3. Liga | |
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Country | ![]() |
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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 |
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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 |
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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[]
- Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB) (German)
- kicker.de (German)
- 3. Liga at Weltfussball.de (German)
- German 3.Liga (www.3-liga.com) (German)
- 3. Liga at Soccerway.com
- League321.com – German football league tables, records & statistics database
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 · |
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