No promotion for Bayern reserves despite winning 3rd tier

BERLIN (AP) — Bayern Munich’s reserve team won the German third division at its first attempt on Saturday but won’t be promoted due to league rules.

The team coached by Sebastian Hoeneß finished one point ahead of Würzburger Kickers and Eintracht Braunschweig despite losing at Kaiserslautern in the final round, when none of the top three won their games.

Bayern II is the first reserve team to win the division, one season after it earned promotion from the fourth-tier regional Bavarian league. However, it can’t progress any further as Bayern is already represented in the top two divisions. Bayern’s first team won the Bundesliga for a record-extending eighth consecutive season.

Bayern players Michael Cuisance, Joshua Zirkzee, Sarpreet Singh, Jamal Musiala and American defender Chris Richards played for both the senior team and reserves over the season.

Second-place Würzburger Kickers and third-place Eintracht Braunschweig were promoted to the second division, while fourth-place Ingolstadt will play Nuremberg – the team that finished third from bottom in the second division – in the relegation-promotion playoff.

Chemnitzer FC became the fourth team to be relegated from the 20-team third division, following Preußen Münster, SG Sonnenhof Großaspach and last-place Carl Zeiss Jena.