By Craig Lobban
craig@canucks-abroad.com

As promised, in this article I plan to look at the German league system, and show what level our Canadians will be playing at if their teams remain where they are right now. This will provide context to the Canucks Abroad in this territory.

Firstly, as mentioned in the Germany Introduction, our Canadians are playing at 5 different league levels.

The German top flight is the Bundesliga. The bottom three teams from the Bundesliga get relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, which sends its top three teams to the top league. Pretty easy thus far.

Below that are the Regionalligas, the third tier of German football. This is where things start to change. Currently there are two Regionalligas, Regionalliga Nord and Regionalliga Sud. Starting next year, however, there will be three, with the addition of the Regionalliga West. Also, the Regionalligas will become the fourth tier, with the new 3rd Liga becoming, well, the third tier.

So, starting next year the bottom four teams from the 2. Bundesliga will be relegated to the 3rd Liga, instead of dropping to the Regionalliga level. The top two teams from the Regionalliga Sud and the Regionalliga Nord will be promoted to the 2. Bundesliga (as long as they are not B-sides of any team in the Bundesliga or 2. Bundesliga). And the next eight teams from both of the Regionalliga leagues will join the relegated 2. Bundesliga teams to form the new 3rd Liga.

There is a rule, however, that states that only four B-teams will be allowed in the 3rd Liga for the 2008/2009 season, and in the first season they will not be able to fight for promotion to the 2. Bundesliga, after which they will be able to gain promotion and be relegated just like any other side. Also, if after the first season the A-team of one of the 3rd Liga B-teams is relegated to the 3rd Liga, the respective B-team will be relegated no matter where they place. Let's just hope that it doesn't happen though, as it'll make things so much easier.

So, starting in the 2008/2009 season the Bundesliga will remain the top league, followed by the 2. Bundesliga, the 3rd Liga, and the three Regionalligas. Below the Regionalligas are the Oberligas.

There are currently nine Oberligas. Oberliga Bayern, Baden-Württemberg, Hessen, Südwest, Nordrhein, Westfalen, Nord, NOFV-Oberliga Nord, and NOFV-Oberliga Süd.

From these leagues, the top teams will be promoted to the Regionalligas, to fill in the space left by the creation of the 3rd Liga. The top five teams from the Oberliga Nord will be promoted to the Regionalliga Nord, with the sixth team facing off against the five Verbandsliga winners (that feed into the Oberliga Nord) for a spot in the Regionalliga Nord. Joining the league will be the top three teams from the NOFV-Oberliga Nord and the NOFV-Oberliga Sud, along with the winner of the two fourth placed teams.

The top four teams from Oberligas Bayern, Baden-Württemberg, and Hessen will join the Regionalliga Sud. And the top four teams from Oberligas Nordrhein, Westfalen, and Südwest will join the new Regionalliga West.

The sixth tier will be the Verbandsligas, of which there are currently 19. The top Verbandsliga teams get promoted to their respective Oberligas.

You're probably asking yourself, 'What does this mean to me?' and 'Why have I bothered reading this far?'. Good question, it is a lot to get through and I've probably bored you to tears. My purpose is simply to familiarize anybody interested with the league system, and relate it to what level our Canadians will be playing at next season.

So, if things stay as they are today (Saturday the 15th of March), then this is where they will be playing:

Bundesliga
Hansa Rostock- featuring Ryan Gyaki
VfL Bochum- Daniel Imhof
Borussia Monchengladbach- Rob Friend (who would be promoted)

2.Bundesliga
FC Koln- Kevin McKenna
1860 Munchen- Nikolas Ledgerwood
St. Pauli- Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault
FC Ingolstadt 04- Ali Gerba (who would be promoted)

3rd Liga
Kaiserslautern- Patrice Bernier and Josh Simpson (who would be relegated)
Paderborn- David Hoillet (who would be relegated)

Regionalliga West
Sportfreunde Siegen- Alex Elliot
FSV Oggersheim- Kent O'Connor
(both moved to West because of geographic location)
VfL Bochum Amateurs- Gianluca Zavarise (would be promoted)
Preussen Muenster- Messih Wassey (would be promoted)

Regionalliga Nord
Wilhelmshaven- Riley O'Neill (would be promoted)
Hertha BSC II- Kennedy Owusua-Ansah (would be promoted)

Oberliga Nordrhein-Westfalen
SC Bonner- Mycoll Canizales (New Oberliga formed)

Oberliga Sudwest
Kaiserslautern Amateurs- Zach Kalthoff

Verbandsligas
Bahlinger SC- Robert Kerek (would be relegated)
MSV Neuruppin- Victor Collins (not sure about this one)

Anyway, there you have it. More to come on the CA based in Germany, starting with our Weekly Round-Up, which will kick off next week.

Editor: It's always good to understand where our Canucks Abroad fit into the country where they play. CA wishes all our players well in their respective relegation dogfights and promotion battles. The higher their clubs teams, the best the level of play. This only benefits the player and the CMNT in the long run.