‘Champions must go up’: Why Lokomotive Leipzig are stuck in Germany’s fourth tier

Djamal Ziane has lifted the same trophy three times, but the Lokomotive Leipzig captain has never been able to celebrate it with promotion.

Lok Leipzig won the Regionalliga Nordost title again in 2026, two years after their previous success and six years after their first. Yet, as happened in 2020 and 2025, the title did not guarantee a place in Germany’s 3. Liga.

Instead, Leipzig had to play Würzburger Kickers, the Regionalliga Bayern champions, for the final promotion place.

Ziane scored in the second leg in Würzburg, but the Kickers won 2-1 to complete a 3-1 aggregate victory and secure promotion.

For Leipzig, it was another season ending with a title but no promotion.

“It’s the worst thing, injury aside, that you can experience as a footballer. Catastrophe doesn’t cut it. It doesn’t make any sense. If they really wanted to change it, they could do it tomorrow,” Ziane said.

That frustration has spread beyond Leipzig.

Across German football, clubs and supporters have been campaigning for a change to the promotion system, with the slogan “Meister müssen aufsteigen!”, “Champions must go up!”

The Regionalliga is the fourth level of German football, below the Bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga and 3. Liga.

There are five divisions: North, West, Southwest, Northeast and Bavaria.

Each produces a league winner, but only four clubs can be promoted to the 3. Liga.

The West and Southwest champions have fixed automatic promotion places. The other two promotion places are shared among the North, Northeast and Bavaria divisions under a rotation system, with the remaining two champions meeting in a play-off.

So every season, one regional champion is left without an automatic route to the third tier.

For players and clubs who have spent months trying to win their division, that can mean the season comes down to two more matches.

Lok Leipzig know the feeling better than most.

They also came close to promotion in 2020, when two draws against SC Verl left them behind on the away-goals rule then in use. In 2025, they lost to TSV Havelse in the promotion play-offs.

Then came 2026 and another title, followed by another play-off.

The Regionalliga Nordost covers the territory of the former East Germany, and clubs from the region have repeatedly found themselves having to fight for the final promotion place.