# 1965–66 Regionalliga

The 1965–66 Regionalliga was the third 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 four runners-up, the Regionalliga Berlin runners-up was not qualified, entered a promotion play-off to determine the two clubs to move up to the Bundesliga for the next season. The two promotion spots went to the Regionalliga West champions Fortuna Düsseldorf and runners-up Rot-Weiß Essen.

## Regionalliga Nord

The 1965–66 season saw two new clubs in the league, Bremer SV and Itzehoer SV, 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 | 32 | 20 | 4 | 8 | 84 | 39 | +45 | 44 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 2 | Göttingen 05 | 32 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 65 | 32 | +33 | 43 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 3 | Holstein Kiel | 32 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 68 | 41 | +27 | 43 | |
| 4 | TuS Bremerhaven 93 | 32 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 61 | 47 | +14 | 38 | |
| 5 | VfB Lübeck | 32 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 44 | 35 | +9 | 36 | |
| 6 | Arminia Hannover | 32 | 15 | 5 | 12 | 67 | 49 | +18 | 35 | |
| 7 | VfL Osnabrück | 32 | 14 | 4 | 14 | 56 | 55 | +1 | 32 | |
| 8 | VfL Wolfsburg | 32 | 15 | 2 | 15 | 55 | 55 | 0 | 32 | |
| 9 | Concordia Hamburg | 32 | 13 | 6 | 13 | 49 | 52 | −3 | 32 | |
| 10 | FC Altona 93 | 32 | 13 | 5 | 14 | 41 | 47 | −6 | 31 | |
| 11 | ASV Bergedorf 85 | 32 | 13 | 4 | 15 | 56 | 65 | −9 | 30 | |
| 12 | VfB Oldenburg | 32 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 58 | 69 | −11 | 30 | |
| 13 | Bremer SV | 32 | 13 | 2 | 17 | 58 | 68 | −10 | 28 | |
| 14 | Itzehoer SV | 32 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 58 | 60 | −2 | 28 | |
| 15 | VfV Hildesheim | 32 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 35 | 54 | −19 | 25 | |
| 16 | SV Friedrichsort (R) | 32 | 9 | 4 | 19 | 45 | 74 | −29 | 22 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 17 | Victoria Hamburg (R) | 32 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 36 | 84 | −48 | 15 | Relegation to Amateurliga |

## Regionalliga Berlin

The 1965–66 season saw seven new clubs in the league, 1. FC Neukölln, VfB Hermsdorf, Lichterfelder SU, SC Tegel, SC Gatow and SC Staaken, all promoted from the Amateurliga as the Regionalliga had been expanded from 10 to 16 clubs, while Hertha BSC Berlin had been relegated from the Bundesliga to the league.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Hertha BSC Berlin | 30 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 136 | 25 | +111 | 58 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 2 | Tennis Borussia Berlin | 30 | 21 | 2 | 7 | 108 | 50 | +58 | 44 | |
| 3 | Spandauer SV | 30 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 88 | 53 | +35 | 42 | |
| 4 | Wacker 04 Berlin | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 77 | 52 | +25 | 36 | |
| 5 | Hertha Zehlendorf | 30 | 16 | 3 | 11 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 35 | |
| 6 | SC Staaken | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 54 | 47 | +7 | 34 | |
| 7 | BFC Südring Berlin | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 49 | 53 | −4 | 28 | |
| 8 | 1. FC Neukölln | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 51 | 62 | −11 | 28 | |
| 9 | Berliner SV 92 | 30 | 13 | 1 | 16 | 49 | 65 | −16 | 27 | |
| 10 | Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 25 | |
| 11 | Reinickendorfer Füchse | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 50 | 70 | −20 | 25 | |
| 12 | VfB Hermsdorf | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 61 | 75 | −14 | 24 | |
| 13 | Lichterfelder SU | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 34 | 82 | −48 | 23 | |
| 14 | SC Tegel (R) | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 34 | 76 | −42 | 22 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 15 | SC Gatow (R) | 30 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 36 | 60 | −24 | 19 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 16 | Viktoria 89 Berlin (R) | 30 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 34 | 93 | −59 | 10 | Relegation to Amateurliga |

## Regionalliga West

The 1965–66 season saw two new clubs in the league, VfL Bochum and VfB Bottrop, 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 | Fortuna Düsseldorf (P) | 34 | 26 | 6 | 2 | 79 | 22 | +57 | 58 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 2 | Rot-Weiß Essen (P) | 34 | 23 | 7 | 4 | 74 | 31 | +43 | 53 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 3 | Alemannia Aachen | 34 | 24 | 3 | 7 | 97 | 40 | +57 | 51 | |
| 4 | Rot-Weiß Oberhausen | 34 | 16 | 5 | 13 | 61 | 46 | +15 | 37 | |
| 5 | Wuppertaler SV | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 49 | 43 | +6 | 37 | |
| 6 | Preußen Münster | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 55 | 47 | +8 | 34 | |
| 7 | Schwarz-Weiß Essen | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 47 | 47 | 0 | 34 | |
| 8 | Sportfreunde Hamborn | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 46 | −2 | 34 | |
| 9 | Viktoria Köln | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 51 | 59 | −8 | 34 | |
| 10 | Arminia Bielefeld | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 60 | 58 | +2 | 32 | |
| 11 | Eintracht Duisburg | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 47 | 53 | −6 | 30 | |
| 12 | VfL Bochum | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 46 | 66 | −20 | 30 | |
| 13 | TSV Marl-Hüls | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 47 | 58 | −11 | 29 | |
| 14 | Bayer Leverkusen | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 49 | 75 | −26 | 26 | |
| 15 | Westfalia Herne | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 39 | 66 | −27 | 26 | |
| 16 | Eintracht Gelsenkirchen | 34 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 36 | 67 | −31 | 26 | |
| 17 | VfB Bottrop (R) | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 47 | 68 | −21 | 24 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 18 | STV Horst-Emscher (R) | 34 | 6 | 5 | 23 | 42 | 78 | −36 | 17 | Relegation to Amateurliga |

## Regionalliga Südwest

The 1965–66 season saw one new club in the league, SV Alsenborn, 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 | FK Pirmasens | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 62 | 31 | +31 | 41 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 2 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 30 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 89 | 40 | +49 | 40 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 3 | FSV Mainz 05 | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 66 | 39 | +27 | 38 | |
| 4 | TuS Neuendorf | 30 | 18 | 2 | 10 | 81 | 62 | +19 | 38 | |
| 5 | Wormatia Worms | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 52 | 41 | +11 | 32 | |
| 6 | Saar 05 Saarbrücken | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 44 | 39 | +5 | 32 | |
| 7 | VfR Frankenthal | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 31 | |
| 8 | Röchling Völklingen | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 52 | 58 | −6 | 31 | |
| 9 | SV Alsenborn | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 57 | 55 | +2 | 30 | |
| 10 | SpVgg Weisenau | 30 | 13 | 2 | 15 | 61 | 66 | −5 | 28 | |
| 11 | Südwest Ludwigshafen | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 46 | 50 | −4 | 27 | |
| 12 | Phönix Bellheim | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 36 | 60 | −24 | 26 | |
| 13 | Eintracht Trier | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 44 | 49 | −5 | 25 | |
| 14 | SC Ludwigshafen (R) | 30 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 43 | 61 | −18 | 22 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 15 | BSC Oppau (R) | 30 | 9 | 3 | 18 | 37 | 84 | −47 | 21 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 16 | TSC Zweibrücken (R) | 30 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 41 | 81 | −40 | 18 | Relegation to Amateurliga |

## Regionalliga Süd

The 1965–66 season saw three new clubs in the league, Opel Rüsselsheim, VfR Pforzheim and SpVgg Weiden, all 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 Schweinfurt 05 | 34 | 22 | 5 | 7 | 74 | 39 | +35 | 49 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 2 | Kickers Offenbach | 34 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 78 | 48 | +30 | 48 | Qualification to promotion playoffs |
| 3 | SV Waldhof Mannheim | 34 | 18 | 3 | 13 | 78 | 60 | +18 | 39 | |
| 4 | SpVgg Fürth | 34 | 16 | 6 | 12 | 70 | 52 | +18 | 38 | |
| 5 | Stuttgarter Kickers | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 65 | 52 | +13 | 37 | |
| 6 | KSV Hessen Kassel | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 70 | 62 | +8 | 36 | |
| 7 | 1. FC Pforzheim | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 48 | 46 | +2 | 36 | |
| 8 | SSV Reutlingen | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 60 | 50 | +10 | 34 | |
| 9 | FC Bayern Hof | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 71 | 63 | +8 | 34 | |
| 10 | Opel Rüsselsheim | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 58 | 61 | −3 | 34 | |
| 11 | Schwaben Augsburg | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 66 | 62 | +4 | 33 | |
| 12 | VfR Mannheim | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 55 | 60 | −5 | 33 | |
| 13 | SV Darmstadt 98 | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 54 | 71 | −17 | 33 | |
| 14 | FSV Frankfurt | 34 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 61 | 76 | −15 | 32 | |
| 15 | Freiburger FC | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 55 | 59 | −4 | 29 | |
| 16 | ESV Ingolstadt (R) | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 63 | 75 | −12 | 29 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 17 | SpVgg Weiden (R) | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 51 | 64 | −13 | 27 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 18 | VfR Pforzheim (R) | 34 | 4 | 3 | 27 | 45 | 122 | −77 | 11 | Relegation to Amateurliga |

## Bundesliga promotion round
### Qualifying

The runners-up of the Regionalliga Nord and Regionalliga Südwest played a two-leg decider to determine which team qualified for the group stage, which 1. FC Saarbrücken won on aggregate.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| 1. FC Saarbrücken (SW) | 7–0 | SC Göttingen 05 (N) | 4–0 | 3–0 |

### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Fortuna Düsseldorf (P) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 8 | +9 | 8 | Promotion to Bundesliga |
| 2 | FK Pirmasens | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 8 | |
| 3 | Hertha BSC Berlin | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 5 | |
| 4 | Kickers Offenbach | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 3 | |

### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Rot-Weiß Essen (P) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 8 | Promotion to Bundesliga |
| 2 | FC St.Pauli | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 8 | |
| 3 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 11 | +1 | 5 | |
| 4 | FC Schweinfurt 05 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 3 | |