The Regional League Reform Working Group has taken a step closer to its goal of improving the rules for promotion from the regional league.

At its second meeting today, Monday, the 13-member group agreed to focus initially on reducing the Regional League to four divisions from among all the solutions proposed. This will be further discussed and elaborated at the next meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting, the working group took a comprehensive look at the development of leagues in Germany. In addition, the league structures of other top European nations were examined. The group then looked at various basic models for possible adjustments to the promotion rules at the fourth division level, before intensive discussions led to a consolidation and prioritization of the options.

“That was a very good start to the substantive discussion,” said the chairman of the working group, Michael Vesper: “It became clear that everyone in the group is willing and interested in working constructively to find a solution. We discussed all conceivable model approaches and made initial assessments. In my view, this was a significant step forward.”

The working group has been tasked with developing a proposal for a decision, which will then be submitted to the relevant decision-making bodies. The working group itself is not a decision-making body. Its next meeting is scheduled for January. Possible follow-up meetings have also been scheduled for February and March.

The Regional League Reform Working Group includes club and association representatives from all five regional leagues. It was decided in advance that each division would independently appoint its representatives to the working group. Other members include Manuel Hartmann, Managing Director of Game Operations for the DFB, and Ansgar Schwenken, Director of Game Operations & Fans for the DFL.