to eighth also gained promotion. In 1995, the runner–up Meiendorfer SV was also promoted. In 1996, the runner–up Rasensport Elmshorn was also promoted. In 1997, the runner–up ASV Bergedorf 85 was also promoted. In 1999, the runner–up Eimsbütteler TV was also promoted. In 2001, the runner–up ASV Bergedorf 85 was also promoted. In 2002, the runner–up Altona 93 was also promoted. In 2003, Harburger TB declined promotion; SC Victoria Hamburg, TSV Sasel and Wedeler TSV were promoted instead. In 2009, the fifth–placed FC St. Pauli II was promoted instead. In 2013, the fourth-placed Eintracht Norderstedt successfully took part in the promotion round to the Regionalliga as champions FC Elmshorn declined. In 2014 and 2015, no club applied for a Regionalliga licence from the league or took part in the promotion round. In 2016, only sixth-placed Altona 93 applied for a Regionalliga licence. In 2017, third-placed Altona 93 applied for a licence and successfully took part in the promotion round. In 2020, only the runner-up Teutonia Ottensen applied for a licence and was eventually promoted. In 2021, there were no champions or promotions after deciding to curtail and annul the season during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. In 2023, third-placed Eimsbütteler TV were promoted.
League placings The complete list of clubs and placings in the league since elevation to Oberliga status (2008–present): Club0910111213141516171819202122232425 FC St. Pauli II 5 R 1 R R R R R R R R R R R R R R Eintracht Norderstedt 8 10 6 6 4 R R R R R R R R R R R R FC Teutonia Ottensen 3 2 2 R R R R R Altona 93 R 3 5 9 2 3 7 6 3 R 1 R RR 4 1 1 TuS Dassendorf 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 2 2 2 Eimsbütteler TV 3 R 3 USC Paloma 11 7 14 15 16 14 17 13 5 6 6 7 4 ETSV Hamburg 3 5 Niendorfer TSV 12 11 12 8 13 7 8 12 14 4 5 6 11 2 5 4 6 HEBC Hamburg 16 12 8 9 5 7 Vorwärts-Wacker Billstedt 16 17 18 8 TSV Buchholz 08 4 2 2 5 3 5 6 5 2 7 9 16 6 9 14 10 9 FC Süderelbe 12 4 15 13 10 12 15 11 7 9 10 SC Victoria Hamburg 1 1 9 1 R R 2 3 4 2 4 4 2 4 10 8 11 TSV Sasel 18 5 7 5 8 3 1 6 12 FC Türkiye Wilhelmsburg 15 11 16 12 15 13 TuRa Harksheide 11 11 14 SV Halstenbek-Rellingen 14 16 11 7 10 5 10 16 12 15 Wandsbeker TSV Concordia 11 5 9 13 9 4 5 8 13 16 FC Alsterbrüder 14 17 Hamburger SV III 18 SV Rugenbergen 11 14 10 8 9 8 8 5 12 14 10 12 15 16 FC Union Tornesch 15 19 14 13 17 Düneberger SV 18 Hamm United 10 7 15 16 Hamburger SV III 17 7 14 13 17 TuS Osdorf 6 11 8 8 17 10 18 SV Curslack-Neuengamme 6 4 3 3 6 2 13 9 12 10 11 11 9 7 19 VfL Lohbrügge 17 16 16 HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst 7 13 15 11 13 3 2 13 8 6 3 3 17 Bramfelder SV 18 15 18 18 13 18 Meiendorfer SV 2 5 8 12 9 12 10 16 14 17 18 19 Wedeler TSV 12 16 7 15 15 Condor Hamburg 10 9 4 7 5 6 11 7 10 14 17 VfL Pinneberg 10 14 4 4 13 9 12 18 Klub Kosova Hamburg 17 Buxtehuder SV 15 14 18 SV Lurup 9 15 17 18 SC Vier- und Marschlande 13 12 15 16 Germania Schnelsen 10 4 8 14 17 FC Elmshorn 1 9 18 Oststeinbeker SV 6 13 16 11 SC Alstertal-Langenhorn 16 SV Blankenese 17 FC Bergedorf 85 3 8 7 2 18 Concordia Hamburg 13 14 17 TSV Uetersen 18 VfL 93 Hamburg 15 FC Voran Ohe 17 SC Egenbüttel 18
Key Symbol Key B Bundesliga 2B 2. Bundesliga 3L 3. Liga R Regionalliga Nord 1 League champions Place League Blank Played at a league level below this league
References
Sources Deutschlands Fußball in Zahlen, An annual publication with tables and results from the Bundesliga to Verbandsliga/Landesliga. DSFS.