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3. Liga
3
Country Flag of Germany Germany
Confederation UEFA
Founded 25 July 2008
Number of teams 20
Promotion to 2. Bundesliga
Relegation to Regionalliga Nord
Regionalliga Nordost
Regionalliga West
Regionalliga Südwest
Regionalliga Bayern
Levels on pyramid 3
Domestic cup(s) DFB-Pokal
UEFA cup(s) UEFA Europa League
(via winning DFB-Pokal)
Current champions SSV Ulm (1st title) (2023–24)
Most successful club Dynamo Dresden
1. FC Magdeburg
VfL Osnabrück (2 titles)
TV Magenta Sport
Website Official website
Football current event 2024–25

The 3. Liga and is more explicitly called 3. Fußball-Liga.}} is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.

The modern 3. Liga was formed for the 2008–09 season, replacing the Regionalliga, which had previously served as the third-tier in the country. In Germany, the 3. Liga is also the highest division that a club's reserve team can play in.

History[]

On 8 September 2006, the German Football Association, the DFB, announced the formation of the 3. Liga. It was originally anticipated that the league's name would be 3. Bundesliga, but the DFB chose 3. Liga instead, reflecting the fact that the league will be directly administered by the DFB, not by the German Football League DFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga) who runs both Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga.

The first match of the 3. Liga was played on 25 July 2008 between FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt and Dynamo Dresden at the Steigerwaldstadion in Erfurt. Dynamo Dresden won the match 1–0, with Halil Savran scoring the only goal in the closing stages of the first half.

Financial situation[]

From its foundation in 2008 to 2013 the league had been operating on a financial loss, with a record deficit of €20.9 million in 2012–13. The 2013–14 season saw the league make a profit for the first time, being €4.9 million in the plus. The league earned €164.5 million, well behind the two Bundesligas above it but also well ahead of other professional sports leagues in Germany with the Deutsche Eishockey Liga following with €106.1 million and the Basketball Bundesliga and Handball-Bundesliga sitting around the €90 million mark. This makes it the third-most economically successful professional league in all German sports.

Clubs[]

Since the establishment of the 3. Liga in 2008, a total of 63 clubs have played in this division. In the 2023–24 season, SSV Ulm were represented in the league for the first time. The last club that has been in the 3. Liga without interruption since it was founded in 2008 is FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt, which was relegated in 2018. The longest uninterrupted club playing in the league is SV Wehen Wiesbaden, which from 2009 until its promotion to the 2. Bundesliga in 2019, played in the 3. Liga for 10 years and also leads the all-time table. The club that has remained the longest at the moment is Hallescher FC, which has remained in the division since 2012. The clubs with the currently most – 12 – seasons in the 3. Liga is also SV Wehen Wiesbaden.

Members of and stadiums in the 2023–24 3. Liga

Team Location Stadium Capacity
Erzgebirge Aue Aue-Bad Schlema Erzgebirgsstadion 15,711
Arminia Bielefeld Bielefeld Schüco-Arena 27,300
Borussia Dortmund II Dortmund Stadion Rote Erde 9,999
Dynamo Dresden Dresden Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion 32,085
MSV Duisburg Duisburg Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena 31,500
Rot-Weiss Essen Essen Stadion an der Hafenstraße 20,650
SC Freiburg II Freiburg im Breisgau Dreisamstadion 24,000
Hallescher FC Halle Leuna-Chemie-Stadion 15,057
FC Ingolstadt Ingolstadt Audi Sportpark 15,000
Viktoria Köln Cologne Sportpark Höhenberg 10,001
Waldhof Mannheim Mannheim Carl-Benz-Stadion 25,667
1860 Munich Munich Grünwalder Stadion 15,000
Preußen Münster Münster Preußenstadion 14,300
Jahn Regensburg Regensburg Jahnstadion Regensburg 15,210
1. FC Saarbrücken Saarbrücken Ludwigsparkstadion 16,003
SV Sandhausen Sandhausen GP Stadion am Hardtwald 15,414
SSV Ulm Ulm Donaustadion 19,500
SpVgg Unterhaching Unterhaching Sportpark Unterhaching 15,053
SC Verl Verl Sportclub Arena 5,207

External links[]

3. Liga 2024–25

Alemannia Aachen · Erzgebirge Aue · Arminia Bielefeld · Energie Cottbus · Borussia Dortmund II · Dynamo Dresden · Rot-Weiss Essen · Hannover 96 II · FC Ingolstadt · Viktoria Köln · Waldhof Mannheim · 1860 Munich · VfL Osnabrück · Hansa Rostock · 1. FC Saarbrücken · SV Sandhausen · VfB Stuttgart II · SpVgg Unterhaching · SC Verl · SV Wehen Wiesbaden

3. Liga stadiums 2023-24

Audi Sportpark (FC Ingolstadt) · BWT-Stadion am Hardtwald (SV Sandhausen) · Carl-Benz-Stadion (Waldhof Mannheim) · Donaustadion (SSV Ulm) · Dreisamstadion (SC Freiburg II) · Erzgebirgsstadion (Erzgebirge Aue) · Grünwalder Stadion (1860 Munich) · Home Deluxe Arena (SC Verl) · Jahnstadion Regensburg (Jahn Regensburg) · Leuna Chemie Stadion (Hallescher FC) · Ludwigsparkstadion (1. FC Saarbrücken) · Preußenstadion (Preußen Münster) · Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion (Dynamo Dresden) · Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena (MSV Duisburg) · Schüco-Arena (Arminia Bielefeld) · Sportpark Höhenberg (Viktoria Köln) · Sportpark Unterhaching (SpVgg Unterhaching) · Stadion an der Hafenstraße (Rot-Weiss Essen) · Stadion Lohmühle (VfB Lübeck) · Stadion Rote Erde (Borussia Dortmund II)

3. Liga seasons

2016–17 · 2017–18 · 2018–19 · 2019–20 · 2020–21 · 2021–22 · 2022–23 · 2023–24 · 2024–25 ·

Germany crest
Flag of Germany Germany
Football in Germany
League competitions The DFB Cup competitions
1. Bundesliga Germany (B) (U21) DFB-Pokal
2. Bundesliga, 3. Liga, Regionalliga Players DFB-Ligapokal
Oberliga, Verbandsliga, Landesliga Clubs DFL-Supercup
Bezirksoberliga, Bezirksliga, Kreisliga, Kreisklasse Stadiums
(by capacity)
Leagues
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