The American football Regionalliga is the third tier of American football in Germany, below the German Football League and the German Football League 2.German Football League 2 AFVD website, accessed: 20 January 2011
The league is subdivided into six regional divisions, the Regionalligas (English: Regional league) Nord (North), Ost (East), West, Mitte (Central), Südwest (Southwest) and Süd (South).
History The league was formed in 1985 with two regional divisions, Central and West. The number of divisions changed frequently in the following years, as did the name of the league, changing to Verbandsliga for a time. From 1991 it operated under name of Regionalliga again with seven divisions, one in the North and two each in the West, Central and Bavaria. From 1995 the league was reduced to four divisions, South, West, Central and Northeast, a format that remained unchanged until 2004 when the Northeast division was split into North and East divisions. Since 2004 the Regionalliga operates in the current five division format.Football History Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 28 April 2015
Organisation The five Regionalligas are organised by the regional American football associations rather than the American Football Association of Germany, like the Regionalliga Süd which is organised by the Bavarian one.Allgemeine Ligenstruktur AFVBy Bavarian American football association – league structure, accessed: 28 April 2015
In the 2015 season 33 clubs compete in the league, nine in the central division and six each in the other four.3. Liga 2015 Football-aktuell.de, accessed: 28 April 2015
The top teams of the Regionalliga divisions qualify for the play-offs to the German Football League . The division champions and runners-up of the Central and South division play each other home and away for two promotion spots to the southern division of the German Football League 2, whereby the division winner from one plays the runners-up from the other. In the north, the three division winners of the North, West and East division play each other in a single game round robin for two spots in the northern division of the GFL 2. Promotion is subject to licensing approval and can be enlarged if additional spots in the German Football League 2 become available. An overall Regionalliga championship is not played.
The bottom teams from each division are relegated and replaced with the top teams from the tier below, the American football Oberliga.
Division champions The division champions since adaption of the current structure in 2004: Northern region Year North East West 2004 Osnabrück Tigers Berlin Rebels Troisdorf Jets 2005 Osnabrück Tigers Frankfurt Red Cocks Assindia Cardinals 2006 Weyhe Vikings Frankfurt Red Cocks Bonn Gamecocks 2007 Magdeburg Virgin Guards Leipzig Lions Assindia Cardinals 2008 Hildesheim Invaders Magdeburg Virgin Guards Paderborn Dolphins 2009 Hamburg Blue Devils Magdeburg Virgin Guards Mönchengladbach Mavericks 2010 Hamburg Blue Devils Potsdam Royals Troisdorf Jets 2011 Osnabrück Tigers Cottbus Crayfish Bonn Gamecocks 2012 Lübeck Seals Rostock Griffins Bielefeld Bulldogs 2013 Hildesheim Invaders Tollense Sharks Cologne Crocodiles 2014 Osnabrück Tigers Potsdam Royals Paderborn Dolphins 2015 Ritterhude Badgers Rostock Griffins Assindia Cardinals 2016 Braunschweig FFC II Rostock Griffins Langenfeld Longhorns 2017 Elmshorn Fighting Pirates Berlin Bears Solingen Paladins 2018 Hannover Spartans Spandau Bulldogs Troisdorf Jets 2019 Oldenburg Knights Berlin Adler Assindia Cardinals 2020 — — — 2021 Hildesheim Invaders Spandau Bulldogs Paderborn Dolphins 2022 Oldenburg Knights Spandau Bulldogs Münster Blackhawks
Southern region The division champions and runners-up since adaption of the structure in 2004: Year Central South Winners Runners-up Winners Runners-up 2004 Weinheim Longhorns Stuttgart Silver Arrows Königsbrunn Ants Deggendorf Black Hawks 2005 Jena Hanfrieds Obertshausen Blizzards Plattling Black Hawks Rosenheim Rebels 2006 Kaiserslautern Pikes Stuttgart Silver Arrows Aschaffenburg Stallions Franken Timberwolves 2007 Stuttgart Silver Arrows Montabaur Fighting Farmers Erding Bulls Franken Timberwolves 2008 Kaiserslautern Pikes Rhein Neckar Bandits Aschaffenburg Stallions Starnberg Argonauts 2009 Hanau Hornets Holzgerlingen Twister Kirchdorf Wildcats Allgäu Comets 2010 Badener Greifs Frankfurt Pirates Kirchdorf Wildcats Allgäu Comets 2011 Kaiserslautern Pikes Frankfurt Universe Allgäu Comets Nürnberg Rams 2012 Ravensburg Razorbacks Badener Greifs Fursty Razorbacks Starnberg Argonauts 2013 Darmstadt Diamonds Holzgerlingen Twister Straubing Spiders Ingolstadt Dukes 2014 Albershausen Crusaders Langen Knights Ingolstadt Dukes München Rangers 2015 Ravensburg Razorbacks Gießen Golden Dragons Straubing Spiders Neu-Ulm Spartans 2016 Albershausen Crusaders Holzgerlingen Twister Fursty Razorbacks Straubing Spiders Bold denotes promoted teams.
The division champions since adaption of the current structure in 2017: Year Central Southwest South 2017 Montabaur Fighting Farmers Pforzheim Wilddogs Straubing Spiders 2018 Darmstadt Diamonds Biberach Beavers Fursty Razorbacks 2019 Frankfurt Pirates Albershausen Crusaders Fursty Razorbacks 2020 Bad Homburg Sentinels Albershausen Crusaders — 2021 Gießen Golden Dragons Pforzheim Wilddogs Ingolstadt Dukes 2022 Montabaur Fighting Farmers Pforzheim Wilddogs Regensburg Phoenix Bold denotes promoted teams.
Current clubs The Regionalliga clubs for the 2022 season:
Regionalliga Nord Braunschweig Lions II Bremerhaven Seahawks Hamburg Blue Devils Hamburg Pioneers Hannover Grizzlies Oldenburg Knights Wolfsburg Blue Wings
Regionalliga Ost Berlin Rebels II Berlin Thunderbirds Cottbus Crayfish Dresden Monarchs II Erfurt Indigos Jenaer Hanfrieds Leipzig Lions Magdeburg Virgin Guards Spandau Bulldogs
Regionalliga West Bielefeld Bulldogs Bonn Gamecocks Cologne Falcons Düsseldorf Bulldozer Münster Blackhawks Troisdorf Jets
Regionalliga Mitte Bad Kreuznach Thunderbirds Kaiserslautern Pikes Mainz Golden Eagles Montabaur Fighting Framers Rüsselsheim Crusaders
Regionalliga Südwest Albershausen Crusaders Biberach Beavers Freiburg Sacristans Holzgerlingen Twister Pforzheim Wilddogs Weinheim Longhorns
Regionalliga Süd Erding Bulls Landsberg X-press München Rangers Munich Cowboys II Nürnberg Rams Regensburg Phoenix
References
External links German American Football Association website Football History Historic American football tables from Germany