Regionalliga Nord
The Regionalliga Nord () is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with the Regionalliga Bayern, Regionalliga Nordost, Regionalliga Südwest and the Regionalliga West. Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 it was the third tier. From 1963 to 1974, a Regionalliga Nord existed as the second tier of the German football league system, but it is not related to the current Regionalliga. Overview. The Regionalliga Nord was introduced in 1994 along with three  other Regionalligas, those being: The reason for its introduction was to create a highest regional league for the north of Germany and to allow its champions, and some years the runners-up too, to be directly promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga. Prior to the introduction of the four Regionalligas, the leagues below the second division were the Oberligas, in which there was ten. Those ten Oberliga champions had to go through a promotion play-off rather than being directly promoted. The champions of the Regionalligas Nord and Nordost however had to play-off for a spot in the 2nd Bundesliga  from 1996 to 2000. The winner of this contest was promoted, the loser faced the runners-ups of the Regionalligas Süd and West/Südwest for another spot in the second division. The Regionalliga Nord was direct continuation of the Oberliga Nord, which was disbanded in 1994 in favour of the Regionalliga. Fourteen out of sixteen Oberliga Nord clubs qualified for the new league, only the bottom two teams were relegated to the two new Oberligas. To replace the Oberliga Nord below the Regionalliga, two new leagues were formed, those being the Oberligas Niedersachsen/Bremen and Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein. These two  leagues were in turn disbanded in 2004 when the Oberliga Nord was reformed. In 2001, 1. FC Union Berlin of this league became only the second Regionalliga side to reach a German Cup final, losing 2-0 to FC Schalke 04. With the league changes in Germany in 2008, the Oberliga Nord was again disbanded and the level below the Regionalliga Nord in this region were the five Verbandligas. This required a promotion play-off for this league winners as there were not five promotion spots available for their region. No changes were made in the NOFV region were the  two Oberligas Nord and Süd will remain. The following four teams were promoted to the Regionalliga from 2009: League history. Foundation of the Regionalliga Nord. The Regionalliga Nord was formed in 1994 with 18 clubs, fourteen from the Oberliga Nord and one each from the Verbandsligas of Niedersachsen, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. The founding members were: From the Oberliga Nord: From the Verbandsliga Schleswig-Holstein: From the Verbandsliga Hamburg: From the Verbandsliga Bremen: From the Verbandsliga Niedersachsen: The "new" Regionalliga Nord was actually a reformation of the "old" Regionalliga Nord which operated from 1963 to 1974 in the same  region but then as the second tier of German football. Unlike the "old" Regionalliga, the new one allowed reserve teams to compete in it. Expansion of the league in 2000. After six seasons, in 2000, the number of Regionalligas was reduced from four to two. Only the Regionalligas Süd and Nord survived. The clubs of the other two were spread according to their geographical location. Only the teams placed two to six were permitted to remain in the league. The league champion, VfL Osnabrück, was promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga and all clubs from place seven to eighteen were relegated  to the Verbandsligas. The league was expanded to nineteen teams and fourteen clubs from the 2nd Bundesliga, Regionalliga West/Südwest and Regionalliga Nordost were admitted. Remaining in the Regionalliga Nord: Relegated from the 2nd Bundesliga: Admitted from the Regionalliga West/Südwest: Admitted from the Regionalliga Nordost: The league reform in 2008. With the introduction of the 3rd Liga in 2008 and of a third Regionalliga, the Regionalliga West, the league became the fourth tier of German football. The clubs from North Rhine-Westphalia left the league again and joined the new Regionalliga West. The make up of the leagues was : The following 18 teams fulfilled the various qualification criteria and were granted a license for play in the new Regionalliga Nord for the 2008-09 season. Remaining in the Regionalliga Nord: From the Oberliga Nord: From the NOFV-Oberliga Nord: From the NOFV-Oberliga Süd: The league reform in 2012. In October 2010, another reform of the Regionalligas was decided upon. The number of leagues was now expanded to five, with the Nordost clubs leaving the Regionalliga Nord to form their own Regionalliga Nordost once more. The new system came into operation at the start of the 2012–13 season. It  was also decided to limit the number of reserve teams per Regionalliga to seven. The league reform in 2019. As four teams were relegated from the 3. Liga at the end of the 2018–19 season, the champions of the Regionalliga Nordost, Regionalliga Südwest and Regionalliga West were promoted directly to the 3. Liga and the remaining two champions, VfL Wolfsburg II of the Regionalliga Nord and Bayern Munich II of the Regionalliga Bayern, played a two-legged promotion play-off for the last promotion spot, which was won by Bayern Munich II. In 2020, the three direct promotion spots will  go to the champions of the Regionalliga Südwest, Regionalliga Nord and Regionalliga Bayern, while the Nordost and the West champions participate in the play-off. This format was installed initially as a temporary solution until the DFB-Bundestag in September 2019 decided on a format that could have enabled all Regionalliga champions to be promoted. On that date, the Bundestag delegates voted to grant the Südwest and West champions two direct promotions indefinitely starting in 2021. A third direct promotion place will be assigned according to a rotation principle among the Regionalliga Nord, Nordost and Bavarian champions. The representatives from  the two remaining Regionalligen will determine the fourth promoted club in two-legged play-offs. Winners and runners-up of the Regionalliga Nord. The winners and runners-up of the league: League statistics. The top goalscorers and attendance figures for the league are: Placings in the Regionalliga Nord. Current extent of league. Final league positions for clubs from the region currently covered by the league: Former extent of league. Final league positions for clubs from the regions formerly covered by the league: Notes. In 2002, 1. FC Magdeburg were refused a licence for the Regionalliga. In 2001, SV Wilhelmshaven was  refused a licence for the Regionalliga. In 2009, Türkiyemspor Berlin avoided relegation after Kickers Emden withdrew from the 3. Liga. In 2001, FC Sachsen Leipzig was refused a licence for the Regionalliga. In 2005, KFC Uerdingen was refused a licence for the Regionalliga. In 1998, VfL Hamburg 93 withdrew their team from the league. Tennis Borussia Berlin declared insolvency on 21 May 2010 and was automatically relegated. Hansa Rostock II withdrew from the league in 2010 for financial reasons. VfB Lübeck and FC Oberneuland declared insolvency in 2013 and were relegated from the league. Eintracht Braunschweig II was relegated to  the Oberliga in 2018 following the first team's relegation from the 2. Bundesliga, sparing Schwarz-Weiß Rehden from relegation.