| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1985 |
| Administrator | AFVD |
| No. of teams | 42 |
| Country | Germany |
| Most recent champion(s) | North: Hildesheim Invaders East: Spandau Bulldogs West: Paderborn Dolphins Central: Gießen Golden Dragons Southwest: Pforzheim Wilddogs South: Ingolstadt Dukes |
| Level on pyramid | Level 3 |
| Related competitions | German Football League 2 |
The American football Regionalliga is the third tier of American football in Germany, below the German Football League and the German Football League 2.[1]
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).[2]
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.[3]
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.[4]
In the 2015 season 33 clubs compete in the league, nine in the central division and six each in the other four.[2]
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.[3]
The bottom teams from each division are relegated and replaced with the top teams from the tier below, the American football Oberliga.[3]
The division champions since adaption of the current structure in 2004:[3]
| 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 |
The division champions and runners-up since adaption of the structure in 2004:[3]
| 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 |
The division champions since adaption of the current structure in 2017:[3]
| 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 |
The Regionalliga clubs for the 2022 season:[2]
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