Kreisliga Südwest


The Kreisliga Südwest was the highest association football league in the German state of Baden from 1919 to 1923. The league was disbanded with the introduction of the Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden in 1923.

Overview

Predecessor

From 1907, four regional leagues were formed within the structure of the German football championship, in a move to improve the organisation of football in Southern Germany, these being:Ostkreis-Liga, covering BavariaNordkreis-Liga, covering HesseSüdkreis-Liga, covering Württemberg, Baden and AlsaceWestkreis-Liga, covering the Palatinate, Lorraine and the southern Rhine Province
In 1908, a first Südkreis-Liga was established, consisting of ten clubs and playing a home-and-away season. With the outbreak of the First World War, league football came to a halt and, during the war, games were only played on a limited level.

Post-First World War

With the collapse of the German Empire in 1918, no Württemberg championship was played in 1918-19 but football returned to a more organised system in 1919.
Southern Germany, now without the Alsace region, which had to be returned to France, was sub-divided into ten Kreisligas, these being:
The Südkreis-Liga was split into three regional competitions, Württemberg, Odenwald and Südwest, each with ten clubs. The three league winners advanced to the Southern championship. This system applied for the 1919-20 and 1920-21 season.
In 1921-22, the Kreisliga Südwest was split into two groups of eight, increasing the number of tier-one clubs in the region to 16. The two league winners then played a final to determine the Südwest champion, which in turn advanced to a Baden-Württemberg championship final against the Württemberg champion. The Odenwald champion was not part of this series but rather played a Rhine championship. This "watering down" of Südwest football lasted for only one season, in 1922-23, the number of top clubs was reduced to eight clubs in a single division, with a Baden-Württemberg final against the Württemberg champion once more.
In 1923, a league reform which was decided upon in Darmstadt, Hesse, established the Southern German Bezirksligas which were to replace the Kreisligas. The best four teams each from the Südwest and Württemberg were admitted to the new Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden. The four clubs from the Südwest were:

National success

The clubs from the Kreisliga Südwest were not particularly successful in this era and none managed to qualify for the German championship.

Baden-Württemberg championship

Played in 1922 and 1923, these were the finals:1922:

Southern German championship

Qualified teams and their success:1920:
  • * Freiburger FC, Semi-finals1921:
  • * 1. FC Pforzheim, Semi-finals1922:
  • * Karlsruher FV, not qualified1923:
  • * 1. FC Pforzheim, ''4th place''