# 1972–73 Regionalliga

The 1972–73 Regionalliga was the tenth season of the Regionalliga, the second tier of the German football league system. The league operated in five regional divisions, Berlin, North, South, Southwest and West. The five league champions and all five runners-up, at the end of the season, entered a promotion play-off to determine the two clubs to move up to the Bundesliga for the next season. Both promotion spots went to the Regionalliga West with Rot-Weiß Essen and Fortuna Köln promoted.

## Regionalliga Nord

The 1972–73 season saw two new clubs in the league, VfB Oldenburg and SV Meppen, both promoted from the Amateurliga, while no club had been relegated from the Bundesliga to the league.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | FC St.Pauli | 34 | 26 | 4 | 4 | 94 | 33 | +61 | 56 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 2 | VfL Osnabrück | 34 | 24 | 3 | 7 | 75 | 41 | +34 | 51 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 3 | VfL Wolfsburg | 34 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 71 | 35 | +36 | 46 | |
| 4 | Göttingen 05 | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 60 | 36 | +24 | 43 | |
| 5 | HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst | 34 | 12 | 16 | 6 | 47 | 35 | +12 | 40 | |
| 6 | VfB Lübeck | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 48 | 42 | +6 | 40 | |
| 7 | Holstein Kiel | 34 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 63 | 47 | +16 | 37 | |
| 8 | Phönix Lübeck | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 55 | 58 | −3 | 37 | |
| 9 | Arminia Hannover | 34 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 48 | 41 | +7 | 34 | |
| 10 | SV Meppen | 34 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 51 | 62 | −11 | 30 | |
| 11 | VfB Oldenburg | 34 | 12 | 4 | 18 | 54 | 73 | −19 | 28 | |
| 12 | Olympia Wilhelmshaven | 34 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 47 | 55 | −8 | 27 | |
| 13 | Heider SV | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 25 | |
| 14 | TuS Bremerhaven 93 | 34 | 6 | 13 | 15 | 40 | 60 | −20 | 25 | |
| 15 | OSV Hannover | 34 | 10 | 5 | 19 | 51 | 74 | −23 | 25 | |
| 16 | Itzehoer SV | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 27 | 58 | −31 | 25 | |
| 17 | TuS Celle (R) | 34 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 40 | 70 | −30 | 22 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 18 | SC Leu Braunschweig (R) | 34 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 37 | 78 | −41 | 21 | Relegation to Amateurliga |

## Regionalliga Berlin

The 1972–73 season saw two new clubs in the league, BFC Preussen and Rot-Weiß Neukölln, both promoted from the Amateurliga Berlin, while no club had been relegated from the Bundesliga to the league. The league played a home-and-away round, after which it was split into a championship and relegation round. Former Bundesliga club Tasmania 1900 Berlin became insolvent at the end of the 1972–73 season and folded.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin | 32 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 78 | 32 | +46 | 48 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 2 | Wacker 04 Berlin | 32 | 23 | 1 | 8 | 87 | 42 | +45 | 47 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 3 | Tennis Borussia Berlin | 32 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 73 | 29 | +44 | 43 | |
| 4 | Tasmania 1900 Berlin | 32 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 62 | 39 | +23 | 43 | Folded |
| 5 | Hertha Zehlendorf | 32 | 13 | 5 | 14 | 78 | 79 | −1 | 31 | |
| 6 | Berliner SV 92 | 32 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 39 | 52 | −13 | 26 | |
| 7 | Spandauer SV | 32 | 13 | 4 | 15 | 53 | 55 | −2 | 30 | |
| 8 | Rapide Wedding | 32 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 43 | 55 | −12 | 28 | |
| 9 | BFC Preußen Berlin | 32 | 11 | 4 | 17 | 48 | 58 | −10 | 26 | |
| 10 | 1. FC Neukölln | 32 | 10 | 4 | 18 | 42 | 74 | −32 | 24 | |
| 11 | Alemannia 90 Berlin | 32 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 30 | 70 | −40 | 21 | |
| 12 | Rot-Weiß Neukölln (R) | 32 | 6 | 5 | 21 | 27 | 75 | −48 | 17 | Relegation to Amateurliga |

## Regionalliga West

The 1972–73 season saw four new clubs in the league, 1. FC Mülheim and Sportfreunde Siegen, both promoted from the Verbandsliga, while Arminia Bielefeld, as part of the Bundesliga scandal, and Borussia Dortmund had been relegated from the Bundesliga to the league. Eintracht Gelsenkirchen merged at the end of the 1972–73 season with STV Horst-Emscher to form Eintracht Gelsenkirchen-Horst.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Rot-Weiß Essen (P) | 34 | 26 | 3 | 5 | 104 | 40 | +64 | 55 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 2 | Fortuna Köln (P) | 34 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 85 | 29 | +56 | 50 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 3 | Bayer Uerdingen | 34 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 73 | 50 | +23 | 43 | |
| 4 | Borussia Dortmund | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 77 | 45 | +32 | 41 | |
| 5 | Wattenscheid 09 | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 70 | 60 | +10 | 40 | |
| 6 | Alemannia Aachen | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 66 | 50 | +16 | 39 | |
| 7 | Sportfreunde Siegen | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 39 | |
| 8 | 1. FC Mülheim | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 46 | 56 | −10 | 38 | |
| 9 | DJK Gütersloh | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 51 | 56 | −5 | 37 | |
| 10 | SpVgg Erkenschwick | 34 | 16 | 4 | 14 | 73 | 60 | +13 | 36 | |
| 11 | Arminia Bielefeld | 34 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 46 | 66 | −20 | 30 | |
| 12 | Schwarz-Weiß Essen | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 41 | 58 | −17 | 29 | |
| 13 | Preußen Münster | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 47 | 66 | −19 | 29 | |
| 14 | Eintracht Gelsenkirchen | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 44 | 65 | −21 | 26 | |
| 15 | Westfalia Herne | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 34 | 52 | −18 | 24 | |
| 16 | Arminia Gütersloh | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 44 | 68 | −24 | 24 | |
| 17 | Bayer Leverkusen (R) | 34 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 38 | 76 | −38 | 19 | Relegation to Verbandsliga |
| 18 | Lüner SV (R) | 34 | 1 | 11 | 22 | 43 | 87 | −44 | 13 | Relegation to Verbandsliga |

## Regionalliga Südwest

The 1972–73 season saw two new clubs in the league, VfB Theley and Sportfreunde Eisbachtal, both promoted from the Amateurliga, while no club had been relegated from the Bundesliga to the league.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | FSV Mainz 05 | 30 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 80 | 41 | +39 | 44 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 2 | Röchling Völklingen | 30 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 53 | 19 | +34 | 44 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 3 | FK Pirmasens | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 73 | 40 | +33 | 41 | |
| 4 | Wormatia Worms | 30 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 70 | 39 | +31 | 39 | |
| 5 | Borussia Neunkirchen | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 59 | 35 | +24 | 38 | |
| 6 | ASV Landau | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 51 | 32 | +19 | 35 | |
| 7 | FC Homburg | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 72 | 52 | +20 | 34 | |
| 8 | SV Alsenborn | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 52 | 47 | +5 | 31 | |
| 9 | Südwest Ludwigshafen | 30 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 30 | |
| 10 | VfB Theley | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 39 | 53 | −14 | 27 | |
| 11 | TuS Neuendorf | 30 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 26 | |
| 12 | FV Speyer | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 34 | 46 | −12 | 25 | |
| 13 | 1.FC Saarbrücken | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 37 | 49 | −12 | 24 | |
| 14 | Sportfreunde Eisbachtal | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 43 | 83 | −40 | 20 | |
| 15 | Eintracht Trier (R) | 30 | 5 | 2 | 23 | 34 | 83 | −49 | 12 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 16 | Phönix Bellheim (R) | 30 | 2 | 6 | 22 | 35 | 100 | −65 | 10 | Relegation to Amateurliga |

## Regionalliga Süd

The 1972–73 season saw three new clubs in the league, SV Waldhof Mannheim, VfR Oli Bürstadt and FC Wacker München, all three promoted from the Amateurliga, while no club had been relegated from the Bundesliga to the league.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | SV Darmstadt 98 | 34 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 72 | 37 | +35 | 46 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 2 | Karlsruher SC | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 72 | 48 | +24 | 45 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 3 | TSV 1860 München | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 79 | 50 | +29 | 42 | |
| 4 | SpVgg Bayreuth | 34 | 19 | 4 | 11 | 51 | 38 | +13 | 42 | |
| 5 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 61 | 52 | +9 | 41 | |
| 6 | VfR Heilbronn | 34 | 18 | 4 | 12 | 64 | 48 | +16 | 40 | |
| 7 | SV Waldhof Mannheim | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 60 | 44 | +16 | 39 | |
| 8 | Stuttgarter Kickers | 34 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 60 | 51 | +9 | 35 | |
| 9 | SpVgg Fürth | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 48 | 50 | −2 | 35 | |
| 10 | KSV Hessen Kassel | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 59 | 58 | +1 | 33 | |
| 11 | SSV Jahn Regensburg | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 53 | 53 | 0 | 33 | |
| 12 | FC Bayern Hof | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 67 | 60 | +7 | 31 | |
| 13 | VfR Oli Bürstadt | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 54 | 62 | −8 | 31 | |
| 14 | 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 54 | 72 | −18 | 31 | |
| 15 | Freiburger FC | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 48 | 73 | −25 | 29 | |
| 16 | SpVgg 07 Ludwigsburg (R) | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 53 | 62 | −9 | 28 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 17 | SSV Reutlingen 05 (R) | 34 | 7 | 6 | 21 | 41 | 84 | −43 | 20 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 18 | FC Wacker München (R) | 34 | 4 | 3 | 27 | 37 | 91 | −54 | 11 | Relegation to Amateurliga |

## Bundesliga promotion round
### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Fortuna Köln (P) | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 5 | +20 | 13 | Promotion to Bundesliga |
| 2 | FC St.Pauli | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 10 | |
| 3 | FSV Mainz 05 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 11 | +6 | 9 | |
| 4 | Karlsruher SC | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 23 | −6 | 6 | |
| 5 | Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 35 | −25 | 2 | |

### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Rot-Weiß Essen (P) | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 8 | +15 | 14 | Promotion to Bundesliga |
| 2 | Darmstadt 98 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 8 | |
| 3 | Röchling Völklingen | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 17 | −7 | 7 | |
| 4 | VfL Osnabrück | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 17 | −5 | 6 | |
| 5 | Wacker 04 Berlin | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 16 | −7 | 5 | |