| Bremen-Liga | |
| Country: | Germany |
| State: | Bremen |
| Founded: | 1947 |
| Teams: | 16 |
| Promotion: | Regionalliga Nord |
| Relegation: | Landesliga Bremen |
| Level: | Level 5 |
| Champions: | FC Oberneuland |
| Season: | 2022–23 |
The Bremen-Liga, sometimes also referred to as Oberliga Bremen, is a fifth tier of the German football league system and the highest league in the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. It is one of fourteen Oberligas in German football, the fifth tier of the German football league system.
The league was formed in 1947 as Amateurliga Bremen by thirteen clubs, including four from outside the city-state, in the newly recreated state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen which was then part of the US occupation zone in Germany.
The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and its football association are the smallest in Germany. The state is actually separated in two halves, the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven are split by the state of Lower Saxony.
From the start, the Amateurliga Bremen was a feeder league to the Oberliga Nord which its champion had the option of promotion to. Promotion had to be achieved through a play-off with teams from the Amateurligas of Lower Saxony, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. As such, the league was the second tier of the northern German league system.
Promotion to the Oberliga however, became hard to archive for the Bremen champion which only succeeded in 1948 and 1961. This resulted however in a number of back-to-back championships, an oddity for leagues at this level in Germany where direct promotion is the standard.
After its second season, the four clubs from Lower Saxony left the league to rejoin their state's league system. To this day, the Bremen league system however continues to host a few clubs from the neighboring state, usually clubs based right at the border of Bremen.
The league was expanded to fourteen clubs in its third season, compensating for the lost clubs from Lower Saxony by promoting more local clubs. For the coming seasons, the league stuck mostly with a strength of fifteen clubs.
In 1963, with the introduction of the Bundesliga, the disbanding of the Oberliga Nord and the formation of the Regionalliga Nord, the league fell to tier three, but remained unchanged otherwise, with fifteen clubs as its strength. The champion of Bremen continued to have to play-off for promotion, now to the Regionalliga, with the same opposition as before and the same limited success.
The league was increased in size to sixteen clubs in 1973.
After the 1973–74 season, the Regionalliga Nord was disbanded in favor of the 2. Bundesliga Nord. The new Oberliga Nord was now introduced in northern Germany, as the third tier of the league system, below the 2nd Bundesliga. This meant for the Amateurliga a slip to tier four. The top two teams of the league were however promoted to the new Oberliga and the Amateurliga was renamed Verbandsliga Bremen. The system for promotion from the Verbandsliga remained mostly unchanged but the success rate for the clubs from Bremen greatly improved.
In 1994, the Regionalliga Nord was re-established, now as the third tier of the league system. The Oberliga Nord was in turn replaced by two parallel Oberligas, Niedersachsen/Bremen and Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein. For the Verbandsliga Bremen, this meant a further slip, now to tier five, but also, for the first time in its history, direct promotion for the league champion.
The 1999–2000 season saw another league system change with the reduction of numbers of Regionalligas, this however had only one effect on the Verbandsliga, no promotion was available this year.
In 2004, it was decided to restore the Oberliga Nord in favor of the two separate Oberligas.
The 2006–07 league winner and runner-up, Bremer SV and FC Bremerhaven, did not receive an Oberliga licence and were not promoted.[1]
At the end of the 2007–08 season, the new 3. Liga was established and the Oberliga Nord disbanded, again. The four northern German states then were the only region without an Oberliga and the five Verbandsligen sit right below the Regionalliga Nord, parallel to the two NOFV-Oberligen. At the end of the 2007–08 season, the five winners of the northern Verbandsligas played with the sixth placed team from the Oberliga Nord for one last spot in the Regionalliga.[2] The FC Bremerhaven was however refused a Regionalliga licence and therefore not permitted to take part in the promotion round, being replaced by the FC Oberneuland instead.[3]
In the future seasons, promotion for the Bremen champion will only be available through a set of play-off matches with the league winners from Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. These three teams will compete for one promotion spot to the Regionalliga.
The Verbandsliga Bremen will however maintain its status as a tier five league. It is also the only league on this level with a single feeder league, the Landesliga Bremen, below it. In the 2007–08 season, two clubs from the Verbandsliga will be relegated to the Landesliga and two clubs promoted from there.
In the 2008–09 season, three teams from Bremen played above the Verbandsliga level, these being:
While this seems a small number, one has to consider that the Bremen FA only consists of 80 clubs.[4]
From the 2008–09 season, the league effectively has the status of an Oberliga and is referred to as such on some websites while the DFB list the league as Bremen-Liga as its new official name.[5] [6]
| Years | Tier | Promotion to | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947–1963 | II | Oberliga Nord | |
| 1963–1974 | III | Regionalliga Nord | |
| 1974–1994 | IV | Oberliga Nord | |
| 1994–2004 | V | Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen | |
| 2004–2008 | V | Oberliga Nord | |
| 2008– | V | Regionalliga Nord |
Thirteen clubs, four from Niedersachsen and the other nine from Bremen, formed the league in 1947, these clubs being:
Source:Web site: Amateurliga Bremen. 24 February 2008. Das deutsche Fussball-Archiv.
| Season | Club | |
| 1947–48 | TuS Bremerhaven 93 | |
| 1948–49 | SV Hemelingen | |
| 1949–50 | Blumenthaler SV | |
| 1950–51 | Blumenthaler SV | |
| 1951–52 | Blumenthaler SV | |
| 1952–53 | ATSV 1860 Bremen | |
| 1953–54 | ATSV 1860 Bremen | |
| 1954–55 | ATSV 1860 Bremen | |
| 1955–56 | Bremer SV | |
| 1956–57 | SV Werder Bremen II | |
| 1957–58 | Bremer SV | |
| 1958–59 | Blumenthaler SV | |
| 1959–60 | Polizei SV Bremen | |
| 1960–61 | Bremer SV | |
| 1961–62 | SV Werder Bremen II | |
| 1962–63 | AGSV Bremen | |
| 1963–64 | Blumenthaler SV | |
| 1964–65 | Bremer SV | |
| 1965–66 | Eintracht Bremen | |
| 1966–67 | SV Werder Bremen II | |
| 1967–68 | SV Werder Bremen II | |
| 1968–69 | TuS Bremerhaven 93 II | |
| 1969–70 | Polizei SV Bremen | |
| 1970–71 | Polizei SV Bremen | |
| 1971–72 | Blumenthaler SV |
| Season | Club | |
| 1972–73 | Blumenthaler SV | |
| 1973–74 | Blumenthaler SV | |
| 1974–75 | TSV Osterholz-Tenever | |
| 1975–76 | SV Werder Bremen II | |
| 1976–77 | SG Oslebshausen | |
| 1977–78 | Bremer SV | |
| 1978–79 | Blumenthaler SV | |
| 1979–80 | SFL Bremerhaven | |
| 1980–81 | FT Geestemünde | |
| 1981–82 | SFL Bremerhaven | |
| 1982–83 | Bremer SV | |
| 1983–84 | SC Vahr | |
| 1984–85 | Bremer SV | |
| 1985–86 | Bremer SV | |
| 1986–87 | FC Mahndorf | |
| 1987–88 | SFL Bremerhaven | |
| 1988–89 | Blumenthaler SV | |
| 1989–90 | TSV Osterholz-Tenever | |
| 1990–91 | TSV Osterholz-Tenever | |
| 1991–92 | SFL Bremerhaven | |
| 1992–93 | FC Bremerhaven | |
| 1993–94 | FC Bremerhaven | |
| 1994–95 | SV Vatan Sport | |
| 1995–96 | FC Oberneuland | |
| 1996–97 | Blumenthaler SV |
| Season | Club | |
| 1997–98 | SV Werder Bremen III | |
| 1998–99 | BTS Neustadt | |
| 1999–2000 | SC Weyhe | |
| 2000–01 | SC Weyhe | |
| 2001–02 | FC Bremerhaven | |
| 2002–03 | SC Weyhe | |
| 2003–04 | KSV Vatan Sport Bremen | |
| 2004–05 | SC Weyhe | |
| 2005–06 | FC Oberneuland | |
| 2006–07 | Bremer SV | |
| 2007–08 | FC Bremerhaven | |
| 2008–09 | Brinkumer SV | |
| 2009–10 | SV Werder Bremen III | |
| 2010–11 | SV Werder Bremen III | |
| 2011–12 | FC Oberneuland | |
| 2012–13 | SV Werder Bremen III | |
| 2013–14 | Bremer SV | |
| 2014–15 | Bremer SV | |
| 2015–16 | Bremer SV | |
| 2016–17 | Bremer SV | |
| 2017–18 | Brinkumer SV | |
| 2018–19 | Bremer SV | |
| 2019–20 | FC Oberneuland | |
| 2020–21 | None | |
| 2021–22 | Bremer SV | |
| 2022–23 | FC Oberneuland |
The complete list of clubs and placings in the league since elevation to Oberliga status (2008–present):[7]
| Club | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bremer SV | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | R | R | |
| Brinkumer SV | 1 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | X | |
| Werder Bremen III | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 16 | ||
| Blumenthaler SV | 6 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 12 | X | |
| SG Aumund-Vegesack | 8 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 3 | X | |
| TuS Schwachhausen | 13 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 8 | ||
| OSC Bremerhaven | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 3 | 4 | X | ||
| Habenhauser FV | 7 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 17 | |||
| FC Oberneuland 1 | R | R | R | 1 | R | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | R | R | 1 | X | ||||
| VfL 07 Bremen | 9 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 15 | ||||||||
| Leher TS | 12 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 13 | X | |||||||
| Union 60 Bremen | 6 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 17 | 5 | 5 | X | |||||||
| ESC Geestemünde | 8 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | X | ||||||||
| Vatan Sport Bremen | 16 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 5 | 8 | 10 | X | ||||||
| FC Bremerhaven 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Bremer TS Neustadt | 7 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 4 | 7 | X | ||||||||
| SV Türkspor Bremen | 11 | 6 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 16 | ||||||||||
| FC Sparta Bremerhaven 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| SFL Bremerhaven 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | |||||||||||||
| BSC Hastedt | 3 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 16 | ||||||||||||
| TSV Wulsdorf | 10 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 16 | ||||||||||||
| SV Grohn | 16 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 16 | ||||||||||||
| TSV Grolland | 14 | 12 | 13 | 16 | |||||||||||||
| SV Hemelingen | 6 | 10 | 7 | 2 | X | ||||||||||||
| TSV Melchiorshausen | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | |||||||||||||
| OT Bremen | 12 | 15 | 14 | 15 | |||||||||||||
| SC Borgfeld | 12 | 8 | 13 | 18 | |||||||||||||
| FC Oberneuland II | 13 | 13 | |||||||||||||||
| TuS Komet Arsten | 9 | 12 | 14 | X | |||||||||||||
| TS Woltmershausen | 16 | 9 | |||||||||||||||
| SC Vahr-Blockdiek | 15 | X | |||||||||||||||
| SC Weyhe | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1. FC Burg | 6 | 11 | 13 | 16 | |||||||||||||
| SC Lehe-Spaden | 15 | ||||||||||||||||
| TuSpo Surheide | 15 | ||||||||||||||||
| TuRa Bremen | X | ||||||||||||||||
| SV Werder Bremen II | 3L | 3L | 3L | 3L | R | R | R | 3L | 3L | 3L | RL | R | R | R | R | X |
| Symbol | Key | |
|---|---|---|
| B | ||
| 2B | ||
| 3L | ||
| R | ||
| 1 | League champions | |
| Place | League | |
| Blank | Played at a league level below this league |