Traditional climbers, new kick-off times, more money for the clubs and two top games at the start – everything important for the start of the 3rd division.
What is the schedule?
It is the 16th season of the 3rd division. It starts on Friday, August 4, 2023. After the 20th matchday, the winter break begins, which lasts from December 21, 2023 to January 18, 2024. On May 18, 2024, the last day of play will increase. The relegation matches for the 2nd Bundesliga are scheduled for May 22nd and 26th, 2024. There will be four “English weeks” at once. During the week is played on 22./23. August (3rd matchday), 3rd/4th October (9th matchday), 19./20. December (20th matchday) and 23./24. January (22nd matchday).
1st matchday Pfeil rechts live ticker: Friday from 7 p.m. Pfeil rechts
What happens on Matchday 1?
Hallesche FC and Rot-Weiss Essen open the season on Friday. Kick-off is at 7 p.m. Two top games are on the program right from the start: Dynamo Dresden against Arminia Bielefeld and 1860 Munich against Waldhof Mannheim. There will also be a derby: SSV Jahn Regensburg will play against SpVgg Unterhaching and Preussen Münster and Borussia Dortmund II will meet for a western duel.
What are the kick-off times in the 3rd division?
There are new kick-off times for the new season. The date on Friday with the kick-off at 7 p.m. remains unchanged. There are six games on Saturday. Five will kick off at 2 p.m. as usual, one – and this is new – in the late afternoon at 4.30 p.m. The remaining three games on Sunday start at three different times: 1.30 p.m., 4.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. There will be no more Monday games for this.
Which teams are new?
New in league three are the three second division relegated Arminia Bielefeld, SSV Jahn Regensburg and SV Sandhausen. SpVgg Unterhaching, VfB Lübeck, SSV Ulm 1846 and Preußen Münster have been promoted from the regional leagues. That upgrades the league, because apart from Lübeck, all promoted teams have already played in the Bundesliga. The 3rd division is new territory for Ulm.
What else is new?
For the new season, the German Football Association (DFB) is also introducing a fourth official in the 3rd division. The referee team gets additional support on the sidelines. “It’s a win-win situation for everyone and an absolute added value for the league,” says Florian Meyer, responsible for the third division referees. The use of the video assistant (VAR) is not planned. There will be new referees for this – including referee Fabienne Michel.
When will the games be on TV?
In its third program on Saturdays, ARD broadcasts two games live on each matchday – that’s a total of 68 games. Summaries of individual games can also be seen on Saturdays in the ARD sports show on the first.
There are also highlight summaries at sportschau.de and on the Sportschau YouTube channel.
It starts on the first matchday with the game between TSV 1860 Munich and Waldhof Mannheim. BR, SWR and SR will broadcast live from 2 p.m. The top game between Dynamo Dresden and Arminia Bielefeld can even be seen live on the first channel at the start of the season from 4 p.m.
Who are the favorites for promotion?
The relegated Bielefeld, Regensburg and Sandhausen are naturally among the promotion candidates. Dresden and 1. FC Saarbrücken, who were involved right up to the end last season, also want to have a say again. Mannheim and 1860 Munich can also be expected again.
What has happened on the transfer market?
As usual, things were busy on the transfer market in the summer, but nothing spectacular happened. Take Arminia Bielefeld as an example: the new coach Michél Kniat was able to welcome 17 newcomers without loan returnees or changes within the club, for which the club did not spend a single euro in transfer fee. 26 players left the club.
Most of the players at the other clubs also came and went on a free transfer. Borussia Dortmund II, which could afford it by leaving center forward Jayden Braaf (to Hellas Verona for a million euros), spent 650,000 euros on Julian Hettwer from MSV Duisburg and Paul-Philipp Besong from 1. FC Nürnberg.
How are the clubs’ finances?
Since the start of the 3rd division in the 2008/09 season, clubs have repeatedly had to struggle with financial problems, which often ended in bankruptcy. It last hit Türkgücü Munich in the 2021/22 season. The clubs often failed because of the economic and technical-organizational requirements of the DFB.
With the new TV contract, however, the TV money is now increasing – from 15.65 to 26.2 million euros per season. Of this, 90 per cent is distributed evenly among the clubs, with the U23 teams getting nothing. So each club gets 1.31 million euros, around 50 percent more than last time. The rest of the proceeds remain with the DFB. He announced that he would collect official game data from the new season for the first time and make it available to the clubs free of charge.
Fan interest is also increasing. An average of 8,199 viewers meant a new viewer record last season.