3rd league
VfL Osnabrück is promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga
Updated on May 2, 2026 – 6:45 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The first promoted team to the 2nd Bundesliga is VfL Osnabrück, although the purple-whites haven’t played yet this weekend.
VfL Osnabrück is returning to the 2nd Bundesliga after two years. Because competitor Rot-Weiss Essen lost 1:6 (0:2) to VfB Stuttgart II, Lower Saxony’s promotion is already certain on the third-to-last matchday of this third division season. The Osnabrück game at SV Wehen Wiesbaden this Sunday (4:30 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) is just as meaningless as the last two games of the season against Ulm and Stuttgart II.
With the promotion, the Osnabrück team crowns an impressive season. Before the season, only a few people had Lower Saxony on the list as a candidate for promotion after VfL had only narrowly avoided falling into the regional league the previous season.
But the new coach Timo Schultz quickly managed to form a stable unit. The former coach of FC St. Pauli and 1. FC Köln had already shown himself to be self-confident when he took office: “I will not come here as a coach to manage the third division for two years. That is not my claim and the whole club is far too ambitious for that,” Schultz said when he was introduced.
Together with sports director Joe Enochs, the coach then put together a team that headed towards the second division after the winter break at the latest. The defense in particular developed into VfL’s showpiece. With only 28 goals conceded, Osnabrück has by far the best defense in the league. Swedish goalkeeper Lukas Jonsson has kept 19 clean sheets so far.
The purple-whites also showed strong nerves in the top games. Osnabrück won both duels against Energie Cottbus, and there was a draw and a win against Essen.
With a view to the second division, those responsible will have to significantly strengthen the squad so that the club does not get relegated after just one year like last time. But it is questionable whether VfL can keep top performers like Jonsson, Lars Kehl or Ismail Badjie. Some first division teams such as Borussia Mönchengladbach and Werder Bremen are said to be interested in the fast offensive player Badjie.
