Nils Petersen supports promotion reform for NOFV clubs

Former international Nils Petersen supports the north-east German regional soccer league clubs when it comes to direct promotion. The 36-year-old, who previously played for Carl Zeiss Jena, Energie Cottbus, Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen and SC Freiburg, has a clear opinion. "Anyone who knows my CV knows that I haven't been champion very often. But when I have become champion, then I have also been promoted. That's why you play soccer and that's why you want to win. That's why a reform in the regional league is urgently needed - and I support that," said the former striker in a video statement on his Instagram channel about the promotion reform.

DFB sees no majority

The German Football Association currently sees no solution in sight to change the promotion regulations for the NOFV clubs. "The crucial point, however, is whether the clubs and associations can find solutions together at the fourth division level," said Manuel Hartmann, Managing Director of Match Operations at the DFB, in a recent interview with MDR. This would require a majority. "That is not foreseeable for us at the moment because we have now heard the perspective from the north-east," he said.

NOFV clubs make new push

In the previous week, 17 of the 18 NOFV clubs made a new push to get a direct promotion to the 3rd division. Under the motto "Promotion reform 2025 - #meistermüssenaufsteigen#", they want to provide the North-East German Football Association (NOFV) with proposals for action for a motion at the DFB Bundesestag in September. Various solutions were presented for this purpose.

The promotion regulations in place since 2017 and modified in 2019 stipulate that the champions of the associations with the most members, South-West and West, are promoted directly. The other three associations always have one directly promoted player in turn. The remaining two associations must play a relegation play-off.