The Under 17 Bayernliga (German: B-Jugend Bayernliga) is the second tier of under 17 youth football in Bavaria, set below the Under 17 Bundesliga South/Southwest.
Until 2000, the league was the highest tier of under 17 football, containing the youth teams of such clubs as FC Bayern Munich, TSV 1860 Munich and 1. FC Nürnberg.
A Bavarian champions for under 17 sides was incepted in 1975, alongside the Bavarian Under 15 championship. It was played as an on-off final.[1]
The Bayernliga was established in 1988, operating as two regional divisions, a northern and a southern one, the B-Jugend Bayernliga Nord and the B-Jugend Bayernliga Süd. The winner of each division would then advance to the Bavarian championship final, an on-off game. The winner of this game, the Bavarian champions, then advanced to the German under 17 championship.[2]
In 2000, the Under 17 Regionalliga South was established, relegating the two Bayernligas to second division status. From now on, the best Bavarian clubs would play in the Regionalliga and the Bayernliga champions played for promotion to this league.
Since 2001, the final between the two league winners was now played in a home-and-away format. Should each team win a game the goals scored were not taken into consideration, instead, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner.[3]
In 2007, the Under 17 Regionalliga South and the Under 19 Regionalliga Southwest merged to form the Under 19 Bundesliga South/Southwest. This changed nothing in the status of the Bayernligas as second divisions.
From the 2008–09 season, the Bayernliga now operates as a single division, allowing direct promotion for its champion. Below this league, two Landesligas, north and south, were slotted in above the seven Bezirksoberligas who previously formed the tier below. A final to determine the Bavarian champions will not be necessary any more, unless two ore more teams finish on equal points at the top of the table. In 2010–11, the SpVgg Unterhaching defeated 1. FC Nürnberg II 2–0 in such a decider.
In 2008, the Bavarian football association had 1,853 registered under 17 teams, a 0.7% increase from the previous year. All up, 20,699 junior teams were registered with the BFV in 2008[4]
From 2008 onwards, no final was played anymore:
As of 2019, this is the standing in the all–time winners list:
The German under 17 championship was incepted in 1977 and, as of 2019, Bavarian clubs have reached the final 12 times, winning it six times.
The placings in the league since 2008–09, when it moved to a single-division format:[5]
The placings in the northern and southern division until 2007–08, when they were abolished: