The Amateurliga Südwest was formed in 1952 in the southern half of the state of Rheinland-Pfalz. Before its inception, three separate leagues operated in the area as the highest level of play. The league was a feeder league to the 2. Oberliga Südwest. From 1952 until the establishment of the Oberliga Südwest in 1978, it was the third tier of the football league system. The winner of the Amateurliga Südwest was not automatically promoted to its superior league but rather had to take part in a promotion play-off. The champion would have to compete with the winners of the Amateurligas Saarland and Rheinland. Until 1933, the region covered by the Südwest FA was politically part of two other German states. The south, the Pfalz region, was part of Bavaria and the north, the Rheinhessen region, was part of Hessen. After the war, these regions were incorporated into the new state of Rheinland-Pfalz. The separation of these areas from their original states results from the outcome of World War II when they became part of the French occupation zone, while Hessen and Bavaria where in the US zone. The league was established in 1952 with sixteen teams, the winner gaining promotion to the 2. Oberliga Südwest. The founder members were:
BSC Oppau
VfR Friesenheim
FSV Schifferstadt
Phönix Bellheim
SV Alsenborn
TuS Hochspeyer
SpVgg Idar
Palatia Böhl
SC Oberstein 08
SC West-Kaiserslautern
SpVgg Ingelheim
SV Gonsenheim
Fontania Finthen
FC Sobernheim
SG Waldfischbach
SV Mundenheim
With the introduction of the Bundesliga in 1963 the Amateurliga was placed below the new Regionalliga Südwest but still retained its third-tier status. It continued to do so after the introduction of the 2. Bundesliga Süd in 1974. The 1. FC Kaiserslautern II holds the record for years in the league, having spent 21 continuous seasons in it from 1957 to 1978. There is room for some confusion with the existence of the Oberliga Südwest as well as the Verbandsliga Südwest and the now defunct leagues Regionalliga Südwest and Amateurliga Südwest. While the Oberliga and Regionalliga of that name cover and covered the whole states of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland, the Verbandsliga and Amateurliga only covered the southern part of Rheinland-Pfalz and operated as feeders for the first two. The root of the problem lies in the lack of common history in the region and therefore the lack of a common name.
Disbanding of the Amateurliga Südwest
In 1978, the Oberliga Südwest was formed to allow direct promotion to the 2. Bundesliga Süd for the Amateure champion of the area. The teams placed one to five gained entry to the Oberliga while the next eleven teams were put into the new Verbandsliga Südwest, now the fourth tier of the football league system. The bottom four teams were relegated to the Bezirksliga. Admitted to the new Oberliga:
In 1960 the FSV Schifferstadt was promoted as runners–up since Kaiserslautern's reserve team was ineligible for promotion. For the same reason, FV Speyer was promoted in 1968.
