in another play-off for the remaining promotion spot. 2000–2008 In 2000 the number of Regionalligas was reduced to two: Regionalliga Nord, (covering northern Germany) Regionalliga Süd, (covering southern Germany) The new divisional alignment was not bound to certain states any more so teams were moved between the divisions in order to balance club numbers. This led to some clubs in the Southern division being geographically further north than some northern clubs, and vice versa. The champions and the runners-up of both divisions were promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. 2008–2012 In 2008, the Regionalliga was demoted to become the fourth tier of football in Germany after the introduction of a new nationwide 3. Liga. However, there was an expansion to three divisions: Regionalliga Nord, (covering the states of Brandenburg, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Saxony, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg) Regionalliga Süd, (covering the states of Bavaria, Hesse and Baden-Württemberg) Regionalliga West, (covering the states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and North Rhine-Westphalia) "Covering" meant that the single divisions were annually re-aligned to geographic location by a DFB committee in order to have 18 teams assigned to each division every year. This led to teams assigned to a division other than their geographical one. An example for this is BV Cloppenburg, who was assigned to the Western division for the 2008–09 season despite being located in Lower Saxony. 2012–present In October 2010, yet another reform of the Regionalligas was decided upon, with the number of leagues expanding to five and beginning play in the 2012–13 season. Under this new format, the old Regionalliga Nordost would be re-established and the new Regionalliga Südwest and Regionalliga Bayern would be created. The Südwest would take clubs from the southern portion of the Regionalliga West and also everything from the Regionallia Süd outside of Bavaria. It was also decided to limit the number of reserve teams per Regionalliga to seven. The five league champions and the runners-up of the Regionalliga Südwest play-off for the three promotion spots in a home-and-away series. The new leagues consist of up to 22 clubs in their inaugural seasons but were reduced to between 16 and 18 clubs. The Regionalligas are not be administrated by the DFB but rather by the regional football associations. In regards to reserve teams, initially only seven were permitted per league, however, this rule may be subject to change under certain circumstances. Reserve sides of 3. Liga