Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and Chemnitzer FC will play a solidarity match to draw attention to the planned promotion reform. RWO boss Marcus Uhlig is hoping for strong support.

On Friday morning (August 22, 2025), Marcus Uhlig, CEO of Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, and Tommy Haeder, authorized representative of Chemnitzer FC, held a joint press conference to discuss the regional league reform under the slogan “Champions must be promoted.”

In order to send a nationwide signal for the project and generate additional profits that will benefit the project in its entirety, the “non-promotion match” between RWO from the West division and CFC from the Northeast division will be played at the Niederrhein Stadium during the international break on September 6 at 2 p.m.

Those responsible are hoping for broad support. For soccer fans who would like to support the project but cannot be there in person, a solidarity ticket will also be offered at a price of five euros. Tickets for the match can be purchased at the RWO ticket shop.

Meanwhile, another “milestone” has been reached in pushing forward the promotion reform, which is set to come into effect by the 2027/28 season at the latest. Last Monday, the football associations involved unanimously decided to set up a working group to develop a viable concept for implementing the reform. This working group is to be staffed with “competent players” in the near future under “significant DFB leadership.”

We have often enough railed against the state and regional associations and the DFB, but I believe that the tide has now turned. Marcus Uhlig

“We have often enough railed against the state and regional associations and the DFB, but I believe that the tide has now turned,” Uhlig explained. “It is high time to address the issue of regional leagues in Germany in a comprehensive manner. On the one hand, the unfair promotion rules must be changed, and on the other hand, the product of the fourth league must be rethought and made more serious and professional.“

However, the RWO boss also emphasized that this was only a ”partial success” and that the pressure should be kept up.
The “non-promotion match” between Oberhausen and Chemnitz is one of many planned measures to give weight to the initiative and show solidarity with each other regardless of the leagues.

This is not about East versus West, but we want the individual regions to stand together as we enter this new territory.

Tommy Haeder

Haeder from Chemnitzer FC also sees the event, to which officials from other clubs and other figures from German soccer are to be invited, as a great opportunity to take a decisive step closer to the desired reform.

“We don’t want to focus primarily on the sporting side of things, but rather on the promotion reform, so that clubs from all corners of the country can come closer together and agree that we need to find a joint solution,” explained Haeder. “It’s not about East versus West, but we want the individual regions to stand together as we enter this new territory. There has never been a project like this in German football before, and it can only be achieved if we present a united front.”

Forty-two clubs across Germany have now joined the project to reform the promotion rules for the regional leagues. Those responsible hope that more clubs will join the initiative and that a comprehensive solution will be found to make sporting competition fairer in the future.