Germany's 18-club second tier and the direct route into the Bundesliga, famous for its big traditional clubs and huge crowds. Schalke 04 are the reigning champions; 1. FC Koln hold the record with five titles.

The 2. Bundesliga is the second tier of German football and the direct feeder division to the Bundesliga. It was created in 1974, initially as two regional divisions, and has run as a single nationwide league of 18 clubs since 1994. It is one of the best-supported second divisions anywhere in the world, with average attendances that would be respectable in many countries' top flights, and in most seasons it contains several former German champions working their way back towards the elite. Each club plays 34 league matches, home and away. The top two are promoted to the Bundesliga automatically, while the third-placed side enters a two-legged promotion play-off against the Bundesliga's 16th-placed club. At the other end, the bottom two are relegated to the 3. Liga and the 16th-placed team faces a play-off against the third-placed side from the third tier, which is why you will see four separate colour-coded zones on the standings table at OneLightScore. Schalke 04 won the 2025-26 title, a fourth second-tier championship, and went up alongside SV Elversberg and play-off winners SC Paderborn. 1. FC Koln remain the record holders with five 2. Bundesliga titles. The 2026-27 field is as competitive as ever: Wolfsburg, St. Pauli and Heidenheim have dropped down from the Bundesliga, Energie Cottbus and VfL Osnabruck have come up from the 3. Liga, and they join established names such as Hertha Berlin, 1. FC Nurnberg, Kaiserslautern, Hannover 96, Karlsruher SC, Dynamo Dresden, Magdeburg, Arminia Bielefeld, Bochum, Holstein Kiel, Darmstadt, Eintracht Braunschweig and Greuther Furth. OneLightScore covers the 2. Bundesliga in full with live scores and minute-by-minute match updates, the complete fixture calendar, final results, an up-to-date table with the promotion, play-off and relegation zones marked, and where-to-watch details for every matchday.