Germany Oberliga Westfalen

The Germany Oberliga Westfalen is the top football league in the Westphalia region, which is part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The league ran from 1978 to 2008, when it was replaced by the NRW-Liga, a modern statewide league. For more details of the present tournament, please check out Oberliga Westfalen Predictions here!

The Oberliga Westfalen was reintroduced as the top tier in the area and the fifth level overall in Germany with the restructuring of the league structure in 2012, which limited the Regionalliga West to clubs from North Rhine-Westphalia only and dissolved the NRW-Liga below it. It is one of fourteen Oberligas of German football, and it is the fifth tier of the German league structure. The league was established in 1978 as the highest level of competition for the Westphalia district, which was previously divided into two classes and covering the eastern half of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The key reason for establishing this league was to give its champion automatic promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga Nord rather than having to compete in a promotion play-off. The league was founded by the merger of nine clubs from the Verbandsliga Westfalen-Nordost and eight clubs from the Verbandsliga Westfalen-Südwest. SC Herford was relegated to the new league from the 2. Bundesliga Nord.

History of the Oberliga Westfalen:

The league was formed as the Amateur-Oberliga Westfalen, but it was shortened to Oberliga Westfalen in 1994. When the unified 2nd Bundesliga was introduced in 1981, automatic promotion for the Oberliga champions became unlikely once again since there were eight of them vying for four promotion spots. The winner of the Oberliga Westfalen had to contend for two 2. Bundesliga slots with the winner and runner-up of the Oberliga Nord, as well as the losers of the Oberliga Berlin and the Oberliga Nordrhein.

The champions of the Oberligas were directly promoted again when the Regionalligas were formed in 1994, but the Oberligas fell to the fourth tier of the German football league structure. The top six teams from that year's Oberliga were invited to the current Regionalliga West/Südwest, with the following clubs:

• TuS Paderborn-Neuhaus 
• SC Preussen Münster
• Arminia Bielefeld
• SpVgg Erkenschwick
• SC Verl
• SG Wattenscheid 09 II

With the reduction of the number of Regionalligas from four to two in 2000, the Oberliga Westfalen was now situated below the Regionalliga Nord. Sportfreunde Siegen, located in the region's extreme south, however, competed in the Regionalliga Süd. With the establishment of the 3rd Liga in 2008, the Oberliga Westfalen was replaced by the NRW-Liga, which is currently the fifth tier of the league structure. After 30 seasons, the Oberliga Westfalen was dissolved. Its clubs were divided into three leagues. The top four teams were promoted to the new Regionalliga West, clubs from fifth to eleventh were promoted to the new Oberliga, and the bottom seven teams were relegated to the Verbandsligas.

The league came back to life in 2012 when the NRW-Liga disbanded once more time.

Champion of the Oberliga Westfalen:

Founding members of  the Oberliga Westfalen:

From the 2nd Bundesliga Nord:

• SC Herford

From the Verbandsliga Westfalen-Nordost:

• 1.FC Paderborn
• VfB Rheine
• Tus Schloss Neuhaus
• SV Ahlen
• Bünder SV 
• SV Emsdetten
• SV Beckum
• DJK Gütersloh 
• TSG Harsewinkel

From the Verbandsliga Westfalen-Südwest

• SpVgg Erkenschwick
• VfL Gevelsberg
• Sportfreunde Siegen
• DJK Hellweg Lütgendortmund
• SuS Hüsten 09
• Eintracht Reclinghausen
• VfB Altena

Sources:

• Deutschland Fussball in Zahlen
• Kicker Almanach