Rheinlandliga


The Rheinlandliga is a German amateur football division administered by the Rhineland Football Association, one of the 21 German state football associations. Being the top flight of the Rhineland state association, the Verbandsliga is currently a level 6 division of the German football league system.

Overview

The Amateurliga Rheinland was formed in 1952 in the northern half of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Before its inception, three separate leagues operated in the area as the highest level of play. The league was a feeder league to the 2nd Oberliga Südwest. From 1952 until the establishment of the Oberliga Südwest in 1978, it was the third tier of the football league system.
The winner of the Amateurliga Rheinland was not automatically promoted to its superior league but rather had to take part in a promotion play-off. The champion would have to compete with the winners of the Amateurligen Saarland and Südwest.
Until 1933, the region covered by the Rhinrland FA was politically part of the now dissolved German state of Prussia. It was part of the Prussian Rhine Province.
The league was established in 1952 with sixteen teams, the winner gaining promotion to the 2nd Oberliga Südwest. The founder members were:
In 1956 the league was split into a western and an eastern group with twelve teams each. In 1963 it reverted to its old single group setup.
With the introduction of the Bundesliga in 1963 the Amateurliga was placed below the new Regionalliga Südwest but still retained its third-tier status. It continued to do so after the introduction of the 2nd Bundesliga Süd in 1974.
SC Bad Neuenahr and SC Sinzig hold the record for years in the Amateurliga, each with 22 out of a possible 26.
In 1978, the league was renamed Verbandsliga Rheinland. At the same time, the Oberliga Südwest was reintroduced. The top five teams out of the Amateurliga went to the new Oberliga while the teams from place 6 to 15 found themselves in the Verbandsliga. The bottom team was relegated. The Verbandsliga was now the fourth tier of the league system.
The winner of the Rheinlandliga, like the winners of the Verbandsliga Südwest and the Saarlandliga gains direct promotion to the Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar, formerly the Oberliga Südwest. The runners-up will only get a chance for promotion when there is additional spots to fill in the Oberliga, like 1994 when the Regionalligas were introduced and SpVgg EGC Wirges and the SG Betzdorf were promoted.
In the Rheinland, the Verbandsliga is called Rheinlandliga.
The Rheinland contains an unproportianal amount of SG's, which are joint teams without the contributing clubs actually merging. The reason for this is the relatively low population density and therefore a lack of players. SG's can usually not be promoted above their Verbandsliga.
Feeder Leagues to the Rheinlandliga
Until 2003, two Landesligas, north and south, existed in the region, set between Verbandsliga and Bezirksliga. Those leagues were disbanded in 2003.

League champions

The league champions:
SeasonClub
1952–53SpVgg Bendorf
1953–54VfL Trier
1954–55VfL Trier
1955–56SV Niederlahnstein
1956–57Germania Metternich
1957–58Spfr. Herdorf
1958–59Germania Metternich
1959–60Germania Metternich
1960–61SV Ehrang
1961–62VfB Wissen
1962–63VfL Neuwied
1963–64Germania Metternich
1964–65SpVgg Bendorf
1965–66Germania Metternich
1966–67SSV Mülheim
1967–68SC Sinzig
1968–69SSV Mülheim
1969–70VfL Neuwied
1970–71SpVgg Andernach
1971–72SF Eisbachtal
1972–73SpVgg Andernach
1973–74SV Leiwen
1974–75Eintracht Trier

SeasonClub
1975–76Eintracht Trier
1976–77TuS Neuendorf
1977–78TuS Neuendorf
1978–79SV Leiwen
1979–80TuS Mayen
1980–81SV Leiwen
1981–82VfL Hamm/Sieg
1982–83SpVgg EGC Wirges
1983–84TuS Mayen
1984–85VfL Hamm/Sieg
1985–86SV Leiwen
1986–87SpVgg EGC Wirges
1987–88VfB Wissen
1988–89TuS Mayen
1989–90SF Eisbachtal
1990–91VfB Wissen
1991–92SV Wittlich
1992–93SV Prüm
1993–94TuS Koblenz
1994–95VfL Trier
1995–96SV Prüm
1996–97TuS Montabaur

SeasonClub
1997–98SpVgg EGC Wirges
1998–99TuS Mayen
1999–2000Germania Metternich
2000–01TuS Mayen
2001–02FV Engers 07
2002–03SV Klausen
2003–04SG Betzdorf
2004–05Eintracht Trier II
2005–06SG Rossbach–Verscheid
2006–07SV Rossbach-Verscheid
2007–08SG Betzdorf
2008–09SF Eisbachtal
2009–10Eintracht Trier II
2010–11FSV Salmrohr
2011–12SV Mehring
2012–13SpVgg Burgbrohl
2013–14SpVgg EGC Wirges
2014–15FC Karbach
2015–16TuS Rot-Weiss Koblenz
2016–17FV Engers 07
2017–18TSV Emmelshausen
2018–19SF Eisbachtal