Under 17 Bundesliga


The Under 17 Bundesliga is the highest level of play in German football for male juniors between the ages of 15 and 17. It was formed in 2007 and operates in three regional divisions with 14 clubs each. At the end of season, the three division champions and one of the runners-up determine the German champions for this age group.
WWW dfb.de/b-junioren-bundesl...

History

The league was formed in 2007, when the five U 17 Regionalligas merged to form the three Bundesligas as follows:Under 17 Bundesliga North/Northeast formed from:
As such, the German Football Association followed the example it had set with the Under 19 Bundesliga in 2003, which were reorganised in the same fashion.
The Regionalligas themselves had only been formed in 2000, to replace an even more regionalised system with separate leagues for every regional football association.

Mode

The clubs in each of the three divisions play a home-and-away round whereby there is no inter-league play. Every club plays therefore 26 regular season games. The bottom three teams in each division are relegated to the next level below, in turn, the best three teams from the region are promoted.
The winner of each league plus the runners-up of the South/Southwest region play in the finals round for the German Under 17 championship. The semi-finals are played in a home-and-away format. If the two semi-final teams playing each other are level on points and goals after the second game, there will be a penalty shoot-out. No extra time will be played.
The two semi-final winners reach the final, which is held at the location of the winner of the predetermined semi-final A, unless the team's stadium does not comply with DFB requirement, in which case an alternative venue will be determined. In the final, which is one game only, in case of a draw after normal time, a 20-minute extra time will be played. If the game is still a draw, a penalty shoot-out will determine the winner.

Geography

The three Bundesligas are not geographically balanced, North/Northeast covers a large area while West a rather small one, but in population terms, the arrangement is much more level. The three leagues cover the following states:Under 17 Bundesliga North/Northeast

League pyramid

Below the three Bundesligas, a number of second-tier leagues exist which teams are promoted from and relegated to. The league system operates as follows for the 2008–09 season.

Under 17 Bundesliga North/Northeast

The league has two second divisions as the tier below, these being:Regionalliga NorthRegionalliga Northeast
The league champions are directly promoted while the two runners-ups play each other for a third promotion spot

Under 17 Bundesliga South/Southwest

The league has four second divisions as the tier below, these being:Regionalliga SouthwestHessenligaOberliga Baden-WürttembergBayernliga
The winners of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and Bayernliga are directly promoted. A third promoted team is determined between the winners of the Hessenliga and the Regionalliga Southwest.

Under 17 Bundesliga West

The league has three second divisions as the tier below, these being:Verbandsliga MittelrheinVerbandsliga NiederrheinWestfalenliga
The three league champions are directly promoted.

Levels of youth football

German football recognises seven levels of junior football, determined by age and labeled with letters, whereby A is the oldest. In the A level, mixed teams of male and females are not permitted while in B and C mixed teams are allowed if the parents or guardians of the children permit it. Below the C level, mixed teams are generally permitted without restrictions.
NameAge
A-JuniorenUnder 19
B-JuniorenUnder 17
C-JuniorenUnder 15
D-JuniorenUnder 13
E-JuniorenUnder 11
F-JuniorenUnder 9
G-JuniorenUnder 7

Division champions

The champions of the three divisions:
SeasonNorth/NortheastSouth/SouthwestWest
2007–08Hertha BSCTSG 1899 HoffenheimBorussia Dortmund
2008–09VfL WolfsburgFC Bayern MunichBorussia Mönchengladbach
2009–10Hertha BSCEintracht FrankfurtBayer Leverkusen
2010–11Werder BremenVfB Stuttgart1. FC Köln
2011–12Hertha BSC1. FC Nürnberg1. FC Köln
2012–13Hertha BSCVfB StuttgartFC Schalke 04
2013–14RB Leipzig1. FSV Mainz 05Borussia Dortmund
2014–15RB LeipzigVfB StuttgartBorussia Dortmund
2015–16VfL WolfsburgVfB StuttgartBorussia Dortmund
2016–17Werder BremenFC Bayern MunichFC Schalke 04
2017–18RB LeipzigFC Bayern MunichBorussia Dortmund
2018–19VfL WolfsburgFC Bayern MunichBorussia Dortmund

Championship winners

The German under 17 football championship begun in 1977, with the first final being played on 3 July 1977 in Niefern.

Bundesliga era

  • Winner in bold.
  • denotes the number of titles the club has won at this stage when it won more than one.
  • Source: official DFB website: List of all champions, accessed: 16 November 2008

Winners & Finalists

As of 2024, this is the standing in the all-time winners list:
ClubChampionshipsFinals
Borussia Dortmund815
VfB Stuttgart715
FC Bayern Munich58
Eintracht Frankfurt46
Hertha BSC46
FC Schalke 0435
1. FC Köln33
Bayer Leverkusen24
Hertha Zehlendorf13
1. FC Kaiserslautern12
TSV 1860 Munich12
Arminia Bielefeld11
Blau-Weiß 1890 Berlin11
VfL Bochum11
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim11
Borussia Mönchengladbach11
Bayer Uerdingen11
SG Wattenscheid 0911
Werder Bremen04
Hannover 9602
VfL Wolfsburg01
RB Leipzig01
FC Augsburg01
Energie Cottbus01
Schwarz-Weiß Essen01
FC Carl Zeiss Jena01
1. FC Nürnberg01
Kickers Offenbach01
Hansa Rostock01
1. FC Saarbrücken01

  • On five occasions, the Bundesliga champions also won the German under 17 title:
  • * 1989: FC Bayern Munich
  • * 1996: Borussia Dortmund
  • * 1997: FC Bayern Munich
  • * 2001: FC Bayern Munich
  • * 2017: FC Bayern Munich
  • On two occasions, the Bundesliga champions also won the German under 17 and under 19 title:
  • * 1996: Borussia Dortmund
  • * 2001: FC Bayern Munich
  • On four occasions, the under 19 champions also won the under 17 title:
  • * 1987: Bayer Uerdingen
  • * 1996: Borussia Dortmund
  • * 1998: Borussia Dortmund
  • * 2001: FC Bayern Munich

Clubs & league finishes

The clubs and their league finishes in the Under 17 Bundesliga since 2007–08. Also shown are the final placing of the qualifying season 2006–07 and the Regionalliga or region, in color, the clubs qualified from:

Key

Region of origin
North
Northeast
South
Southwest
West

Top scorers

The league's top scorers:

North/Northeast

The top scorers of the North/Northeast division:
SeasonPlayerClubGoals
2007–08Clear

South/Southwest

The top scorers of the South/Southwest division:
SeasonPlayerClubGoals
2007–08

West

The top scorers of the West division:
SeasonPlayerClubGoals
2007–08