2. Bundesliga

The 2. Bundesliga is the second-highest level of professional football in Germany. It was created 11 years after the top league, the Bundesliga, to give more teams a chance to compete at a high level. The league sits between the Bundesliga and the 3. Liga in the German football league system.

It began in August 1974, originally with two groups of 20 teams. Over time, it changed to a single group of 18 teams. Each season, the top two teams move up to the Bundesliga, while the third-place team can win a playoff to move up as well. Teams that finish near the bottom of the league may drop down to the third division.

Many important clubs have played in the 2. Bundesliga, and some have moved up to the top league many times. For the 2024–25 season, it had the highest average attendance of any second-tier league in the world, showing just how popular it is with fans.

History

Background

When the Bundesliga began in 1963, five Regionalliga leagues were created as the second-highest level. These were South, Southwest, West, North, and Berlin. The top teams from each Regionalliga would play against teams relegated from the Bundesliga. However, this system caused financial problems for clubs, as relegation from the Bundesliga could harm a club's finances.

This issue contributed to a scandal in 1971, where some teams manipulated results to avoid relegation. As a result, in 1973, it was decided to create a new fully professional second division called the 2. Bundesliga, which would have two divisions: north and south.

Formation

The 2. Bundesliga replaced the five Regionalligas from the 1974-75 season. Each Regionalliga had a certain number of spots in the new league. The league was split into northern and southern divisions, each with 20 teams. The top team in each division was promoted to the Bundesliga, while the second-placed teams played a playoff for the third promotion spot. The bottom four teams in each division were relegated.

2. Bundesliga North and South 1974 to 1981

The first match of the league was played in 1974 between 1. FC Saarbrücken and Darmstadt 98. The league's first champions were Hannover 96 in the north and Karlsruher SC in the south. Over the years, various teams won the league and earned promotion to the Bundesliga.

Single division era 1981 to 1991

In 1981, the league became a single division with 20 teams. The top two teams were promoted, while the third-placed team played a playoff against a Bundesliga team for promotion. The bottom four teams were relegated.

German reunification 1991–92

After German reunification in 1991, the league was temporarily expanded to 24 teams to include East German clubs. It returned to a single division of 24 teams the following season.

Single division era 1992 to present

From 1992 onward, the league operated as a single division. The number of teams and promotion/relegation rules changed several times over the years. Teams like SC Freiburg, VfL Bochum, and Arminia Bielefeld won the league and earned promotion to the Bundesliga. The league continued to evolve with changes in format and rules.

Logo history

In 1996, the Bundesliga got its first logo to stand out. Six years later, the logo changed to a portrait shape and stayed that way until 2010. A new logo was made for the 2010–11 season to look modern on all types of screens. For the league’s 50th birthday in the 2012–13 season, a special logo with “50” and “1963–2013” was used. After that season, the 2010 logo came back.

In December 2016, it was decided that the 2. Bundesliga would get its very own logo starting with the 2017–18 season. Before this, it had used the Bundesliga logo. The new logo was created to make the league more special for fans, media, and sponsors.

All-time table

As of August 2025, the team that has been most consistent in the league is SpVgg Greuther Fürth. They have earned 1800 points in 1230 games. In second place is FC St. Pauli with 1690 points, and Hannover 96 is third with 1607 points. The team in last place, number 128, is Spandauer SV with only ten points.

Clubs

Main article: List of clubs in the 2. Bundesliga

Members for 2025-26

Main article: 2025-26 2. Bundesliga

!Bielefeld

Bielefeld

!Bochum

Bochum

!Braun-schweig

Braun-
schweig

!Hertha BSC

Hertha BSC

!Darmstadt

Darmstadt

!Dynamo Dresden

Dynamo Dresden

!Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf

!Elversberg

Elversberg

!Fürth

Fürth

!Hannover

Hannover

!Holstein Kiel

Holstein Kiel

!Kaiserslautern

Kaiserslautern

!Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe

!Magdeburg

Magdeburg

!Münster

Münster

!Nürnberg

Nürnberg

!Paderborn

Paderborn

!Schalke

Schalke

Locations of the 2025–26 2. Bundesliga teams

Seasons in 2. Bundesliga

There are 128 teams that have played in the 2. Bundesliga over 52 seasons, from the 1974–75 season until the 2025–26 season. The teams in bold are playing in the 2. Bundesliga now. The teams in italics are no longer active. The year in parentheses shows the most recent year they played at this level.

Division set-up

The 2. Bundesliga has had different numbers of teams over the years. Since 1994–95, there have been 18 teams. Before that, the league changed in size and sometimes had two groups.

Teams can move up to the Bundesliga. From 1992–93 to 2008–09, the top three teams moved up, but now only the top two move up automatically. The third-place team plays against a team from the Bundesliga to see who gets to stay or move up.

Teams can also move down to lower leagues. Until 2008–09, the bottom four teams moved down, but now only the bottom two teams move down automatically. The third-from-bottom team can stay up by winning a playoff against a team from the 3. Liga.

Main article: Promotion to the Bundesliga

League rules

Since the 2006–07 season, clubs in the 2. Bundesliga no longer have a limit on players from outside the European Union. Instead, each club must have eight players who grew up playing for German youth teams. Four of these players must have come from the club's own youth program. Teams can choose seven extra players to sit on the bench, and three of them can join the game during play.

League champions

2. Bundesliga

2. Bundesliga

• Bold shows the team that moved up to a higher league.

Promoted and relegated teams

See also: Promotion to the Bundesliga, Promotion to the 2. Bundesliga, and List of clubs in the 2. Bundesliga

The following is a list of teams that moved up to and down from the 2. Bundesliga:

Records

The 2. Bundesliga is the only football league in Germany where teams from every state have played. Greuther Fürth has earned the most points since the league began, with 1,708 points in 1,160 games by the end of the 2022–23 season. Next are FC St. Pauli with 1,621 points and Hannover 96 with 1,498 points.

Greuther Fürth also scored the most goals, with 1,721 in 1,484 games. The best goal difference belongs to Hannover 96 with +304. Eight clubs have moved directly from the third division to the top league, including 1860 Munich and Fortuna Düsseldorf.

SC Fortuna Köln stayed in the 2. Bundesliga for 26 years without dropping down. Hertha BSC set a single-season points record in the 2012–13 season with 76 points.

Horst Hrubesch scored the most goals in one season, with 41 for Rot-Weiss Essen in 1977–78. Hertha BSC scored the most goals in a season, with 123 in 1980–81.

Willi Landgraf played the most games in the league, with 508 appearances. Arminia Bielefeld had the biggest win ever, beating SV Arminia Hannover 11–0 in 1979–80.

The game with the most goals was a 7–6 win for 1. FC Kaiserslautern against SV Meppen in 1996–97. Benjamin Siegert scored the fastest goal ever in German professional football after just eight seconds in 2007.

The most spectators at a 2. Bundesliga game were 77,116 for a match between Hertha BSC and FC Augsburg in 2010–11. The fewest spectators were at a game between Alemannia Aachen and 1. FC Nürnberg in 2003–04, which had no fans due to riots.

Player records

Appearances

As of end of 2023–24 season.

Top scorers

As of end of 2023–24 season.

Match records

Spectators

The number of people watching the games in the 2. Bundesliga from 1992 onward, when the league went back to having one group, is shown here.

Top scorers

Main article: List of 2. Bundesliga top scorers

Here are the ten most recent players who scored the most goals in the league:

Second division in the European Cup

Clubs from the 2. Bundesliga have played in European competitions six times. After East Germany joined Germany in 1991, teams like FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt and Hallescher FC joined the 2. Bundesliga and played in the UEFA Cup.

Later, teams such as Hannover 96, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Union Berlin, and Alemannia Aachen also took part in European competitions like the UEFA Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup. Some of these teams were eliminated early, while others advanced a bit further but did not go very far.