The 2019–20 2. Bundesliga was the 46th season of the 2. Bundesliga. It began on 26 July 2019 and was initially due to conclude on 17 May 2020. Arminia Bielefeld secured their promotion on 16 June 2020, while VfB Stuttgart got promoted on the last matchday. Following an offline test phase in the previous season, the video assistant referee system will be used for the first time in the 2. Bundesliga. Also, the number of substitutes allowed on the bench was increased from seven to nine for the 2019–20 season. On 13 March 2020, the DFL suspended the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. After consultation with the German government, the league resumed behind closed doors on 16 May 2020. The season then concluded on 28 June.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, on 8 March 2020 the Federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn recommended cancelling events with more than 1,000 people. The following day, the DFL announced that the 2. Bundesliga season would be completed to ensure planning for the following season, and that any postponements would be to matchdays en bloc. In the following days, Timo Hübers, Jannes Horn, Fabian Nürnberger and Stefan Thesker tested positive for COVID-19, requiring all first team players of the three clubs to self-quarantine. Fixtures on matchday 26 were planned to be played without spectators, when necessary, due to local restrictions on public gatherings, but the round was subsequently postponed on 13 March due to safety issues. On 16 March, the DFL general assembly suspended the league until at least 2 April, and scheduled another meeting for the final week of March to discuss how the competition should proceed. The DFL Executive Committee later recommended that the General Assembly, at their meeting on 31 March, extend the suspension until at least 30 April, which was confirmed after that meeting. The DFL are looking into possible scenarios to finish the season regularly. However, several virologists raised doubts, stating that any professional football matches in Germany, including those behind closed doors, were unrealistic for at least the next 12 months. On 3 April 2020, the DFL reported that the financial situation of most teams was more serious than thought. 13 of the 36 professional football clubs from the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, including nine clubs from the 2. Bundesliga, would have to declare bankruptcy by May or June unless league operations resumed by then. Twelve of those clubs had already used the outstanding license fees to pay their March debts to creditors. At their 31 March meeting, the DFL had decided that clubs that enter insolvency proceedings this season would not suffer the usual deduction of points, and clubs that enter proceedings next season only lose three instead of the usual nine points. After allowing teams to return to training in a limited fashion, the league returned on 16 May to play following approval from local authorities. On 9 May 2020, two players of Dynamo Dresden tested positive for COVID-19, requiring a 14-day quarantine for the entire first team and training staff, therefore preventing their match scheduled on 17 May against Hannover 96 from taking place. On 14 May, after a meeting of all clubs, five substitutions will be permitted, which has been temporarily allowed by IFAB following a proposal by FIFA to lessen the impact of fixture congestion. The broadcaster Sky Sport announced that for the first two weeks after the restart, the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga simulcast will be shown on free-to-airtelevision in Germany, in order to prevent gatherings of people without pay TV subscriptions.
