Amateurliga Nordbaden - Overview

Overview

The Amateurliga Nordbaden was formed in 1945 in the northern half of the then state of Baden, which is now the western half of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It was a feeder league to the Oberliga Süd and therefore the second tier of the football league system in the south of Germany until the interception of the 2nd Oberliga Süd in 1950. From 1950 until the establishment of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg in 1978, it was the third tier of the football league system.

The winner of the Amateurliga Nordbaden was not automatically promoted but rather had to take part in a promotion play-off to its league above. Usually, the champion would have to compete with the winners of the Amateurligas Südbaden, Württemberg and (from 1961) Schwarzwald-Bodensee.

The separation of Nordbaden and Südbaden results from the outcome of the 2nd World War when the state was split into two separate occupation zones. The north was in the US zone and the south in the French zone. The official names for the two FAs reflect the separation of Südbaden from the originally association, with Nordbaden just simply calling itself Baden FA.

The league was established in 1945 with ten teams, the winner gaining promotion to the Oberliga Süd. The founder members were:

• VfL Neckarau
• VfB Knielingen
• VfB Mühlburg
• VfR Pforzheim
• ASV Feudenheim
• SpVgg Sandhofen
• Amicitia Viernheim
• FV Daxlanden
• Phönix Mannheim
• 1. FC Pforzheim

The league was split into a northern and a southern group from 1946 to 1948.

With the introduction of the Bundesliga in 1963 the Amateurliga was placed below the new Regionalliga Süd but still retained its third-tier status. It continued to do so after the introduction of the 2nd Bundesliga Süd in 1974.

The longest continuous member of the league was the SV Sandhausen which gained promotion to it in 1957 and spent 21 seasons in it until its admittance to the new Oberliga in 1978. The VfR Pforzheim spent a record of 28 out of 33 possible seasons in the league.