Austrian Regionalliga (football)
Encyclopedia
The Austrian Regional League is the third-highest division in Austrian football
, after the Austrian Bundesliga
and the First League
. It is divided into three conferences: East
(German: Ost), covering the states
of Vienna
, Lower Austria
and Burgenland
; Central
(Mitte), covering the provinces of Styria, Carinthia
, Upper Austria
and the exclave of East Tyrol
; and West
, covering the provinces of Salzburg
, Tyrol
(with the exception of East Tyrol) and Vorarlberg
.
In 1949/50 the teams from Carinthia (Kärnten) and Salzburg already played in the again-created Tauernliga and from 1955/56 to 1958/59 in the Tauernliga South (Kärnten) and Tauernliga North (Salzburg). Besides the Arlbergliga consisted from 1950/51 to 1959/60 the clubs from Tyrol (Tirol) and Vorarlberg. These leagues can be regarded as second divisions (apart from the Staatsliga B) since their champions in played direct duels for promotion to the Staatsliga A.
. The respective champions were allowed to get promoted directly to the top level. In 1974/75 the introduction of the first and second Austrian Bundesliga
happened, with in each case 10 clubs and to the abolishment of the Western and Central Regionalligen. For the promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga the champion of the Eastern Regionalliga, which was allowed to move upwards directly, and which the champions of the State Leagues (German: Landesligen) of Salzburg, Tyrol (Tirol), Vorarlberg, Carinthia (Kärnten), Upper Austria (Oberösterreich) and Styria (Steiermark) those Play Offs (Relegationsspiele) had to complete in each case. In the 1977/78 season, the provinces of Salzburg, Tirol and Vorarlberg merged their Landesligen to the Alpine League (in German, Alpenliga) as the 3rd division. In the 1980/81 season, the Western Regionalliga was once again introduced as the third division. The Eastern Regionalliga championship was not held from 1980/81 to 1983/84 and it would not be until the 1984/85 season that it would be reintroduced. Up until the 1995/96 season, the Champions of the Western and Eastern Regionalligen earned a direct promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga. The Central Regionalliga, however, would not be reintroduced until the 1994/95 season. The champions of the regional organizations, the state football associations (Landesverbände) of Upper Austria (Oberösterreich), Carinthia (Kärnten) (with East Tyrol (Osttirol)) and Styria (Steiermark) had their only promotional spon to the 2nd division decided in play off matches.
Between the 1996/97 and 2003/04 seasons, the three champions of the Regionalligen together with the last one of the 1st Division (since the renaming of the 1st Division as "Max Bundesliga" the second highest division in Austria) played those Play Off matches to accomplish the two remaining promotional/relegation spots. After an expansion of the 1st Division was decided that - starting from the 2005/06 season - on twelve clubs (due to deprival of pro-league-licenses (Lizenzentzuegen) at present still with 10 slots), the winners of the regional leagues can go up directly again.
Football in Austria
Football is a popular sport in Austria, second only to alpine skiing. The Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB , was founded in 1904 and has been a member of FIFA since then.-League system:...
, after the Austrian Bundesliga
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga is the highest-ranking national league club competition in Austrian football. It is the competition which decides the Austrian national football champions, as well the country's entrants for the various European cups run by UEFA.The Austrian Bundesliga, which began...
and the First League
Austrian Football First League
The Austrian Football First League is the second highest professional division in Austrian football. It contains 10 teams and is run in the same fashion as the Austrian Bundesliga...
. It is divided into three conferences: East
Austrian Regional League East
The Austrian Regional League East is a third-tier division of Austrian football re-introduced in the 1984-85 season. It covers the Austrian states of Burgenland, Lower Austria and Vienna.The teams competing in the 2008-09 season are:*FAC Team für Wien...
(German: Ost), covering the states
States of Austria
Austria is a federal republic made up of nine states, known in German as Länder . Since Land is also the German word for a country, the term Bundesländer is often used instead to avoid ambiguity. The Constitution of Austria uses both terms...
of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
and Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
; Central
Austrian Regional League Central
The Austrian Regional League Central is a third-tier division of Austrian football re-introduced in the 1994–95 season. It covers the Austrian states of Carinthia , Styria and Upper Austria.The teams competing in the 2009–10 season are:...
(Mitte), covering the provinces of Styria, Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
, Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
and the exclave of East Tyrol
East Tyrol
East Tyrol, or East Tirol , is an exclave of the Austrian state of Tyrol, sharing no border with the main North Tyrol part of the state. It corresponds with the administrative district of Lienz....
; and West
Austrian Regional League West
The Austrian Regional League West is a third-tier division of Austrian football introduced in the 1980-81 season as successor of the Alpenliga. It covers the Austrian states of Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg....
, covering the provinces of Salzburg
Salzburg (state)
Salzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7,156 km2, located adjacent to the German border. It is also known as Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its capital city, also named Salzburg...
, Tyrol
Tyrol (state)
Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...
(with the exception of East Tyrol) and Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal-state of Austria. Although it is the second smallest in terms of area and population , it borders three countries: Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein...
.
Tauernliga and Arlbergliga
With introduction of the Staatsliga A as the first division and the Staatsliga B as the second division of Austrian football in the1949/50 season, also the teams from the Austrian provinces were allowed to play for the first time again in the highest leagues since the end of the second world war. This entailed also a change of the categorization in the amateur football. While Central and Eastern Austrian football teams played in the respective national leagues, from which the champions got promoted either directly or by Play-Offs (Relegationsspiele) to the Staatsliga B, the Western provinces didn't participate in the Staatsliga B.In 1949/50 the teams from Carinthia (Kärnten) and Salzburg already played in the again-created Tauernliga and from 1955/56 to 1958/59 in the Tauernliga South (Kärnten) and Tauernliga North (Salzburg). Besides the Arlbergliga consisted from 1950/51 to 1959/60 the clubs from Tyrol (Tirol) and Vorarlberg. These leagues can be regarded as second divisions (apart from the Staatsliga B) since their champions in played direct duels for promotion to the Staatsliga A.
Champions
- In 1960, the Carinthian teams already played in the Central Regionalliga and the Tyrolean and Vorarlberg clubs were still in the Arlbergliga. For this reason the champion of the Salzburger Landesliga was entitled to deny the qualification matches against the champion of the Arlbergliga.
The Regionalliga and the Alpenliga
In the season of 1959/60, the Eastern and Central Regionalligen were established and one year later the Western Regionalliga. The Regionalligen counted up to the season of 1973/74 as soccer's second division in AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The respective champions were allowed to get promoted directly to the top level. In 1974/75 the introduction of the first and second Austrian Bundesliga
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga is the highest-ranking national league club competition in Austrian football. It is the competition which decides the Austrian national football champions, as well the country's entrants for the various European cups run by UEFA.The Austrian Bundesliga, which began...
happened, with in each case 10 clubs and to the abolishment of the Western and Central Regionalligen. For the promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga the champion of the Eastern Regionalliga, which was allowed to move upwards directly, and which the champions of the State Leagues (German: Landesligen) of Salzburg, Tyrol (Tirol), Vorarlberg, Carinthia (Kärnten), Upper Austria (Oberösterreich) and Styria (Steiermark) those Play Offs (Relegationsspiele) had to complete in each case. In the 1977/78 season, the provinces of Salzburg, Tirol and Vorarlberg merged their Landesligen to the Alpine League (in German, Alpenliga) as the 3rd division. In the 1980/81 season, the Western Regionalliga was once again introduced as the third division. The Eastern Regionalliga championship was not held from 1980/81 to 1983/84 and it would not be until the 1984/85 season that it would be reintroduced. Up until the 1995/96 season, the Champions of the Western and Eastern Regionalligen earned a direct promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga. The Central Regionalliga, however, would not be reintroduced until the 1994/95 season. The champions of the regional organizations, the state football associations (Landesverbände) of Upper Austria (Oberösterreich), Carinthia (Kärnten) (with East Tyrol (Osttirol)) and Styria (Steiermark) had their only promotional spon to the 2nd division decided in play off matches.
Between the 1996/97 and 2003/04 seasons, the three champions of the Regionalligen together with the last one of the 1st Division (since the renaming of the 1st Division as "Max Bundesliga" the second highest division in Austria) played those Play Off matches to accomplish the two remaining promotional/relegation spots. After an expansion of the 1st Division was decided that - starting from the 2005/06 season - on twelve clubs (due to deprival of pro-league-licenses (Lizenzentzuegen) at present still with 10 slots), the winners of the regional leagues can go up directly again.