The Landesliga was introduced in September 1945 under the name of
1. Division West as successor to the defunct
Gauliga Westfalen. The first season started in February 1946 in an eastern and a western division separated due to geographical considerations. Founding member were those 18 teams that took part in the Gauliga between 1939 and 1944. The first division winners were
FC Schalke 04 (western division) and
SpVgg Erkenschwick (eastern division). In the early years, the number of divisions varied from one to three; from 1952 the Landesliga was held in five parallel divisions. Upon its introduction in 1946, the Landesliga was one of the many top level divisions in Germany. During the years, it has become a level seven division in the
German football league system. Since 1956 the Landesliga is the feeder league to the
Westfalenliga. ==Current format==