3. Liga

The 3. Liga is the third-highest division of the Sæløsk football league system. It is contested by ten semi-professional and amateur clubs and is administered by the Sæløernes Boldspil-Sammenslutning (SBS).

The champion is promoted automatically to 2. Liga, while the runner-up enters a play-off against the ninth-placed 2. Liga club. The bottom two clubs are relegated to the Lokalligaen.

History

The competition was established in 1966 as the 2. Division. Its original eight clubs were divided into two regional groups, with the group winners competing for promotion to the 1. Division.

The league expanded to twelve clubs in 1982, divided into two groups of six. In 1993, the groups were combined into a single ten-club national division and the competition was renamed 3. Liga. The 1993 reorganization also introduced two automatic promotion and relegation places between Ligaen and 2. Liga and between 2. Liga and 3. Liga.

The introduction of the Lokalligaen in 2004 established a permanent fourth level beneath the division. During the same year, 3. Liga adopted a quadruple round-robin schedule.

Promotion was revised in 2020. The previous two automatic promotion places were replaced by one automatic place and one play-off place.

Competition format

The ten clubs play each other four times, twice at home and twice away, for a total of 36 matches.

The champion is promoted directly to 2. Liga. The runner-up faces the ninth-placed 2. Liga club in a promotion and relegation play-off. The two lowest-placed clubs are relegated and replaced by the winners of Lokalligaen Nord and Lokalligaen Syd.

Teams

Current teams (2026)