FC Schalke 04

"Schalke" redirects here. For the district, see Gelsenkirchen-Schalke. For the mountain, see Schalke (Harz). For the company, see Schalker Eisenhütte Maschinenfabrik.

Schalke 04
crest
Full nameFußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V.
Nickname(s)Die Königsblauen (The Royal Blues)
Die Knappen (The Miners)
Short nameS04
Founded4 May 1904; 120 years ago (1904-05-04)
as Westfalia Schalke
GroundVeltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen
Capacity62,273[1]
CEOMatthias Tillmann
Head coachKees van Wonderen
League2. Bundesliga
2023–242. Bundesliga, 10th of 18
Websiteschalke04.de
Current season
Departments of Schalke 04
Men's
football		 Women's
football		 Basketball
Handball Blind
football		 Table
tennis
Athletics Esports

Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (German: [ˌʃalkə nʊl ˈfiːɐ̯] ⓘ), and abbreviated as S04 (German: [ˈɛs nʊl fiːɐ̯] ⓘ), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, which plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of the German football league system, following relegation from the Bundesliga in 2022–23. Other activities offered by the club include athletics, basketball, handball, table tennis, winter sports and eSports.

The "04" in the club's name derives from its formation in 1904. Schalke have been one of the most popular professional football teams in Germany, even though the club's heyday was in the 1930s and 1940s. As of 2023, the club has 178,000 members,[2] making it the second-largest football club in Germany and the fourth-largest club in the world in terms of membership.[3]

Schalke have won seven German championships, five DFB-Pokals, one DFB Ligapokal, one DFL-Supercup, one UEFA Cup and two UEFA Intertoto Cups. In 1937, Schalke became the first German club to win the double. Since 2001, Schalke's stadium has been the Veltins-Arena. Schalke hold a long-standing rivalry with Ruhr neighbors Borussia Dortmund, known as the Revierderby.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stadionkapazität was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Bunse, Stefan (19 May 2023). "Schalke: Starke Entwicklung bei den Mitgliederzahlen - Schröder ruft neues Ziel aus". RevierSport online (in German). Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Fußballclubs weltweit – Anzahl der Mitglieder 2021". Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.