The “Promotion Reform 2025” initiative continues to grow. The alliance now consists of 54 clubs that want to work together to achieve fairer promotion rules in the regional leagues.
Almost every week, clubs from all over Germany are joining the “Promotion Reform 2025” initiative. On Tuesday, four more clubs pledged their support.
The most prominent club to join the alliance was second division club Holstein Kiel. SSV Jeddeloh II and SV Drochtersen/Assel from the Northern Regional League and Bischofswerdaer FV 08 (NOFV-Oberliga South) also joined the reform movement. This brings the total number of clubs on board to 54, all of which want to work together to achieve fairer promotion rules in which all regional leagues have the same rights to promotion. “Champions must be promoted” is the movement’s guiding principle.
“With Holstein Kiel, another ambitious and traditional second division club is now joining our initiative. This shows that our commitment is becoming increasingly relevant – with significance for German soccer as a whole, far beyond the boundaries of the regional leagues. The fact that Jeddeloh II, Drochtersen/Assel, and Bischofswerda, other committed fourth and fifth division clubs, are also joining underscores once again the breadth and cohesion that will continue to drive this process in the future,” explains Tommy Haeder, spokesperson for the Promotion Reform 2025 initiative and office manager of Chemnitzer FC.
Parallel to the growing support from across Germany, work at the association level is now also set to pick up speed. Under the leadership of Michael Vesper, the newly founded DFB working group “Regionalliga Reform” will meet for the first time on November 10 at the DFB headquarters in Frankfurt am Main. “We are eagerly awaiting the first exchange in the working group next week and will be fully committed to bringing about real change – change that is long overdue for German soccer,” adds Haeder. In addition, a follow-up meeting in Frankfurt on November 24 and a working meeting on January 15, 2026, have been set as further dates for the working group.
These 54 clubs are currently part of the initiative:
Bundesliga: 1. FC Union Berlin
2. Bundesliga: 1. FC Magdeburg, FC Schalke 04, SG Dynamo Dresden, Holstein Kiel
3. Liga: 1. FC Schweinfurt 05, Alemannia Aachen, FC Energie Cottbus, FC Erzgebirge Aue, F.C. Hansa Rostock, MSV Duisburg, SSV Ulm 1846, TSV 1860 Munich, VfL Osnabrück
Regionalliga Südwest: KSV Hessen Kassel
Regionalliga Bayern: FV Illertissen 1921, TSV Schwaben Augsburg, Würzburger Kickers
Regionalliga Nord: Altona 93, FSV Schöningen 2011, Kickers Emden, SC Weiche Flensburg 08, SV Meppen, VfB Lübeck, VfB Oldenburg, SSV Jeddeloh II, SV Drochtersen/Assel
Regionalliga Nordost: 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig, BFC Dynamo, BFC Preussen, BSG Chemie Leipzig, Chemnitzer FC, FC Carl Zeiss Jena, FC Eilenburg, FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt, F.C. Hertha 03 Zehlendorf, FSV 63 Luckenwalde, FSV Zwickau, Greifswalder FC, Hallescher FC, Hertha BSC II, SV Babelsberg 03, VSG Altglienicke
Regionalliga West: 1. FC Bocholt, Bonner SC, SC Fortuna Cologne, SC Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, SC Wiedenbrück, Sportfreunde Siegen, Wuppertaler SV
NOFV-Oberliga South: VFC Plauen, Bischofswerdaer FV 08
Oberliga Westphalia: Rot Weiss Ahlen, SV Lippstadt 08