St. Pauli returned to the Bundesliga on Sunday with a 3-1 victory over relegated Osnabrück in Germany's second division.
Oladapo Afolayan scored twice and set up Marcel Hartel for St. Pauli's third goal, as the home team moved to the top of the league with an unassailable six-point lead over third-place Fortuna Düsseldorf with one round left. final.
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The top two in the division are promoted, while the third-placed team (now certain to be Düsseldorf) will face a home-and-away playoff against the team finishing second-to-last in the Bundesliga (as it stands, Union Berlin). – to see who will play in the first division next season.
The playoffs are scheduled for May 23-27.
Holstein Kiel, one point behind St. Pauli, achieved its first promotion to the Bundesliga on Saturday.
St. Pauli were relegated from the Bundesliga in 2011. It will be the first time that the cult left-wing club from Hamburg's red light district will play in a league above its city rival Hamburg SV.
Hamburg, the longest-surviving founding member of the Bundesliga, was finally relegated in 2018 after several struggles. They lost 1-0 at Paderborn on Friday, securing them another season in the second division.
St Pauli is known for having an alternative fan scene and a left-wing fan base, as well as for its social projects in the community, its support for refugees and minorities and its projects such as installing beehives on the roof of its stadium to create environmental awareness.
Information from the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
