I am from Aachen and my club is Alemannia Aachen. Alemannia got promoted from Regionalliga West to the 3. Liga this season and we have an average attendance of over 20.000 as well. It's definatley about the history and about supporting your local club, that your parents also use to love. You don't get to choose a club. If you're from Aachen you will most likely support Alemannia, no matter the league they play in.

The quality of 3. Liga Football is actually quite decent. Teams like Preußen Münster and Saarbrücken played in the German Cup this year, and held their own well against 1. League Teams like Bayern Munich. Saarbrücken even advanced to the Semi-Final Stage of the German Cup, Defeating 3 1.League Teams, Frankfurt, Bayern and B'Mönchengladbach.

Ulm is local team from where i live. I'm an fan since many years and i was in the stadium when they got promoted last year. It's an amazing story this club is writing the last years and i can't wait to see how it turns our next year in the 2. Bundesliga. Auf geht's Ulmer!!!!

Quality of Football is extremely different among the teams… On some days, the last can easily beat one of the top teams, the Most important thing in the league is: How long can a team make a constant run and act as an unity

Preußen Münster Fan here 🙋‍♂️. I appreciate your effort, covering 3. Liga. You had some mistakes, which Germans will notice immediately. You showed the fans of Hansa Rostock and Chemnitz. Rostock is playing this season in the 2. Bundesliga and Chemnitz plays in the Regionalliga. Than, when you mentioned "this is an away game!" of Dynamo Dresden, you could see it was a game from some seasons prior, because they played against Hamburg (the Logo of a Fan is visible), so it must have been in the 2. Bundesliga. When you talked about Duisburg, you showed a picture of an Holstein Kiel (similar colors). Thanks for covering our awesome league, where every season, everybody can beat everybody 🙋‍♂️✌️

The last times the Munich Derby was played was in 3rd Tier. With 1860 playing FC Bayern II. And those were quite intense occassions for the Ultras of both sides with great Atmosphere. Having the 2nd Team in 3. Liga is a great benefit for Bundesliga teams. Because the level is just so much higher there over Regionalliga and it's a real National competition with all the experiences of fitness during long travel etc. that brings. You have a way of giving your young talent real competitive time on the pitch. Often the teams are a mix between seasonsed players and youngsters working towards their breakthrough to the first team. So a mix of younger players and veterans that command respect and control the dressing room. A structure like they'd find in a Bundesliga side. Extremely talented youngsters "learning the ropes" of the pro sport in the 2nd Team in 3. Liga being pulled to the first team or maybe moving on to less high profile first league teams and the gap in talent they are leaving behind, is often also why the 2nd Teams of Bundesliga sites go up and down between 3. Liga and Regionalliga quite regularly.

Nobody in Germany Likes having the Reserves in the 3.liga

The fact that it happens relatively frequently, that a 4th tier promoted team runs through the 3rd tier and directly ends up in the 2nd bundesliga, says a lot of how tiny the gap between 2nd and 4th tier is.

Just remember that Saarbrücken had come to the dfb half-final as a 3 tier club

Thank you for the video! I really enjoy the topic of supporting also "smaller Clubs" or Clubs in the 2. or 3. League. In Switzerland it's also very interesting right now with promoting or relegations.

The quality of football is quite good. The top teams of 3. Liga usually are as good as the 2. Bundesliga mid table teams. The league is as good as league one in my opinion. Maybe the 4th division in Germany is weaker than league two because there are a lot of teams which aren't professional clubs.

@8:08 Thank you for understanding our pain. Looking forward to more videos of you in the future!

I had good fun watching this video. As the end of the 23/24 season approaches I’ve worked out this season alone I’ve done 10 new German grounds in the bundesliga 1/2/3 and over the last several years and countless trips to Germany for football. I’d like to say I’ve built up a pretty decent knowledge of why German football is like what it is and how different it is to football over here in England and what we could learn from them. I’d love to have a chat with you about this if it interests you let me know

In the Dutch second league we have reserve teams aswell. Ruins the league completly.

Great Video. I hope you enjoy a match in the future. Perhaps in Aachen with an attendance of 30000.

Another great video, you’re gonna be big one day

Having u21 or u23 teams in their own league would hinder the progression of the players. Its necessary for their developement to play with and against estaplished players and teams with full stadiums and not a couple of hundred spectators in a junior league game

3:36 Just fyi, in case you happen to make more videos regarding German football, for clubs like Wuppertaler SV you'd usually drop the "-er" with the "SV" or whatever happens to be there. A few minor errors aside this was a very enjoyable video and I'll check out some of your other videos

Greets from germany! Nice Video !

We do have B teams in England, in the non-league system, but like Germany, there are rules. They cannot be promoted past step 5, there must be 2 divisions between them and the first team, and they cannot qualify for the FA Cup.

I am kinda sad you did not talk about two of my favorite teams: Arminia Bielefeld (was in Bundesliga just two years ago, got relegated twice in a row and barely managed not to this season) and Alemania Aachen (just got promoted to 3. Liga with huge stadium and attendance).

i went on a football tour of germany recently and i agree. This league has so many stories but the one i found the most fascinating is that of Duisberg. A huge stadium and fan base being relegated to the fourth tier is beyond imagination

One small thing I keep noticing with english speaking natives pronouncing german teams I thought I‘d point out real quick: Some german clubs have the FC or SV or something in front of the name so it‘s FC Köln, SC Freiburg, … Some of them do have it at the end like Bremer SV or Wuppertalter SV. Directly translated the er at the end of the name means SV from Bremen/ Wuppertal, so when just saying the city Name it‘s Wuppertal, not Wuppertaler. It‘s a bit difficult cause for example it‘s Bremen, not Brem but thought I‘d point that out real quick. Thanks for the nice video, Cheers

Im a supporter of Bielefeld and I love the 3. division the quality is not as good as in the budesliga but there is not a big difference to the 2. tier it’s really close and every team has the chance to get promoted its much more dramatic than the bundesliga and i love that

I agree that U21 and U23 should be in their own league.

Dresden, Rostock and Zwickau- some of the teams you highlighted are in former East Germany. Those fans are starved for a team in higher leagues to cheer for. Unfortunately the money isn’t there to get their clubs up.

French Championnat National is pretty cool too with 9 pro clubs and 9 semipro clubs this year !

As a german I can confirm that most people here in Germany think the same way as you do about the reserve teams of some clubs and that they should get their own leagues

I am not a big fan of reserve teams above the regional leagues, especially as they just do not have the support to create a good atmosphere. Frankfurt II is actually a franchise club (they originally were a small plastic club playing in Dreieich, before being bought out by Eintracht, after Eintracht had closed down their own, genuine, reserves some years earlier) and thankfully still stuck in the lower leagues. However, I would love to attend a match at Rote Erde and Dreisamstadion (Freiburg), but both are just a bit too far away, and Freiburg II are obviously going down. Speaking of attendance: You should definitely keep an eye on Alemannia Aachen, who just got promoted to 3. Liga for the first time in 11 (?) years, a former great. They have had attendance figures well in excess of 10.000 in the Regionalliga for quite some time. There were quite a few vids on their promotion party on KZfaq. Sadly, they have a bit of an issue with right-wing fans, although I cannot say how pertinent that topic is, these days.

3rd tier probably is a bit high to allow Reserves for somewhere like Germany, but having reserve sides play against actual sides can be great for learning physicality and such. Can be for various reasons (teams not financially stable at that level, competitiveness etc.) in smaller nations, but I suspect not so much in Germany.

As a Supporter from Waldhof Mannheim. I can say that the third league is highly competitive and you can see that in not just Saarbrücken‘s run while being 6th in the league. But also on the newly broken record for viewership on tv. And the skill of the players is comparable to the 2nd League and I would say a lot of teams that played in this season can easily compete in the 2nd League. #EinmalWaldhofImmerWaldhof🔵⚫️

When I started being a football fan and watching games in the stadium, VfB Lübeck played in the 2. Bundesliga, back when the 3. Liga didn't even exist (2003/04 season, where we reached the DFB-Pokal semi final). Nowerdays I'm more of a HSV fan, but I still support Lübeck and watch their games on TV or via Live Ticker.

You should make a video talking about the 4. Liga

Good Video

10000 subscribers needed AT LEAST

Bundesliga 3 has about the same quality as other nations second devisions.

how can you make a video on the 3.Liga and not mention Arminia Bielefeld once

I get your takes when it comes to the Reserves of Freiburg, Dortmund, Bayern etc. playing in the 3. Liga. But after all these clubs earned promotion through on field success, without cheating their way in or anything like that. If they deliver on the pitch, they promote. If they dont, then they will relegate again, just like any other club. These reserves are mostly used as under 23 teams, which is a great way for the youngsters and talent to develop and grow due to the higher level competition and the professionalism of the third division. On the other Hand these Reserve Teams of course use places, which could be filled by clubs with their own rich history and fanbase. There is certainly a debate to be held and i understand both sides of it quite well.

Do regional league in germany

A 3rd tier team (Saarbrücken) kicked out Bayern Munich, Borussia M. Gladbach & Eintracht Frankfurt in this years DFB Pokal. Its already the 2nd time Saarbrücken had a run to the Semi Final within the last 5 years while being a 3rd tier team.

One main reason for the 2nd teams being in the normal tiers of German football (and for the best being maybe as high up as 3rd tier) is that this is the same for all teams in German football. Many local teams and even village teams have a 2nd team too. If more players from a village are playing in that village club than one team can manage, it´s an opportunity for the weaker players to still play in the league system and have fun in the lowest tiers and play cup games. Otherwise they would have to found a separate club with all the bureaucracy etc. involved. And to put all these low class 2nd club teams in separate leagues, only for them, would create so much more confusion in the league system.

The second teams in the 3. Liga is a difficult topic here as well. The 3. Liga don't want the 2nd teams in there either, since it means less match day income and just an unfair game since the 1st and 2nd teams from Dortmund for example can exchange players between matches.

About the whole situation with second teams of Bundesliga Clubs playing in the same league system as all the other clubs: Probably like 99% of german fans also think this is stupid and the VfL Osnabrück(I think) ultras had a campaign to change this but this failed to be picked up by other ultra groups as well, mostly because they believe that there are much bigger and more pressing issues in both german and International football right now. Overall many would like to change the situation but also have other prioreties in the world of football and the dfb or dfl won't just change this system by themselves. To be fair I would actually say that this current system allows the Bundesliga clubs to develop yung players better as in their second team that probably is in the 3. Or 4. Division they can offer yung players a station between the youth clubs and first or second league football so there is an argument in favour of this current system, even if it's at the expense of lower league teams. Also on the fact that some second clubs like Dortmund 2 seem to have a general supporter base: First of all, all supoorts of the second team also actually support the first team but there are some reasons why people still go to the second team's matches: -tickets are cheaper there is no problem to get tickets and they are more relaxed -you might play some relevant and history rich clubs from the lower divisions that might also offer a great and unique away game -you might be banned from your clubs main stadium -ultras might want to try out some chants or tifo ideas at those matches before implementing them in the first team -the younger ultras can be in more leading possions and experiment more during their second team matches.

I tbink its quite good. But it's worth watching even if the football isn't the best

I watch 3.Liga alot through the DFB youtube channel and its a good standard not as good as the Buli obviously but the teams usually play a good style and all the players are very technically solid

3 League is a shark tank. It's scary there...

German football culture is unmatched and the history of every league even the reigonal league is immense Stuttgarter Kickers a former bundesliga team just missed out on promotion to the 3.Liga on the final woth Stuttgart II going up now instead.

Season ticket holder for a 3.Liga team. Watching their every game. And... to be honest... while the FOTY team usually plays interesting and entertaining football, there are so many matches that are just a shit show. Because the technical level is really really bad. You might have an interesting build up play and then someone just hoofs the ball out of play in an atrocious individual error. You have matches with only 2 or 3 chances for either side because of the sheer level of incompetence displayed by both teams. Few teams are able to attack well. And few offensive players have the right combination of things. They are fast, but can't control the ball. They can control the ball, but can't dribble or pass. They can dribble and pass, but can't run for 90 minutes. So the 3.Liga is basically exactly what everyone thinks. It is a highly competitive league showing low level professional football, offers a few places with good atmosphere and in case you are a fan of a club there, better grad a few beer before the match. Because chances are that you won't be able to endure the match while being sober.

Nitroze is that you? Wth 😂

2nd teams are what holding the league back the most, thats and the financially risiko you have to go in the league to have a chance (you just make no money) 2nd league have basicly ZERO fans so its always bad for the atmosphere to play a 2nd team

Don’t talk about how good german fans are an then show fucking rb leipzig fans …

Hi mate, 1860 munich fan here. Quality of football is lackluster and inconsistent, on same days, you look like Real Madrid. On others, like a Sunday league team. Between the bigger clubs, it is extremely well supported as you mentioned. I just got back from Essen because of our match on Friday against rot Weiss Essen. 2000 away fans plus the home section being sold out. Few teams in non top flight leagues can do that. The 3rd division is an extremely hard league to get out because you are stuck on a limbo between professional and semi pro football. Any further questions, I’ll happily respond. IMMER DER TSV

There is nothing wrong with 2nd teams existing in our 3rd league. They have to compete in the regional non-professional leagues for promotions the same way every other team does to get to 3rd Lots of Bundesliga clubs have their 2nd teams running around 4th,5th, or 6 division always failing to promote there. There is also a common standard for these teams to include maybe 2-3 "experienced" (aka. above 25 yrs old more or less) players in their roster, with the rest being usually the academy players. This is a way to give lots of playtime to (potential) future stars in the first team AND also provides lots of high quality fodder for 2nd or other 3rd division teams, should they fail to make the cut. Running a dedicated academy is expensive, so less professional clubs getting a way to also sign good talent reliably seems quite good to me. Do english youth players just never leave their campus or something? Do they only play friendlies against other academies? That seems like a waste. There is so much you can learn from players that spent most of their career in 3rd or lower tier aswell.

Bro I stg u sound so much like Nitroze

my team got insolvent in 3rd league after surviving the league by 1 point ahead of relegation and then also not got licence in league 4 so now we are in league 5 3. liga is really really bad financially for clubs nearly all make minus. also 2nd teams REALLY need to get kicked out of 3rd league and down into amateur level 4th league

😊

Papa John's trophy? WTF? Regarding over commercialization English football is second only to US sports.

Zwickau is not in the 3rd league

Blud talks about fans and shows someone in a rb shirt💀💀

As a German.. Firstly, thanks for covering this.. And secondly: Completely agree that the Clubs of the Bundesliga 1 and 2 should have their U23 reserve teams compete in a separate league of their own. Leave the top 3 tiers of German football strictly to first teams of their respective clubs.

The lower leagues in general are better. Just the passion and loyalty to a team is unlike anything else