Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden


The Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden was the highest association football league in the German states of Württemberg and Baden and the Prussian Province of Hohenzollern from 1923 to 1933. The league was disbanded with the rise of the Nazis to power in 1933.

Overview

The league was formed in 1923, after a league reform which was decided upon in Darmstadt, Hesse. It replaced the Kreisliga Südwest and the Kreisliga Württemberg as the highest leagues in the region.
The league started out with eight clubs from the two states and the Prussian province in the region, but without clubs from the Ulm, who were playing in the Bezirksliga Bayern and Mannheim, who played in the Bezirksliga Rhein instead. The eight clubs played each other in a home-and-away round with the top team advancing to the Southern German championship, which in turn was a qualification tournament for the German championship.
For the second and third seasons, 1924–25 and 1925–26, the modus remained unchanged.
For the 1926-27 season, the league was expanded to ten teams. The top team was again qualified for the finals. The runners-up of the Bezirksligas in the south from then on also played a championship round to determine a third team from the region to go to the German finals with the Karlsruher FV from the region qualifying for this.
After this season, the league was split into a Württemberg and a Baden group, the first having nine and the second eight teams. No final was played between the two group winners as both went on to the Southern German championship. The second and third placed team of each division would also advance to the separate round of the runners-up like in the previous season.
The 1928-29 season saw no change in modus but both leagues now operated on a strength of eight clubs. The qualification system for the finals also remained unchanged. This system remained in place until 1931.
For the 1931-32 season, both divisions were expanded to ten teams. The top-two teams from each league then advanced to the Southern German finals, which were now staged in two regional groups with a finals game between the two group winners at the end. The same system applied for the final season of the league in 1932-33.
With the rise of the Nazis to power, the Gauligas were introduced as the highest football leagues in Germany. In Württemberg-Baden, the Gauliga Württemberg and the Gauliga Baden replaced the Bezirksliga as the highest level of play.

National success

The clubs from the Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden did not manage to win a German championship in this era and were dominated by the much stronger competition from the Bezirksliga Bayern.

Southern German championship

No team from the region qualified for the German championship finals in this era.

Founding members of the league

SeasonWürttembergBaden
1927–28Stuttgarter KickersKarlruher FV
1928–29Germania BrötzingenKarlruher FV
1929–30VfB StuttgartFreiburger FC
1930–31Union BöckingenKarlruher FV
1931–321. FC PforzheimKarlruher FV
1932–33Stuttgarter KickersPhönix Karlsruhe

Placings in the Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden 1923-33

Clubs from ''Baden-division''

Source:

Clubs from the ''Württemberg-division''

Source: