2. Bundesliga: Dates, teams, history & betting odds

The 2. Bundesliga is the second tier of Germany football, with teams striving to reach the Bundesliga each season.

FC Koln won the league in 2024/25, securing their promotion to the top flight, while Hamburger SV finished second.

2. Bundesliga dates

The 2025/26 2. Bundesliga season starts on 1st August 2025 and ends on 17th May 2026.

2. Bundesliga teams

Here is the list of teams that will compete in the 2024/25 2. Bundesliga campaign.

• Hertha BSC

• Arminia Bielefeld

• VfL Bochum Bochum

• Eintracht Braunschweig

• Darmstadt 98

• Dynamo Dresden

• Fortuna Düsseldorf

• SV Elversberg

• Greuther Fürth

• Hannover 96

• 1. FC Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern

• Karlsruher SC

• Holstein Kiel

• 1. FC Magdeburg

• Preußen Münster

• 1. FC Nürnberg

• SC Paderborn

• Schalke 04

2. Bundesliga venues/stadiums

The 2. Bundesliga has 18 teams which play each other twice across the season to determine their final placings.

Here is the list of stadiums that will be used in 2. Bundesliga for the 2024/25 season.

Team	Stadium	Capacity
Hertha BSC	Olympiastadion	74,649
Arminia Bielefeld	Schüco-Arena	27,332
VfL Bochum	Vonovia Ruhrstadion	26,000
Eintracht Braunschweig	Eintracht-Stadion	23,325
Darmstadt 98	Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor	17,650
Dynamo Dresden	Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion	32,429
Fortuna Düsseldorf	Merkur Spiel-Arena	54,600
SV Elversberg	Waldstadion an der Kaiserlinde	10,000
Greuther Fürth	Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer	16,626
Hannover 96	Heinz von Heiden Arena	49,000
1. FC Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern	Olympiastadion	74,649
Karlsruher SC	BBBank Wildpark	34,302
1. FC Magdeburg	Avnet Arena	30,098
Preußen Münster	Preußenstadion	14,300
1. FC Nürnberg	Max-Morlock-Stadion	49,923
SC Paderborn	Home Deluxe Arena	15,000
Schalke 04	Veltins-Arena	62,271

2. Bundesliga history

Eleven years after the creation of the Bundesliga, the 2. Bundesliga was formed as German football's second tier, with its first season commencing in 1974 with two divisions of 20 clubs, eventually being reduced to a single division in 1981.

From 1991, following the reunification of Germany, clubs from the old East Germany began participating in the league prompting the temporary expansion to two division.

The league returned to one division the following season, and was reduced to 18 teams in 1994.

2. Bundesliga previous winners

Season	Champions
1981–82	Schalke 04
1982–83	Waldhof Mannheim
1983–84	Karlsruher SC
1984–85	1. FC Nürnberg
1985–86	Homburg
1986–87	Hannover 96
1987–88	Stuttgarter Kickers
1988–89	Fortuna Düsseldorf
1989–90	Hertha BSC
1990–91	Schalke 04
Split into two divisions for 1991/92 season
1992–93	SC Freiburg
1993–94	VfL Bochum
1994–95	Hansa Rostock
1995–96	VfL Bochum
1996–97	1. FC Kaiserslautern
1997–98	Eintracht Frankfurt
1998–99	Arminia Bielefeld
1999–2000	1. FC Köln
2000–01	1. FC Nürnberg
2001–02	Hannover 96
2002–03	SC Freiburg
2003–04	1. FC Nürnberg
2004–05	1. FC Köln
2005–06	VfL Bochum
2006–07	Karlsruher SC
2007–08	Borussia Mönchengladbach
2008–09	SC Freiburg
2009–10	1. FC Kaiserslautern
2010–11	Hertha BSC
2011–12	Greuther Fürth
2012–13	Hertha BSC
2013–14	1. FC Köln
2014–15	FC Ingolstadt
2015–16	SC Freiburg
2016–17	VfB Stuttgart
2017–18	Fortuna Düsseldorf
2018–19	1. FC Köln
2019–20	Arminia Bielefeld
2020–21	VfL Bochum
2021–22	Schalke 04
2022–23	1. FC Heidenheim
2023–24	FC St. Pauli
2024-25	1. FC Köln

2. Bundesliga North and South winners

2. Bundesliga North		2. Bundesliga South
Season	Champions	Season	Champions
1974–75	Hannover 96	1974–75	Karlsruher SC
1975–76	Tennis Borussia Berlin	1975–76	1. FC Saarbrücken
1976–77	FC St. Pauli	1976–77	VfB Stuttgart
1977–78	Arminia Bielefeld	1977–78	Darmstadt 98
1978–79	Bayer Leverkusen	1978–79	1860 Munich
1979–80	Arminia Bielefeld	1979–80	1. FC Nürnberg
1980–81	Werder Bremen	1980–81	Darmstadt 98
Played as one division between 1981/82 and 1990/91
1991–92	Bayer Uerdingen	1991–92	1. FC Saarbrücken

2. Bundesliga favourites