in the overall ranking and finished better in 1962–63. The rumor persists that Saarbrücken was chosen because it was from the home state of the later DFB chairman Hermann Neuberger (chairman from 1975 to 1992), the Saarland, a very influential figure in German football. The DFB justified the choice of the 1. FCS with the fact that the club had a superior infrastructure to the other two. The 1. FC Kaiserslautern also qualified. Points table: Key ‡ Denotes directly qualified league champion. Changes to the league system The changes to the league system mainly affected the first tier, where the number of leagues was reduced from five to one. The second tier mainly experienced an influx of former Oberliga clubs that failed to gain entry to the Bundesliga or had not applied in the first place. The South, West and Southwest saw their 2nd Oberligas simply renamed to Regionalliga. In Berlin and the North, where there had not been a 2nd Oberliga, Regionalligas were formed. Especially for the North, that meant that the second tier was now formed of only one league instead of five. In regards to promotion to the first tier, which had been automatic until 1963, the number of tier-two leagues now made such a system impossible. Instead, the league champions and, except Berlin, the runners-up, entered a promotion round to determine the two promoted teams. A pre-qualifying was held to reduce the number of teams from nine to eight, these eight would then play in two groups of four a home-and-away schedule. The two group winners were then promoted. After 1966, this was expanded to ten teams in two groups of five, with the Berlin runners-up now also qualifying. This system was to remain in place until the next reform of the German league system in 1974, when the 2nd Bundesligas were introduced. The third tier in turn experienced an influx of former 2nd Oberliga teams that failed to make the cut for the Regionalligas. In Bavaria and the Rhineland, the Amateurliga, which had operated in two regional division, merged into a single division. The Northern Amateurligas, formerly on the second tier, now slipped to the third, as happened in Berlin. The league system 1962–63 The top three divisions of the league system in the last season before the introduction of the Bundesliga: The league system 1963–64 The top three divisions of the league system in