The best U19 and U17 teams in the Lower Rhine and Westphalia regions will be promoted in the winter. That is the situation shortly before the end of the first half of the season.
The first season since the league reform is underway in youth competitive sports. The first phase of the DFB youth league is almost over. After the winter break, the 24 best teams from each of the eight groups in League A will compete in the U19 and U17 competitions, with the champions going on to play for the title. Schalke, BVB and VfL Bochum have already qualified.
The other 40 teams will continue in League B. There they will be divided into groups. Also in League B are the best teams from the second-highest divisions without a performance center. In the RS coverage area, this applies to the fall champions in the U19 and U17 Lower Rhine League and Westphalia League. This overview shows which teams can hope for a starting place or even already have one secured.
In the U19 Niederrheinliga, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen is on the verge of promotion to the DFB youth league. With three matchdays remaining in the first half of the season, RWO is top of the table, six points ahead of SG Unterrath. There are no more direct encounters between the two teams, so Oberhausen can secure promotion as early as next weekend.
In the U17 Niederrheinliga, the decision has already been made: TSV Meerbusch, featuring the son of Xabi Alonso, can look forward to games against top-class opponents. Meerbusch is behind league leaders Borussia Mönchengladbach, who cannot be promoted with their U16 team. The same applies to MSV Duisburg and Rot-Weiss Essen, who could still overtake Meerbusch. Otherwise, no club eligible for promotion can overtake TSV. This is a great success for the club, whose U19 team is already playing in the youth league.
A double promotion is on the cards in Westphalia. Sportfreunde Siegen leads the Verbandsliga in both age groups with two matchdays remaining. The U19s are in a close race with Hombrucher SV (one point behind). SV Rödinghausen also still has a chance.
Borussia Dortmund and VfL Bochum lead the U17 Westphalia League, but neither can be promoted. This puts Siegen in pole position here as well. With a two-point lead over VfB Waltrop, promotion can be secured this weekend.
The idea behind the league change in winter: “Clubs without a training center will be rewarded for their performances in the preliminary round and will immediately have the opportunity to compete at a higher level,” according to the DFB.
In League B, amateur clubs are divided into groups of no more than eight teams alongside professional clubs. The promoted teams that finish in the top four at the end of the season remain in the youth league beyond the summer. The remaining teams are relegated back to the association leagues. All clubs with a training center are placed in the youth league regardless of their sporting performance.