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Yellow rage and Rostock wasteland: 3rd division becomes a western product

Würzburg 02. June 2026 10:48 Uhr 6 Min
Yellow rage and Rostock wasteland: 3rd division becomes a western product
Frustration in yellow: Lok Leipzig remains fourth class. / Photo: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
From: DieSachsen News
In future, 19 western clubs will play in the third division - and Hansa Rostock. The problem of distribution is homemade. The pressure on the DFB is growing after this relegation result.

When the party classic "We are the Champions" rang out loudly in Würzburg, the Lok Leipzig professionals and officials must have felt particularly mocked. For the third time in seven years, the Saxons had won the championship title in the Regionalliga Nordost. However, as in 2020 and 2025, the successor to the first German soccer champions VfB Leipzig will not be promoted to the 3rd division this time either.

Lok fans: "Your system is sick"

It is an inglorious and memorable treble of failure for which Lok Leipzig is not responsible - the German Football Association (DFB) all the more so. This is because only four teams from five seasons of the regional league are allowed to play professional soccer. And for the third time now, Lok Leipzig has been the victim of this process, which is increasingly turning the 3rd division into a western product.

In the coming season, 19 western clubs and Hansa Rostock will play in the 3rd division. This is certainly a consequence of the reform, according to which the champions of the South-West and West regional leagues have been promoted directly since 2021 - Leipzig has had to go through relegation twice since then and had already lost in 2020. "Your system is sick," read a banner of the yellow-clad Lok Leipzig fans after the final whistle.

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The furor is particularly great this time. And that's not even because the events have been repeated to Leipzig's disadvantage. After four years of abstinence, the Würzburger Kickers are not returning to the 3rd division as regional champions, but as runners-up - 1. FC Nürnberg II had renounced in advance. Leipzig's sporting director Toni Wachsmuth said: "We've scored just under 150 points in two years and not been promoted twice. That's extremely bitter."

Ziane: Everyone is sad

The symbol of the botched reform process was Leipzig captain Djamal Ziane sobbing in the catacombs. The 34-year-old, whose goal in the 2-1 defeat in Würzburg was not enough for a great comeback, has been at the club since 2014 and has witnessed all the dramas. "Everyone is sad from us. You can't just suppress your feelings," said Ziane with reddened eyes. To cheer up your own teammates? That was out of the question for the striker at that moment.

The shirt worn by DFB employees with the inscription "Die 3. Liga zeigt's uns" (The 3rd league shows us), which was actually intended as third division advertising, is unlikely to have cheered up the Lok professionals. The DFB has been in chaos for years with the promotion rule, which was introduced in 2013 and later modified, and has even admitted its own mistakes. "Yes, champions must be promoted," said DFB president Bernd Neuendorf.

What happens next with the reform?

The regional model (which could mean the abolition of the Regionalliga Nordost) and the compass model, in which a computer calculates the composition of the four leagues each year, are on the table and have a reduction of the leagues in common. The DFB rejects an increase in the 3rd division to 22 teams. If a corresponding decision is made, as stated in the results of the AG Regionalliga-Reform, a new model could be implemented from the 2028/2029 season.

This means that the current model is likely to remain in place for two more seasons. This has not only led to unfairness in terms of promotion, but also to a one-sided distribution of third division clubs. Only Hansa remains from the north-east of Germany.

Würzburg got it in 2024

There will therefore be no short trips for Rostock in the coming season. Instead, they will travel across the country to Ingolstadt, Regensburg, Saarbrücken and Hoffenheim. Rostock will become the wasteland of the third division.

Even before the big celebrations began in Würzburg, the stadium announcer addressed the visiting fans and told them that they considered the existing system itself to be an injustice. It seemed all the more inappropriate to play "We are the Champions" a few moments later, when the visitors were still with their 2,000 fans who had traveled with them.

After all, the feeling that Lok Leipzig took with them on their journey home late on Monday evening is something they know in Würzburg. The club from Lower Franconia scored 82 points two years ago and became regional league champions. This was not enough to secure promotion because they lost the relegation play-off against the second team of Hannover 96 on penalties. And another consolation for Leipzig: next season it will be the turn of the north-east, with the champions promoted directly.

Copyright 2026, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved

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Topics :

Soccer 3rd league Germany regional league Bavaria relegation Saxony Würzburger Kickers Lok Leipzig Würzburg
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Projekt Saxony Today : Mehrsprachigkeit von regionalen Nachrichten für in Sachsen lebende Menschen ohne deutsche Muttersprache. Projekt wird gefördert durch die Sächsische Landesanstalt für privaten Rundfunk und neue Medien. Diese Maßnahme wird mitfinanziert durch Steuermittel auf Grundlage des vom Sächsischen Landtag beschlossenen Haushaltes.
Projekt Saxony Today : Mehrsprachigkeit von regionalen Nachrichten für in Sachsen lebende Menschen ohne deutsche Muttersprache. Projekt wird gefördert durch die Sächsische Landesanstalt für privaten Rundfunk und neue Medien. Diese Maßnahme wird mitfinanziert durch Steuermittel auf Grundlage des vom Sächsischen Landtag beschlossenen Haushaltes.