The 3. Liga is a men’s football league in Germany, formed in 2008. On this page, visitors can follow live scores, upcoming fixtures, completed results and standings, alongside player and team statistics across the competition’s recorded seasons. This provides a clear reference point for tracking matches and performance over time.
Upcoming matches, 3. Liga
Regular Season - 13
-
- Regular Season - 13
SV Meppen
No H2HSSV Jahn Regensburg
Hänsch-Arena -
- Regular Season - 13
Stuttgart II
Verl
WIRmachenDRUCK Arena -
- Regular Season - 13
Würzburger Kickers
Hoffenheim II
Regular Season - 14
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- Regular Season - 14
Havelse
FC Viktoria Köln
-
- Regular Season - 14
Verl
Rot-Weiß Essen
SPORTCLUB Arena -
- Regular Season - 14
Fortuna Düsseldorf
No H2HSG Sonnenhof Grossaspach
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- Regular Season - 14
SSV Jahn Regensburg
Würzburger Kickers
Jahnstadion Regensburg
-
- Regular Season - 14
Hoffenheim II
No H2HPreußen Münster
Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion -
- Regular Season - 14
Fortuna Köln
SV Meppen
-
- Regular Season - 14
Alemannia Aachen
Waldhof Mannheim
Latest played matches, 3. Liga
Regular Season - 13
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Regular Season - 13
Waldhof Mannheim
2 - 1Fortuna Köln
Carl-Benz-Stadion
Regular Season - 12
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Regular Season - 12
SG Sonnenhof Grossaspach
0 - 1Rot-Weiß Essen
WIRmachenDRUCK Arena
3. Liga Standings
3 Liga
| Rank | Club | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Last 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
FC Viktoria Köln | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 36 | 18 | 18 | 29 | WWWDD |
| 2 |
|
MSV Duisburg | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 31 | 17 | 14 | 26 | DLDWW |
| 3 |
|
Rot-Weiß Essen | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 24 | WWLWD |
| 4 |
|
FC Saarbrücken | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 31 | 26 | 5 | 20 | LWLWL |
| 5 |
|
Alemannia Aachen | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 18 | 1 | 20 | WWWLL |
| 6 |
|
SV Wehen | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 18 | WWDWW |
| 7 |
|
FC Ingolstadt 04 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 17 | -1 | 18 | DWWWL |
| 8 |
|
Waldhof Mannheim | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 19 | 2 | 16 | LWLLW |
| 9 |
|
Hoffenheim II | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 16 | LLWLL |
| 10 |
|
Fortuna Düsseldorf | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 16 | DDLWD |
| 11 |
|
Hansa Rostock | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 22 | -3 | 16 | LDLLW |
| 12 |
|
SV Meppen | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 17 | -1 | 15 | DWDWD |
| 13 |
|
Stuttgart II | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 23 | -2 | 15 | DLWWD |
| 14 |
|
Preußen Münster | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 23 | -3 | 15 | LWLLD |
| 15 |
|
Würzburger Kickers | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 17 | 24 | -7 | 14 | WLWDL |
| 16 |
|
SSV Jahn Regensburg | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 21 | 1 | 13 | WLDDW |
| 17 |
|
Verl | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 26 | -9 | 12 | LLLDD |
| 18 |
|
SG Sonnenhof Grossaspach | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 26 | -13 | 12 | LLWDL |
| 19 |
|
Fortuna Köln | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 14 | -5 | 10 | LLLLD |
| 20 |
|
Havelse | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 26 | -9 | 10 | DWDDL |
3. Liga Statistics
Top scorers 2026
| # | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
T. Boyd
Waldhof Mannheim |
3 |
| 2 |
F. Eisele
SG Sonnenhof Grossaspach |
3 |
| 3 |
F. Higl
Preußen Münster |
3 |
| 4 |
T. Duman
FC Viktoria Köln |
3 |
| 5 |
Y. B. Zor Muhammed
Hoffenheim II |
2 |
| 6 |
J. Berger
Havelse |
2 |
| 7 |
R. Massimo
SV Wehen |
2 |
| 8 |
D. Waidner
Verl |
2 |
| 9 |
L. Wolf
FC Viktoria Köln |
2 |
| 10 |
N. Castelle
FC Viktoria Köln |
2 |
Top assists 2026
| # | Player | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
P. Fallmann
FC Viktoria Köln |
2 |
| 2 |
D. Otto
FC Viktoria Köln |
2 |
| 3 |
N. Castelle
FC Viktoria Köln |
2 |
| 4 |
L. Zeller
Preußen Münster |
2 |
| 5 |
A. Leipold
Verl |
2 |
| 6 |
C. Kühlwetter
FC Saarbrücken |
1 |
| 7 |
T. Paetow
Preußen Münster |
1 |
| 8 |
L. Köster
Alemannia Aachen |
1 |
| 9 |
N. Bretschneider
FC Saarbrücken |
1 |
| 10 |
L. Lobinger
MSV Duisburg |
1 |
Top key passes
Top tackles
Top yellow cards
- Tikvić 2
- Fröde 2
- Dominique Domrose 2
- Zeller 2
- Thill 2
- D. Leonard 2
- Keumo 1
- Seidel 1
- Leipold 1
- Mešanović 1
Top red cards
- Thalhammer 1
- Geerkens 1
- Antzoulas 1
- Brünker 1
- Müller 1
3. Liga teams participation since 2011
History
3. Liga top scorer teams
Goals scored vs. conversion rate
| Team | Goals scored | Total shots | Conversion % |
|---|---|---|---|
| FC Viktoria Köln | 32 | 128 |
|
| FC Saarbrücken | 29 | 127 |
|
| MSV Duisburg | 29 | 101 |
|
| SV Wehen | 26 | 111 |
|
| SSV Jahn Regensburg | 22 | 78 |
|
| Stuttgart II | 21 | 81 |
|
| Waldhof Mannheim | 21 | 110 |
|
| Rot-Weiß Essen | 20 | 153 |
|
| Preußen Münster | 19 | 104 |
|
| Hoffenheim II | 19 | 125 |
|
| Alemannia Aachen | 18 | 103 |
|
| FC Ingolstadt 04 | 18 | 121 |
|
| Hansa Rostock | 18 | 95 |
|
| Würzburger Kickers | 17 | 92 |
|
| Verl | 15 | 144 |
|
| SV Meppen | 14 | 131 |
|
| Havelse | 14 | 57 |
|
| SG Sonnenhof Grossaspach | 13 | 103 |
|
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | 13 | 119 |
|
| Fortuna Köln | 9 | 76 |
|
3. Liga About
3. Liga is the third-highest professional men’s football division in Germany, a nationwide league created in 2008 to sit between the 2. Bundesliga and the semi-professional Regionalliga. It is organised directly by the German Football Association (DFB), rather than by the German Football League (DFL), and it is the third-most economically successful professional sports league in Germany.
A national stage between the Bundesliga and the regions
The 3. Liga was introduced for the 2008–09 season as a single-track national competition, replacing the two-track Regionalliga North and South that had previously filled the third tier. Its creation gave German football a more coherent professional pathway: the first fixture, between Rot-Weiß Erfurt and Dynamo Dresden, took place on 25 July 2008. The league was designed to raise the quality and density of football at this level, offering ambitious clubs a stable national stage and giving young players a demanding environment in which to develop.
Licensing is strict. Clubs must meet financial sustainability and technical-organisational requirements, and since the 2023–24 season the minimum stadium capacity has been 5,001, reduced from the earlier 10,001. The DFB-Bundestag, the association’s general assembly, sets the regulatory framework, keeping the 3. Liga distinct from the two divisions above it, which are run by the DFL.
Format: a classic double round robin
The 3. Liga is a double round robin. Twenty clubs play 38 matches per season, facing every other side once at home and once away. There are no group stages or internal knockout brackets; the champion is the club at the top of the final table. With 38 matchdays and 380 matches per season, the calendar follows the rhythm of German professional football.
Points are standard: three for a win, one for a draw and none for a defeat. Table positions are determined by total points, then goal difference, then goals scored. The promotion and relegation places are therefore settled by league performance alone.
The league is also defined by its youth rules. Every matchday squad must include at least four players aged 23 or under who are eligible for German national teams. This keeps the division true to its developmental purpose and explains why so many Bundesliga players pass through the level at some point in their careers.
Reserve teams of Bundesliga clubs are allowed to compete, but they are barred from promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. That rule preserves the integrity of the promotion race, while still allowing top-flight clubs to expose their most promising under-23 players to senior competitive football.
Promotion, relegation and cup stakes
The sporting stakes at the end of the season are clearly defined. The top two clubs are promoted directly to the 2. Bundesliga. The third-placed club enters a two-legged promotion/relegation playoff against the 16th-placed team from the 2. Bundesliga; the order of the two legs is decided by a draw. If the aggregate score is level after both legs, two periods of 15-minute extra time are played, followed by a penalty shootout if necessary. The away-goals rule no longer applies; it was removed with effect from the 2021–22 season.
At the bottom, the clubs finishing 17th to 20th are relegated directly to the Regionalliga. Promotion into the 3. Liga comes in two ways: relegation from the 2. Bundesliga or promotion from one of the five Regionalligen (Nord, Nordost, West, Südwest and Bayern). Each year, four teams are promoted from the Regionalligen, with the exact allocation between direct places and playoffs varying from season to season.
There is also a cup reward. The top four finishers in the 3. Liga qualify directly for the following season’s DFB-Pokal, Germany’s national knockout competition. For smaller clubs, that spot can matter as much as the league’s other rewards, because a cup run brings national visibility and the potential for a significant financial boost.
Calendar and character
The regular season runs from August to May, with a winter break in December and January. The exact timing of the break varies, but the overall rhythm mirrors the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. The 38th matchday is followed almost immediately by the promotion/relegation playoff, which normally takes place in late May.
Since 2008, the 3. Liga has become a defining layer of German football: a fully professional league with regional roots, a clear development mission and real consequences at both ends of the table. It is where historic clubs rebuild, where young players make their names, and where the next step towards the Bundesliga is earned across 38 difficult matchdays.