St. Pauli wins German second division title ahead of promotion to Bundesliga

WIESBADEN, Germany (AP) — St. Pauli has won the German second division title as it prepares to return to the Bundesliga for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

Hamburg-based St. Pauli and second-place Holstein Kiel had both already secured promotion before the last day of games Sunday but were competing for the prestige of being promoted as second-division champion.

St. Pauli won 2-1 at Wehen Wiesbaden to edge Holstein, which beat Hannover 2-1, by a point. The northern city of Hamburg, Germany’s second-largest, will have a top-division team for the first time since Hamburger SV was relegated in 2018. St. Pauli’s fans are known for their left-wing politics and pirate flags.

Third-place Fortuna Düsseldorf will face 16th-place Bundesliga team Bochum in a two-legged promotion-relegation playoff on May 23 and 27. Cologne and Darmstadt are both relegated from the Bundesliga to the second division for next season.

Hansa Rostock joined Osnabrueck in being relegated to the third division. Hansa’s last game was suspended for around 25 minutes when its fans launched fireworks toward the field. The game eventually ended in a 2-1 loss to Paderborn.

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