The 1974–75 season of the Oberliga was the inaugural season of the Oberliga as a tier-three league. The Oberligas, then as tier-one leagues, had been disestablished after the 1962–63 season, when the Bundesliga was introduced.
The Oberliga was organised in two regional divisions, the Oberliga Nord and the Oberliga Berlin, with the league champions, and the runners-up of the Oberliga Nord, earning the right to play-off for promotion to the level above, the 2. Bundesliga. Parallel to the two Oberligas, Amateurligas and Verbandsligas existed in the other parts of Germany at this level.
The new Oberliga Nord replaced the Amateurliga Bremen, Landesliga Hamburg, Amateurliga Niedersachsen and Landesliga Schleswig-Holstein at the third level, with the latter dropping down to the fourth tier as a consequence. Ten of the eighteen clubs in the new Oberliga came from the Regionalliga Nord, a second-tier league that had been disbanded at the end of the 1973–74 season and been replaced by the northern division of the 2. Bundesliga.[2][3] Three clubs came from the Amateurliga Niedersachsen, two each from the Amateurliga Bremen and Landesliga Hamburg and one club from the Landesliga Schleswig-Holstein.[4]
In the new Oberliga Berlin, which replaced the Amateurliga Berlin at this level in West Berlin, eighteen clubs competed in the inaugural season. Nine of those came from the Regionalliga Berlin, a second-tier league like the Regionalliga Nord, while the other nine came from the Amateurliga.[6]Spandauer SV became the first champions of the league and won promotion to the 2. Bundesliga.[4] League runners-up Hertha Zehlendorf entered the German amateur championship but was knocked-out by Schwarz-Weiss Essen in the first round.[5]
The numbers behind the clubs qualified for the German amateur championship from the Oberliga Nord indicate the league placing in 1975–76.
Promotion play-off to the 2. Bundesliga
Thirteen teams took part in the promotion round to the 1975–76 2. Bundesliga, six in the north and seven in the south. Two teams, the champions of Bavaria and Hesse, were promoted directly without entering the play-off.