Recent Changes
In 1988, upon the suggestion of the 1. FC Sonthofen in 1986, the Bezirksoberligas were introduced in Bavaria, set between the already existing Landesligas and Bezirksligas.
In 1998, the Bavarian FA renamed the three lowest football leagues:
- A-Klasse became Kreisliga
- B-Klasse became Kreisklasse
- C-Klasse became A-Klasse
On top of this, in some of the seven Bezirke, two new lowest levels were introduced and named B and C-Klasse. The reason for this was the integration of all reserve teams into the normal competition. In the Bezirke who did not follow suit, like Schwaben, the reserve teams of clubs in the Kreisliga and below still compete in separate, parallel leagues.
The Bavarian football federation carried out drastic changes to the league system at the end of the 2011-12 season. With the introduction of the Regionalliga Bayern from 2012–13, it placed two Bayernligas below the Regionalliga. Below those, five Landesligas instead of the existing three were set, which were geographically divided to limit travel and increase the number of local derbies.
Read more about this topic: Bavarian Football League System