The Regionalliga Südwest was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the southwest of West Germany from 1963 until the formation of the 2. Bundesliga in 1974. It covered the states of Saarland and Rheinland-Pfalz.
Along with the Regionalliga Südwest went another four Regionalligas, these five formed the second tier of German football until 1974:
The new Regionalligas were formed along the borders of the old post-World War II Oberligas, not after a balanced regional system. Therefore the Oberligas Berlin and West covered small but populous areas while Nord and Süd covered large areas. Südwest was something of an anachronism, neither large nor populous. It was basically a remainder of the former French occupation zone.
Originally only the winners, later also runners-up of this league were admitted to the promotion play-off to the new Bundesliga, which was staged in two groups of originally four, later five teams each with the winner of each group going up.
The bottom three teams were relegated to the Amateurligas. Below the Regionalliga Südwest were the following Amateurligas:
The FSV Mainz 05, VfR Wormatia Worms, FK Pirmasens, SV Röchling Völklingen, Südwest Ludwigshafen and TuS Neuendorf all played every one of the eleven seasons of the Regionalliga Südwest.
The league was dissolved in 1974. According to their performance of the last couple of seasons, seven clubs of the Regionalliga went to the new 2. Bundesliga Süd. The nine remaining clubs were relegated to the Amateurligas.
The teams admitted to the 2. Bundesliga Süd were:
Relegated clubs:
From the Regionalliga Südwest, seven clubs qualified for the new 2. Bundesliga Süd, together with 13 teams from the Süd region.
The qualifying modus saw the last five seasons counted, whereby the last placed team in each season received one point, the second-last two points and so on. For a Bundesliga season within this five-year period, a club received 25 points, for an Amateurliga season none.
For the seasons 1969–70 and 1970–71, the received points counted single, for the 1971–72 and 1972–73 season double and for the 1973–74 season three times.
To be considered in the points table for the new league, a club had to play either in the Regionalliga Südwest in 1973-74 or to have been relegated from the Bundesliga to it for the next season, something which did not apply to the league that year.
The bottom three clubs in the league, nominally the relegated teams in a normal season, were barred from entry to the 2. Bundesliga, regardless of where they stood in the points ranking.[1]
Points table:
In 1994, the Regionalligas were reintroduced, this time as the third tier of German Football. The teams from the southwest were however integrated into the new Regionalliga West/Südwest with the clubs from Nordrhein-Westfalen. In 2000, when the number of Regionalligas was reduced from four to two, the south western clubs moved to the Regionalliga Süd. In 2008, with the introduction of the 3. Liga the southwestern clubs will again move, into the new Regionalliga West and again be with the teams from Nordrhein-Westfalen.
The winners and runners-up of the league were:[2]
The league placings from 1963 to 1974:[3]
Source:"Regionalliga Südwest". Das deutsche Fussball-Archiv. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
The league records:
The best and worst teams in the all-time table of the league from 1963 to 1974:[8]