1979 To 1991
A league reform in 1978 reduced the number of tier-three leagues from sixteen to eight. Also, the leagues were renamed to Amateur Oberliga. The winner of each of those leagues qualified for the amateur championship, which was played as the years before, in a knock-out format with home-and-away games, including the final in the first season, 1978–79. From 1979 to 1980, the final was again played as a single game, but now as a home game for one of the two teams involved, to improve attendance figures.
The eight teams came from the following leagues:
- Amateur Oberliga Bayern
- Amateur Oberliga Baden-Württemberg
- Amateur Oberliga Hessen
- Amateur Oberliga Südwest
- Amateur Oberliga Berlin
- Amateur Oberliga Nordrhein
- Amateur Oberliga Westfalen
- Amateur Oberliga Nord
After the 1980–81 season, the winners of the eight leagues had to compete for 2nd Bundesliga promotion. The amateur championship was therefore played out by the league runners-up from then on. This system in turn remained in place until the German reunion in 1991.
Read more about this topic: German Amateur Football Championship, History