single division of 20 clubs. In this format it stayed until 1992, when the German reunion and the influx of clubs from former East Germany led to an expansion of the league to 24 teams for two seasons. The first of those was played in a northern and southern division, after this it returned to single division format. From 1994 onwards the league played with only 18 clubs, a number it continues to have today. In regards to promotion from 1974 onwards three spots were available for the 2. Bundesliga. The champions were promoted directly while the runners-up played each other in a two-leg play-off to determine another spot. Promotion to the 2. Bundesliga was determined through direct promotion as well as promotion rounds, with the champions of the larger Amateurligas and Oberligas being promoted directly while the smaller ones had to decide the remaining spots in play-offs. This changed in 1978 when the third divisions were reformed and reduced in numbers. The first-ever game in the 2. Bundesliga was played between 1. FC Saarbrücken and Darmstadt 98, with Nikolaus Semlitsch scoring the first-ever goal of the new league. Of the 40 founding members of the 2. Bundesliga, SC Fortuna Köln became the longest-lasting club, playing 26 consecutive seasons in the league until 2000, when the club was relegated, ten seasons longer than second-longest Alemannia Aachen, who held out until 1990. References Sources 30 Jahre Bundesliga 30th anniversary special, publisher: kicker Sportmagazin, published: 1993 kicker-Almanach 1990 Yearbook of German football, publisher: kicker Sportmagazin, published: 1989, DSFS Liga-Chronik seit 1945 publisher: DSFS, published: 2005 External links DFB — Deutscher Fußball Bund (German Football Association) 2. Bundesliga 1974 establishments in West Germany 1973–74 in German football leagues 1974–75 in German football leagues