Traditionally, the league also accommodated clubs from neighboring Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein (which it still does today), like Lüneburger SK and VfL Stade.

In 1963, with the introduction of the Bundesliga, the disbanding of the Oberliga Nord and the formation of the Regionalliga Nord, the league fell to tier three and was again renamed, now Landesliga Hamburg (English:Hamburg State League), but remained unchanged otherwise, with sixteen clubs as its strength.

From 1970, the number of leagues below the Hamburg–Liga was reduced from three to two, resulting in the Hammonia-Staffel and Hansa-Staffel which still exist today, first at the name of Verbandsliga, then, from 1978, as Landesliga.

For the Verbandsliga Hamburg, this meant a further slip, now to tier five, but also, for the first time in its history, direct promotion for the league champion.

The 1999–2000 season saw another league system change with the reduction of numbers of Regionalligen, this however had only one effect on the Verbandsliga, no promotion was available this year.

The 2006–07 league winner, SC Victoria Hamburg, did not apply for an Oberliga licence and was not promoted.

The four northern German states were then the only region without an Oberliga and the five Verbandsligen sit right below the Regionalliga Nord, parallel to the two NOFV-Oberligen.

At the end of this season, the five winners of the northern Verbandsligen played with the sixth placed team from the Oberliga Nord for one last spot in the Regionalliga.

[2] In the future seasons, promotion for the Hamburg champion will only be available through a set of play-off matches with the league winners from Bremen and Schleswig-Holstein.