Regionalliga Nordost

The Regionalliga Nordost is the fourth tier of German football in the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. These states make up the area of former East Germany as well as West Berlin.

It is one of five leagues at the fourth tier, along with the Regionalliga Bayern, Regionalliga Südwest, Regionalliga Nord and the Regionalliga West. From 1994 to 2000, it was part of the third tier before the league system was restructured many times. The last big change happened in 2012, when the Regionalliga Nordost was brought back as part of the fourth tier.

Overview

The Regionalliga Nordost started in 1994 as a regional league in German football. It sat between the 2nd Bundesliga and lower divisions called NOFV-Oberligas. The league had 18 teams from different areas. Over time, the league changed, and in 2000, it was disbanded. Some teams moved to other leagues.

In 1997, a team from this league, Energie Cottbus, reached the final of the German Cup but lost to VfB Stuttgart.

Disbanding

When the league stopped in 2000, the top seven clubs split up. Five teams went to the north league and two teams from Thuringia went to the south league. The other eleven teams moved down to the NOFV-Oberligas.

To the Regionalliga Nord:

• 1. FC Union Berlin
• Dresdner SC
• Erzgebirge Aue
• SV Babelsberg 03
• Sachsen Leipzig

To the Regionalliga Süd:

• Carl Zeiss Jena
• Rot-Weiß Erfurt

Reestablishment

In October 2010, changes were made to the Regionalligas, increasing the number of leagues to five. The Regionalliga Nordost was brought back, and a new Regionalliga Bayern was created. The new system started at the beginning of the 2012–13 season. Each league could have up to 22 teams at first, but this number was later reduced to between 16 and 18 teams.

The league champions and one runner-up entered play-offs for promotion to a higher league. These changes were needed because many teams faced financial difficulties, partly due to high costs and lack of media attention.

From the end of the 2018–19 season, the champions of the Regionalliga Nordost (Chemnitzer FC) and other leagues were promoted directly to a higher league. Later, the promotion rules changed again, with some champions getting direct promotion and others competing in play-offs for the final spot.

Overview of football in the Nordost region

The Regionalliga Nordost is one of the five leagues that make up the fourth tier of German football. It includes the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, and Thuringia. These states were once part of East Germany, except for West Berlin.

Winners and runners-up of the Regionalliga Nordost

Here are the winners and runners-up from the Regionalliga Nordost league:

Promoted teams are shown in bold.

League statistics

The league shows how many goals players scored and how many fans watched the games since it started again in 2012.

Placings in the Regionalliga Nordost

Some clubs have played in the Regionalliga Nordost and ended up in different positions by the end of their seasons.

Here are a few examples:

• ¹ Wacker Nordhausen left the league because of money problems at the end of the 2019–20 season.
• ² Rot-Weiß Erfurt had money problems during the 2019–20 season and had to leave the league.
• ³ RB Leipzig II stopped playing after the 2016–17 season.
• ⁴ FC Schönberg also left the league because of money problems at the end of the 2016–17 season.
• ⁵ 1. FC Union Berlin II stopped playing after the 2014–15 season.
• ⁶ VFC Plauen had money problems during the 2014–15 season and had to leave the league.