Hessenliga

The Hessenliga (until 2008 Oberliga Hessen) is the highest football league in the state of Hesse and the Hessian football league system. It is one of fourteen Oberligas in German football, the fifth tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 it was the fourth tier of the league system, until the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 the third tier.

Hessenliga

Organising body	Hessian Football Association
Founded	1945
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Other club(s) from	Bavaria
Number of clubs	20
Level on pyramid	Level 5
Promotion to	Regionalliga Südwest
Relegation to	Verbandsliga Hessen-Nord Verbandsliga Hessen-Mitte Verbandsliga Hessen-Süd
Domestic cup(s)	Hessenpokal
Current champions	FSV Fernwald (2024–25)
Current: 2024–25 Oberliga Hessen

Overview

The league was formed in 1945, and except for its first two seasons, it has always played as one single division. The league was called Landesliga-Hessen until 1950 and actually formed the second tier of southern German football. With the introduction of the 2nd Oberliga Süd in 1950, the Landesliga-Hessen was renamed Amateurliga Hessen. In 1978, it was called Amateur Oberliga Hessen, and finally, in 1994 it was renamed Oberliga Hessen.

Since the introduction of the Regionalliga Süd in 1994, the winner of the Oberliga Hessen is automatically promoted to this league. Until 1994 the winners of the Oberligas had to play-off for the four promotion spots to the 2. Bundesliga with the other Oberliga winners.

In 1994, with the introduction of the Regionalliga, six clubs from Hesse were qualified for the new league, based on their performance over the last three seasons, these clubs being:

• Kickers Offenbach
• SV Wehen Wiesbaden
• SG Egelsbach
• Rot-Weiss Frankfurt
• KSV Hessen Kassel
• SV Darmstadt 98

Originally, FSV Frankfurt, champions of 1994, would have also been qualified but gained promotion to the 2. Bundesliga instead.

The Oberliga Hessen still remained below the Regionalliga Süd after the reduction of the number of Regionalligas from four to two in 2000 but this reduction meant that the Oberliga champions in that year were not promoted.

With the changes in the league system in 2008, four clubs from the Hessenliga were promoted to Regionalliga Süd after the 2007–08 season, nominally the top four teams, however, there were also financial requirements to receive a Regionalliga licence. The four clubs were:

• SV Darmstadt 98
• SV Wehen II
• Viktoria Aschaffenburg
• Eintracht Frankfurt II

The Hessenliga is fed by the three Verbandsligen. The winners of those are directly promoted to the Hessenliga, the three runners-up play-off for one more promotion spot.

• Feeder leagues to the Hessenliga:
  • Verbandsliga Hessen-Nord
  • Verbandsliga Hessen-Mitte
  • Verbandsliga Hessen-Süd

The Hessenliga also, at times, accommodated teams from Bavaria, Viktoria Aschaffenburg and FC Bayern Alzenau. In the 2011–12 season, Viktoria played in the league while Alzenau played one level above in the Regionalliga.

From 2012 onwards, the league became a feeder league to the new Regionalliga Südwest, together with the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and the Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar. The previous league the Hessenliga was set below at, the Regionalliga Süd, was disbanded after the 2011–12 season.^[1]

Champions

The league champions since 1945:

Season Club 1945–46 SV Wiesbaden Viktoria Aschaffenburg 1946–47 1. Rödelheimer FC 02 Rot-Weiss Frankfurt 1947–48 1. Rödelheimer FC 02 1948–49 KSV Hessen Kassel 1949–50 SV Darmstadt 98 1950–51 Olympia Lampertheim 1951–52 Olympia Lampertheim 1952–53 FC Hanau 93 1953–54 Borussia Fulda 1954–55 SpVgg Bad Homburg 1955–56 SpVgg Neu-Isenburg 1956–57 Borussia Fulda 1957–58 VfB Friedberg 1958–59 VfL Marburg 1959–60 Borussia Fulda 1960–61 FC Hanau 93 1961–62 SV Darmstadt 98 1962–63 VfB Gießen 1963–64 SV Darmstadt 98 1964–65 Opel Rüsselsheim 1965–66 Germania Wiesbaden 1966–67 SV Wiesbaden 1967–68 Rot-Weiss Frankfurt 1968–69 FSV Frankfurt 1969–70 Eintracht Frankfurt II 1970–71 SV Darmstadt 98

Season Club 1971–72 VfR Bürstadt 1972–73 FSV Frankfurt 1973–74 Viktoria Aschaffenburg 1974–75 FSV Frankfurt 1975–76 KSV Baunatal 1976–77 VfR Bürstadt 1977–78 FC Hanau 93 1978–79 VfR Bürstadt 1979–80 KSV Hessen Kassel 1980–81 Viktoria Griesheim 1981–82 FSV Frankfurt 1982–83 VfR Bürstadt 1983–84 VfR Bürstadt 1984–85 Viktoria Aschaffenburg 1985–86 Kickers Offenbach 1986–87 Kickers Offenbach 1987–88 Viktoria Aschaffenburg 1988–89 KSV Hessen Kassel 1989–90 Rot-Weiss Frankfurt 1990–91 KSV Hessen Kassel 1991–92 Viktoria Aschaffenburg 1992–93 Kickers Offenbach 1993–94 FSV Frankfurt 1994–95 SC Neukirchen 1995–96 Borussia Fulda 1996–97 SV Wehen 1997–98 FSV Frankfurt

Season Club 1998–99 SV Darmstadt 98 1999–00 KSV Klein-Karben 2000–01 Borussia Fulda 2001–02 Eintracht Frankfurt II 2002–03 1. FC Eschborn 2003–04 SV Darmstadt 98 2004–05 1. FC Eschborn 2005–06 KSV Hessen Kassel 2006–07 FSV Frankfurt 2007–08 SV Darmstadt 98 2008–09 SC Waldgirmes 2009–10 FSV Frankfurt II 2010–11 FC Bayern Alzenau 2011–12 1. FC Eschborn 2012–13 KSV Baunatal 2013–14 TGM SV Jügesheim 2014–15 TSV Steinbach 2015–16 Teutonia Watzenborn-Steinberg 2016–17 SC Hessen Dreieich 2017–18 SC Hessen Dreieich 2018–19 FC Gießen 2019–20 TSV Eintracht Stadtallendorf 2020–21 None 2021–22 SG Barockstadt Fulda-Lehnerz 2022–23 Eintracht Frankfurt II 2023–24 FC Gießen 2024–25 FSV Fernwald

• The record number of league championships is held by FSV Frankfurt, with eight titles (including one won by their reserve team, FSV Frankfurt II).
• In 2014, the champions TGM SV Jügesheim declined promotion and no other team that applied for a Regionalliga licence finished high enough in the league to qualify.
• In 2017, the champions Hessen Dreieich declined promotion. The runners-up, TSV Eintracht Stadtallendorf, were promoted instead.
• In 2021 there was no champion or promotion because of the decision to curtail the season during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.
• In 2017, the champions FSV Fernwald declined promotion. The runners-up, Bayern Alzenau, were promoted instead.

League placings

Main article: List of clubs in the Hessenliga

The complete list of clubs and placings in the league since being renamed to Hessenliga in 2008:

Club	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
TSV Steinbach Haiger							1	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Viktoria Aschaffenburg	R	10		R	R	R	1	R	2	1	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
KSV Hessen Kassel	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	3	2	R	R	R	R	R
SG Barockstadt Fulda-Lehnerz1						4	2	3	7	3	5	4	1	1	R	R	R
Eintracht Frankfurt II	R	R	R	R	R	R									1	R	R
FC Gießen2								1	R	4	1	R	R	R	2	1	R
FSV Fernwald	12	13	9	3	7	10						18	10	7	4	8	1
FC Bayern Alzenau	2	R	1	R	R	14	4	15	4	2	2	R	R	11	12	4	2
Türk Gücü Friedberg											13	11	5	14	3	2	3
Rot-Weiß Walldorf												9	3	12	7	10	4
Eintracht Stadtallendorf	8	4	8	15	9	11	9	5	2	R	R	1	R	2	5	12	5
SV Darmstadt 98 II																	6
KSV Baunatal	5	3	3	2	1	R	R	12	9	10	7	12	13	16	6	3	7
FC Eddersheim					17						8	3	19	4	11	6	8
Hünfelder SV	10	9	16		8	19					15		18	19		7	9
SC Waldgirmes	1	2	2	14	14					5	9	10	7	8	13	11	10
SV Adler Weidenhausen															14	9	11
Hanauer SC 1960																5	12
FC Hanau 93												14	4	15	8	13	13
VfB Marburg		12	18													14	14
SV Unter-Flockenbach															17		15
FSV Rot-Weiß Wolfhagen																	16
SV Steinbach									14	17		16	11	17	9	15	17
TuS Hornau																	18
TSV Steinbach Haiger II															20		19
Viktoria Griesheim					10	16	14	8	13	14	11	8	17	13	15	16
1. FC Erlensee													20	5	10	17
TuS Dietkirchen												15	15	10	16	18
SV Neuhof												17	14	9	18
SpVgg Hadamar				13	4	6	3	10	6	6	4	6	6	6	19
SC Hessen Dreieich								13	1	1	R	7	2	3
FV Bad Vilbel											10	13	12	18
VfB Ginsheim										8	6	5	16	20
SV Zeilsheim													9	21
SV Buchonia Flieden	16		13	11	3	15	8	17		12	14		8	22
FSC Lohfelden	19			9	6	12	12	4	11	9	12
FC Ederbergland						17	15		12	13	16
SpVgg 03 Neu-Isenburg										11	17
Borussia Fulda	17							11	5	7
Rot-Weiß Frankfurt	11	7	14	17				2	3	15
OSC Vellmar	9	15	6	7	11	2	11	14	10	16
Sportfreunde Seligenstadt						8	7	9	8
Rot-Weiß Darmstadt			11	8	12	13	16		15
Viktoria Kelsterbach									16
Viktoria Urberach	3	11	7	5	15				17
1. FC Eschborn	6	8	4	1	R	3	10	6
SV Wiesbaden						9	5	7
SpVgg Oberrad							13	16
SV Wehen II	R	R	R	6	5	7	6
1. FC Schwalmstadt		14	17				17
TGM SV Jügesheim				10	2	1
FSV Frankfurt II		1	R	R	R	5
Kickers Offenbach II	4	5	5	12	13	18
FSV Braunfels					16
1. FCA Darmstadt			12	16	18
Eintracht Wetzlar			10	18
RSV Würges	14	6	15
KSV Klein-Karben	7	16
Germania Ober-Roden	15	17
TSG Wörsdorf	13	18
SVA Bad Hersfeld		19
KSV Hessen Kassel II	18

¹ Formerly TSV Lehnerz
² Formerly Teutonia Watzenborn-Steinberg

Key

Symbol	Key
OL B	Oberliga Süd (1945–63) Bundesliga (1963–present)
2O RL 2B	2nd Oberliga Süd (1950–63) Regionalliga Süd (1963–74) 2. Bundesliga (1974–present)
3L	3. Liga (2008–present)
R	Regionalliga Süd (1994–2012) Regionalliga Südwest (2012–present)
1	League champions
Place	Played in the a different Oberliga division
Place	League
Blank	Played at a league level below this league