Red-Weiß Erfurt and the great promotion reform: Master should rise!

Red-Weiß Erfurt and the great promotion reform: Master should rise!

Erfurt, Deutschland - rumors make the round in German football and it is boiling in the regional leaves! Especially in the Regionalliga Nordost, the signs are on change. Last season, dreams of rising for red-white Erfurt remained unfulfilled; With a deficit of 16 points to Master 1. FC Lok Leipzig, the ascent was initially moved far away. But both clubs, Erfurt and Leipzig, will also meet in the coming season, since Lok Leipzig also failed in the promotion playoffs how [thueringen24.de] (https://www.thueringen24.de/erfurt/article300520103/rot-weiss-erfurt-aufstieg- Regionalliga-reform-union-berlin-lok.html) reports.

Now Rot-Weiß Erfurt with various other clubs is part of a reform of the promotion regulations in the Regionalliga Nordost. The "Advice Reform 2025" initiative has formed to request a fundamental changeover of the current set of rules. The big goal: masters of the regional leagues should automatically rise, which is currently not the case. In the Regionalliga Nordost, North and Bavaria there are a total of five champions, but only four places for promotion, while the leagues in the west and southwest can rise directly into the third division. An injustice that should no longer be accepted.

clubs are composed

Last Friday there was an important meeting of club managers in Chemnitz, in which the situation was discussed in detail. The initiative is supported by well-known clubs, such as Bundesliga club 1. FC Union Berlin and several second and third division teams. The discussion also includes topics such as the marketing of the third and fourth league and a possible restructuring of the regional or east-western borders, as can be experienced in a report by kicker.de.

Initiatives are not only limited to the northeast region. According to [zdfhute.de] (https://www.zdfheute.de/sport/Fussball- Regionalliga-Reformprojekt- newstellung-initiative-100.html), a total of over 30 clubs urge a reform of the promotion modalities, which is criticized as the "unjust rule in football". In the past, the current rotation for the promoters has shown that the masters of the respective seasons often do not receive the opportunities for climbing that they have fought. Among other things, Tommy Haeder, mouthpiece of the initiative, calls for a complete structural reform for the regional league.

A look into the future

The coming weeks will be decisive. An extraordinary DFB Bundestag is scheduled for the first half of 2026 to advise on the initiative. In the next season, the representative from the Regionalliga Nord will be able to rise directly, while the northeast relay will have to go back to the relegation. A situation that leaves many clubs dissatisfied and often leads to financial difficulties, there is a massive difference between the third and fourth league when it comes to distributing television money.

The question that everyone is now: will the initiative succeed in enforcing the urgently needed reform? Time will show it, but the commitment of the clubs makes you take notice and shows that a new chapter could be opened in German football.