Austrian Regionalliga West
The is the third tier of the Austrian football league system in the states of Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg. It is one of three Regionalligen at this level, together with the Austrian Regionalliga East and the Austrian Regionalliga Central.
History
Early years
Until the end of the 1973–74 season the Austrian Regionalligen, including the West section which was formed in 1960, operated as the second tier of the national pyramid, with the champions promoted directly to the top flight. A major restructuring in 1974–75 created ten-club First and Second Bundesligen and dissolved the Regionalliga West and Central. Promotion to the Second Bundesliga was thereafter decided by play-offs between the Landesliga champions of Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg, while the Regionalliga East champion retained direct promotion. In 1977–78, Salzburg and Tyrol introduced the Alpenliga as an intermediate third tier above their Landesligas.The Regionalliga West, this time explicitly including Vorarlberg, was reinstated as a third-tier competition in 1980–81. In contrast, the Regionalliga East was not contested from 1980–81 to 1984–85 and only resumed in 1985–86, while the Regionalliga Central did not reappear until 1994–95. Up to and including 1995–96, the West and East champions generally enjoyed direct promotion to the Second Division, whereas in the Central area promotion was determined through play-offs among the states of Upper Austria, Carinthia and Styria.
Between the 1996–97 and 2003–04 seasons, the three Regionalliga champions contested promotion/relegation play-offs with the second-last club of the First League for two Second Division places. With the planned expansion of the First League to 12 clubs from the 2005–06 season, direct promotion for Regionalliga champions was restored, although licensing issues delayed the full effect until the following season. In the 2009–10 season, promotion/relegation play-offs were reintroduced with the ninth-placed First League side due to the league's reduction to ten clubs in the 2010–11 campaign. From 2014–15 on, the system changed again to provide one direct promotion place and a play-off for a second berth.