It was an open secret for weeks but it finally became official, as Werder's U23s will remain in the third division 3rd Liga. The Green-Whites received the corresponding fax from the German Football Federation (DFB) Tuesday afternoon. The reason was: "With TuS Koblenz GmbH not being granted a license, SV Werder Bremen II can be the first alternate for the 3rd Liga for 2011-12 due to the final table of the 2010-11 season."
A couple days ago, TuS Koblenz GmbH announced that they would retract their licensing request for the third league and register for the Regionalliga - a league lower.
"Of course we would have rather avoided the relegation and qualified sportswise for the 3rd Liga. But of course we are happy that we have the chance to play the coming season in the third-highest German level," said Dr. Uwe Harttgen, director of the performance centre.
The decision will not have any influence for the planning for the coming season. "Since our first priority is the development of young players for the Bundesliga team, we planned our roster for the U23s if we play in the 3rd Liga or the Regional league. I am certain that we will go into the season with a strong team," said Harttgen.